Barbie destroys rainforests, says Greenpeace

Greenpeace has 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. 

On Tuesday, Greenpeace activists dressed as Ken dolls abseiled 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 featured a frowning Ken declaring: "Barbie, it's over.  I don't date girls that are into deforestation." 

On Wednesday, 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," he 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. 

In a letter to Greenpeace published on the group's website, Mattel says it "generally" works with paper suppliers that recommend products certified as sustainably harvested. 

But Greenpeace executive director Phil Radford wrote in a blog that "Mattel's policy is so weak that even Ken could punch a hole in it". 

"Sumatran tigers, elephants and orangutans are being pushed to the brink of extinction because Mattel simply isn't interested in the origins of Barbie's pink box," he wrote. 

You have no doubt been hearing a lot about the Paris Agreement and know that it pertains to climate change, but are too embarrassed at this stage to ask for an overall explanation of what it's all about.