Barbie protest: Is doll destroying rain forests?
JAKARTA 鈥� 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, activists dressed as Ken dolls rappelled down the side of near to unfurl a banner saying Barbie packaging contributes to rainforest destruction.
The massive pink-and-blue sign on the outside , 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 , head of 's campaign to save the forests in , in Jakarta.
"Mattel, which makes Barbie, must stop wrapping the world's most famous toy in rainforest destruction," he added.
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, were using packaging produced by Indonesian paper firm and Paper (), which 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 on a variety of paper sourcing issues.
It was not immediately clear what percentage of Mattel's paper packaging comes from .
Responding to , said its products meet the legal requirements for all countries, including .
"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."
added that the product attacked by contained 96 percent recycled material. The firm has set a goal of 100 percent sustainable plantation pulp wood by 2015.
said the activities in and Jakarta mark the start of a worldwide campaign to stop toy companies driving deforestation in , where it said government estimates showed a million hectares was being cleared each year.
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 peatlands.
revealed a long list of exemptions to a two-year moratorium on logging in May, a concession to the hard-lobbying plantation industry in 's largest economy.
" is ... calling on the government of to institute stronger measures to protect our last remaining natural forests and peatlands," said , 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 citing concerns over environmental sustainability.
released an audit it said showed allegations it destroyed rainforest were baseless and invalid.
operates under the Sinar Mas brand, as does Sinar Mas Agro Resources & Technology, or SMART, which last year released an independent audit after alleged the company bulldozed high conservation value forests and damaged
