Cabbage Patch Kids were copyrighted in 1978 and 1982, but mass-market dolls were not sold until 1983. Each year Coleco, and then later companies changed the colour of the signature. This means you can figure out a doll’s year of manufacture/sale by knowing the company that made it and then looking at their bum.
Coleco
Hasbro
Mattel
Toys R’Us
Play Along
JAKKS Pacific
Wicked Cool Toys
Several excellent sites list CPK signature colours. However, I recently acquired a large number of PA and JP dolls which has allowed me to fill in some holes. Consequently, I’ve duplicated some work done by Diana’s Patch, Ref #3 (p. 23 -27) and others, but I have also added information. I will update this list as I get dolls that fill in the holes.
Coleco (1983-1989)











Hasbro (1990-1994)
- Mauve– 1990 (transitional) – Mauve
- Teal – 1991 (transitional)
- Royal Blue – 1992
- Forest Green – 1993
- Burgundy – 1994 .
Mattel (1995-2001)
- 1995 – Purple


- 1997 – Blue-Grey
- Grey – Keepsake Collection
- 1998 – Maroon, Black (15th Anniversary) .
Toys R’Us (2001-2004)
The First year that TRU’s were produced, their side tags were embroidered in gold. The rest of the years were purple.





2005 (Fall) – Glittery blue (Holiday Edition)
Information gleaned from the TRU Cabbage Patch Kids Facebook page in this photo album.
Play Along (2004-2009)
These signatures followed the same colour pattern as the Coleco signatures until 2006.






JAKKS Pacific (2009-2014)

2010 – UNKNOWN




Wicked Cool Toys (2014 – 2019)
2015 – UNKNOWN


2018 – Current
Jazwares (2019 – Present)
None known.