7 June 2011- Greenpeace activists, dressed in tuxedos to mimic Barbie’s boyfriend Ken, have scaled Mattel’s Los Angeles HQ with a giant banner which reads: “Barbie: It’s Over. I Don’t Date Girls That Are Into Deforestation.”
The activity in Los Angeles marks the start of a worldwide Greenpeace campaign to stop toy companies driving deforestation in Indonesia.
Greenpeace investigators used forensic testing to reveal that Barbie’s packaging comes from the Indonesian rainforests. They also used a combination of ‘in country’ investigation, mapping data and traced company certificates to show that Mattel, the makers of Barbie, along with other toy companies including Disney, are using packaging produced by Asia Pulp and Paper (APP). APP has been exposed many times for wrecking Indonesia’s rainforests to make products such as packaging.
Bustar Maitar, head of Greenpeace’s campaign to save the forests in Indonesia, said:
“Barbie is trashing rainforests and pushing critically-endangered wildlife, like tigers, towards extinction. This is happening because Barbie’s packaging comes from the rainforests of Indonesia, home to species like the Sumatran tiger".
“Mattel, which makes Barbie, must stop wrapping the world’s most famous toy in rainforest destruction. Mattel must stop buying packaging from APP, a notorious rainforest destroyer which has been exposed many times for wrecking Indonesia’s rainforests to make throw-away packaging".
“APP is bad news for Indonesia’s forests. It treats Indonesia as nothing more than a vast disposable asset, grabbing rainforests that are vital to forest communities. Mattel, and other toy companies like Disney, have a responsibility to support clean, low carbon development. They should drop APP right now and instead support responsible Indonesian producers.”
Indonesia has one of the fastest rates of forest destruction in the world. The Indonesian government estimates that more than one million hectares of rainforests are being cleared every year.
ENDS
A full dossier outlining the role of APP and Barbie in rainforest destruction is available here: www.greenpeace.org/app-toying-with-extinction
Contacts:
Bustar Maitar, Greenpeace forests campaigner, Indonesia: +62 813 4466 6135
Rolf Skar, Greenpeace forests campaigner, USA: +1 415 533 2888
Andy Tait, Greenpeace forests campaigner, UK: +44 7801 212 980
Niall Bennett, Greenpeace communications, UK: +44 7717 704 577
James Turner, Greenpeace communications, USA: +1 415 812 1142