Enviro-Barbie War Ends Suddenly As Mattel Surrenders To Greenpeace

(MoneyWatch)  Mattel (MAT) has surrendered to Greenpeace in what may be the fastest campaign since the last time the Germans invaded Belgium. After a three-day struggle, the company agreed to activist demands that it stop doing business with Asia Pulp and Paper (APP).

Greenpeace said Singapore-based APP, one of the world's largest producers of wood products, had leveled vast swaths of rain forest over the last two decades.

The group's blitzkrieg opened with a protest at Mattel's California headquarters. Its main weapon, though, was a video that threatened to besmirch the good name of corporate icon Barbie. In the video an animated Ken doll is spattered with blood while watching footage of Barbie slaughtering orangutans and tigers. A narrator asks: "Did you ever think of Barbie as a serial killer? Since its release Tuesday the video had been viewed on YouTube more than half a million times.

As I predicted, Mattel was powerless in the face of this onslaught. The compnay attemped to limit the damage by cutting off all commenting on Barbie's Facebook page while still allowing critics to post on its corporate Facebook page. Clearly, this was a case of too little, too late, and an unconditional surrender quickly followed.

In an official statement, Mattel said:

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

Greenpeace was unmoved by this total capitulation and still considers the two sides at war. "The company should ... make a public commitment to remove deforestation from all its products so this can't happen again," said Greenpeace Senior Forest Campaigner Rolf Skar. "For now our campaign continues -- Barbie and Ken are still spending time apart."

Both NATO and the UN have offered to send in peacekeeping troops, but Greenpeace has not yet responded to this. For now a sense of uncertainty hangs like a pall over corporate HQ in El Segundo. No one can tell what tomorrow may bring.

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