Greenpeace takes on Barbie

Greenpeace organization slammed the producers of the famous Barbie doll, claiming its packaging is produced using timber from an endangered rainforest in Indonesia. A video released by the company, shows Barbie's boyfriend Ken "dumping" his famous sweetheart after finding out that she's involved in deforestation. Barbie is produced in the United States by Mattel, and sold across the globe with revenues reaching billions of dollars. The doll, which was designed by Ruth Handler, made its debut in 1959. Over the years, the doll-makers have been criticized for its anorectic figure, claiming it distorts children's perception of a healthy human body. Watch how rainforests become disposable wrapping paper According to Greenpeace, Mattel, along with other toy companies including Disney, are using packaging produced by Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), who uses wood from Indonesian rainforests. The ancient trees are chopped down and used in the production of paper and disposable packaging. Greenpeace noted that they have decided to focus their campaign around the Barbie doll because of its widespread popularity. Watch Ken giving Barbie the "It's not me, it's you" speech "The idea is to show all the companies that there are alternatives and that cheap packaging means a heavy cost for the whole world," said a company spokesperson. To fight the phenomenon, Greenpeace activists launched a campaign in various locations worldwide. In Los Angeles, activists placed a banner in front of Mattel's offices, reading "Barbie: It's over. I don’t date girls that are into deforestation." Greenpeace Spokesperson in Israel Theodora Karchovsky explained that "there are substitutes such as recycled papers and FSC wood, which were designed for the packaging industry, without systematically destroying ancient rainforests, which prevent carbon dioxide omissions and are the habitat of endangered species." Mattel stated in response that it does not support deforestation and has no direct contract with APP. The doll producer explained that it had instructed its suppliers to stop buying raw material from APP and have launched an investigation into the claims. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook