Aldi praised for new inclusive toy range which features dolls with cochlear ear implants and vitiligo

Aldi shoppers have taken to TikTok to praise the supermarket for its new line of representative dolls.

The discount retailer has released a range of toys with different conditions, including vitiligo, cochlear implants, and birthmarks, in UK stores as part of its new range, Little Town Plush Dolls.

Parents and carers have taken to the platform to express the positive impact the £6.99 toys have had on themselves and their children.

UK-based mother Rach purchased a doll with a birthmark for her daughter and said: 'Thank you for helping my daughter, amongst many others, feel seen.

'The birthmark/visible differences community is so proud, and so grateful. I hope you know how much of a positive impact you have made for so many children.'

Elsewhere, a mother-of-four from the Scottish Highlands, who goes by purchased a doll for herself, saying: 'This is the first doll I've ever owned that has a birthmark like me.'

She added the dolls are 'making life better for the next generation of beautifully marked children, so that they feel represented', which 'means the world' to her.

Another mother, called Gaby Biasillo, 25, added: 'I can't believe this is the first time I've seen a toy with a birthmark! So sweet.'

'Seeing yourself represented in a children's toy for the first time and immediately buying it for your future children,' TikTok user Beth Rose added.

It comes after a mother has come under fire after she admitted that she shopped at the Aldi wooden toy event only to resell the goods on Vinted for double the price.

Atlanta Hatch, 25, took to TikTok to defend her decision to 'buy to resell', taking more than four and a half minutes to set out the reasons why it was the right thing to do despite the backlash online - but not everyone was convinced.

The UK-based mother posted the clip after trolls had called her 'vile' and threatened to report her to HMRC for her actions.

But in the video captioned 'Controversial I bought to resell at Aldi wooden toy event', Atlanta was defiant, telling her 860,000 viewers that she knows 'at least three other people, three other mums as well, that did buy to resell'.

Of the wooden toys she bought, including a beauty tool belt, three activity boards, two slow cookers, a biscuit tin, a doughnut set, a Cuthbert caterpillar and a Kevin the carrot cake, some were 'genuine presents', she said.

The others, however, were resold on the Vinted marketplace app, where some of the toys fetched double their original price.

Atlanta said: 'So, all in all, I did resell the two cakes at £16 and the slow cooker at £20. So, yes, they were double, but they weren't extreme prices that everyone made out they were being sold at.'

Yet rather than apologising for her behaviour which deprived other Aldi shoppers of reasonably priced wooden toys, Atlanta doubled-down on her decision to make a profit.

She said: 'Now the reasoning I did this, personally, if I didn't do it someone else was going to it, so why shouldn't I benefit from this if I can?'

Atlanta argued that she 'went in and bought' the toys and was, therefore, being helpful to those who weren't able to make it into the store.

'I had a man from Hull who bought this thing and he actually thanked me because he got there and people had bought them,' she added.

She told viewers that because she purchased and resold the toy, the man's 'child is going to enjoy Christmas.'

But her justifications did not end there. Responding to critics who raised the cost of living crisis and the fact that other parents with less means would now be unable to purchase a reasonably priced wooden toy, Atlanta said: 'I completely get that'.

Yet rather than conceding that her behaviour was unfair, the mother justified it on the grounds that she has an autistic child.

She explained that she resold some items to 'gain profit' so that she would be able to provide for her autistic child.

'My pushchair is £500 because I have a disability pushchair. Yours are £200 as a neurotypical child,' she said.

Atlanta added that she 'could do with the extra money' to buy an adaptive pushchair or 'the sensory items' that her child would appreciate more than a neurotypical child.

She emphasised: 'I profited from it to go and buy the more expensive toys that my child is going to enjoy more, so I don't see the issue with it.'

Atlanta's video explaining why she had resold items for twice the price caused a stir online, racking up over 6,000 comments.

The vast majority of these expressed anger and dismay at her decision, branding her 'selfish' and saying her 'attitude stinks'.

One TikTok user commented: 'Why would you do that? Your excuses are pathetic. You're taking advantage! People are struggling and you're here bragging. Shame on you.'

Another TikToker added: 'NONE of your reasons are valid, your attitude stinks'.

While a third argued: Unbelievably selfish. The world needs less people like you'.

A number of people criticised Atlanta for using her 'child's autism as an excuse'.

One person wrote: 'Just pure greed. And trying to justify and use your child's autism as an excuse for it is just disgusting!'

Another person commented in a similar vein: 'As an autism mammy... please stop using autism as an excuse for your rubbish behaviour. We get DLA and carer's allowance, and in some cases mobility allowance, to get our kids things!! It's awful behaviour'.

Yet not everyone was disappointed by Atlanta's behaviour, with some praising her as savvy.

One person commented: 'Fair play to you, got to make money where we can these days'.

While a second didn't see what all the fuss was about, writing: 'Why is everyone so desperate for some Aldi wooden toys. There's more exciting things out there guys'.