Thursday, June 16, 2011

Mattel Toys: Indonesia´s Forests and Greenpeace´s Campaign


I recently received an email from Greenpeace about this campaign:

Mattel to stop supporting deforestation in Indonesia, nearly 1,000,000 people around the world have watched our video of Ken and Barbie’s break up, and to top it off, two groups of Greenpeace activists unfurled two giant banners at Mattel’s headquarters in Los Angeles.

The pressure is working. Mattel has stated that they will take initial steps to address this issue, but without details or timelines their words alone are not enough.

Check out the incredible video of the  protest and send a clear message to Mattel: we need action – not vague promises – to save Indonesia’s rainforests.

In response to the campaign, Mattel first announced that it would direct “packaging suppliers to stop sourcing pulp from Sinar Mas/APP [Asia Pulp & Paper] as we investigate the deforestation allegations.”  The company later also announced that it will develop a "sustainable procurement policy" for paper and other wood-based products.

This is encouraging progress, but it’s not enough. There are only 400 Sumatran tigers left in Indonesia’s rainforests, and every day the destruction of their forest homes drives them closer and closer to extinction.

Without an actual written policy in place to protect rainforests, Mattel’s investigation has no teeth, and the problem has not been solved. We are willing to help them develop this policy and answer their questions, but until then, our campaign continues.
We need to be sure that the world’s largest toy company is going to show leadership on this issue. Companies can change pretty quickly, and once Mattel does, other companies implicated in Indonesia’s deforestation will have to follow their lead to remain competitive.

When companies like Mattel stop buying their products, Asia Pulp & Paper will be forced to stop their destruction of tiger homes and rainforest habitat.

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