Pressured by Greenpeace, Mattel cuts off sub-supplier APP

I found this to be a rather interesting article, demonstrating an interesting principle.

But first the article:

Pressured by Greenpeace, Mattel cuts off sub-supplier APP

The environmental group's global campaign against the toy maker prompts the El Segundo company to tell its suppliers to stop buying products from the Singapore company accused of clear-cutting in Indonesia's rain forest.

Responding to pressure from Greenpeace this week, toy maker Mattel Inc. said it would direct its suppliers to stop buying wood products from Asia Pulp & Paper, a Singapore company that has clear-cut vast swaths of Indonesia's rain forest.

As the environmental group's global campaign against Mattel gained traction, the El Segundo company said on its Facebook page: "Mattel does not support deforestation nor does it contract directly with Sinar Mas/APP. We purchase packaging materials from a variety of suppliers and it is not the normal course of business to dictate where suppliers source materials."

Even so, the company announced a new initiative to contain any damage from Greenpeace's assault on its popular Barbie and Ken doll brands.

"We have directed our packaging suppliers to stop sourcing pulp from Sinar Mas/APP as we investigate the deforestation allegations," Mattel said. "Additionally, we have asked our packaging suppliers to clarify how they are addressing the broader issue in their own supply chains."

Here is Greenpeace's spoof youtube video on the issue:

Indonesia's rain forest, the third-largest in the world after the Amazon and the Congo, is home to orangutans, tigers, elephants, clouded leopards and scores of other endangered plants and animals. In the last half-century, about 40% of the country's forests have been cleared, mainly for palm oil plantations and pulp and paper operations.

The threat of winning the hearts and minds of consumers appears quite effective.

Fair and legitimate free market process?

What do you think?

It's a step in the right direction and good on Greenpeace for booting Mattel there. My daughter is at an age where she plays with Barbies and watches the Barbie videos. Aside from the vacuous focus on fashion that I mitigate with thoughtful discussion, there are many pro environmental messages in the videos. Which is why I am chagrined to see how environmentally unfriendly their packaging is. Their products are actually now sewn into the packaging and there is enough plastic in the packaging alone to recycle into a good sized canoe if you buy a couple Christmases and birthdays worth of their toys. It's all annoying and completely unnecessary. It's actually disgusting how much bulk their packaging takes up in the trash or recycle bins. So that will be the next boot in the butt Mattel will need. Greenpeace can't help with that. That's going to have to come from parents like me writing in and telling them exactly what I think of their hypocrisy in putting out one message on their videos and sending an entirely different message with their wasteful excessive packaging.

reply to post by SheeplFlavoredAgain


With a 7 year old, I too know well the ridiculous nature of toy packaging. Crazy how much of it there is at times.

Hopefully, overtime, that will improve.