Greenpeace accuses Barbie of destroying Indonesia rainforests

* Mattel, Disney package toys using paper firm APP
* APP says it meets legal requirements in Indonesia
Michael Taylor Reuters 8 Jun 11;

JAKARTA, June 8 (Reuters) - Greenpeace said on Wednesday it had evidence that Barbie doll packaging comes from Indonesian rainforests, accusing toy manufacturers such as Mattel and Walt Disney Co of contributing to the country's rapid deforestation.

On Tuesday, Greenpeace activists dressed as Ken dolls rappelled down the side of Mattel headquarters near Los Angeles to unfurl a banner saying Barbie packaging contributes to rainforest destruction.

The massive pink-and-blue sign on the Mattel building outside Los Angeles, featured a frowning Ken declaring: "Barbie, it's over. I don't date girls that are into deforestation."

"Barbie is trashing rainforests and pushing critically-endangered wildlife, like tigers, towards extinction," said Bustar Maitar, head of Greenpeace's campaign to save the forests in Indonesia, in Jakarta.

"Mattel, which makes Barbie, must stop wrapping the world's most famous toy in rainforest destruction," he added.

Greenpeace said its investigators used forensic testing that showed Barbie's packaging comes from Indonesian rainforests.

Activists also used 'in country' investigation, mapping data and traced company certificates to show that Mattel, along with other toy companies including Disney, are using packaging produced by Indonesian paper firm Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), which Greenpeace accuses of destroying rainforests.

Mattel , the world's biggest toy company by revenue, said in a written statement released to Reuters in Los Angeles that it had been in communication with Greenpeace on a variety of paper sourcing issues.

It was not immediately clear what percentage of Mattel's paper packaging comes from APP.

Responding to Greenpeace, APP said its products meet the legal requirements for all countries, including Indonesia.

"It is our responsibility to adhere strictly with these laws, not to satisfy the unreasonable and groundless demands of a foreign-based NGO," the statement added.

"We believe it's irresponsible to play on the emotions of children and their parents to rehash old, discredited allegations in order to attack the industry of a developing nation."

APP added that it has set the goal of 100 percent sustainable plantation pulp wood by 2015.

TOY STORY

Greenpeace said the activities in Los Angeles and Jakarta mark the start of a worldwide campaign to stop toy companies driving deforestation in Indonesia.

Indonesia is seen as a key player in the fight against climate change and is under intense international pressure to curb its rapid deforestation rate and destruction of carbon-rich peat lands.

Indonesia revealed a long list of exemptions to a two-year moratorium on logging in May, a concession to the hard-lobbying plantation industry in Southeast Asia's largest economy.

"Greenpeace is ... calling on the government of Indonesia to institute stronger measures to protect our last remaining natural forests and peat lands," said Zulfahmi, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Forests Campaigner. "This should be followed by a review of existing concessions."

Last year, French retail giant Carrefour said it would stop buying certain products from APP citing concerns over environmental sustainability.

APP released an audit it said showed allegations it destroyed rainforest were baseless and invalid.

APP is owned by the palm oil giant Sinar Mas Agro Resources & Technology, or SMART , which last year released an independent audit after Greenpeace alleged the company bulldozed high conservation value forests and damaged carbon-rich peat lands. [ID:nJAK325319] (Editing by Miral Fahmy)

Greenpeace says Barbie doll is forest vandal
(AFP) Google News 8 Jun 11;

JAKARTA — Greenpeace on Wednesday accused Mattel, the US maker of Barbie dolls, of contributing to the wanton destruction of carbon-rich Indonesian forests and habitats of endangered species like Sumatran tigers.

The environmental group said packaging used in Barbie and Ken boxes contained timber products from Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), which it described as a "notorious" destroyer of Indonesia's dwindling natural forests.

"Barbie destroys natural forests and pushes rare species such as tigers to the brink of extinction," Greenpeace Indonesia forest campaigner Bustar Maitar said.

"Mattel, which makes Barbie, must stop wrapping the world?s most famous toy in rainforest destruction."

He said APP was 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," Maitar said.

"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."

APP, a subsidiary of paper and palm oil giant Sinar Mas, said it was "shocked" by the allegations and denied that its activities posed any threat to endangered species or forests.

"I was quite shocked that they attacked us. We are proud to use recycled paper and we are trying to promote the use of recycled paper," APP managing director for sustainability Aida Greenbury said.

Indonesia is considered the world's third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, mainly through deforestation for the timber industry and to make way for coal mines and oil palm plantations.