The Truth Behind the Smile: Barbie & Deforestation

It emerged recently that Asia Pulp & Paper, who are responsible for the packaging on Mattel's Barbie range of toys and merchandise are using timber derived from protected Indonesian peatlands. This timber is having a massive impact on Sumatran rainforests, leading to widespread deforestation and pushing endemic species closer to extinction. 

APP is part of the Sinar Mas group, whose two divisions have very different approaches to deforestation. For example, with regard to carbon-rich peatlands, the palm oil division (GAR) will protect all peatland regardless of depth, whereas the pulp and paper division (APP) is actively targeting peatlands for current and future supplies of rainforest timber.

• APP continues to rely on clearing rainforest, which is theoretically off limits to development under Indonesian law. Current company statements show it intends to continue forest clearance until 2015.
• A growing number of corporate consumers are seeking to protect their brands by avoiding trade links with companies involved in deforestation. Global corporations including Staples, Kraft and Nestlé have stopped purchases from APP.

Within the Sinar Mas Group (SMG) are companies operating across a diverse range of sectors, and it describes itself as 'one of the world's largest natural resource based companies'. Sectors in which SMG is actively expanding include pulp and paper, palm oil and coal.

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), Sinar Mas's pulp & paper division, claims to rank as one of the world’s top three pulp and paper producers.

APP’s main pulp production base is Indonesia, and the division is responsible for around 40% of Indonesia's total pulp production. The APP Group is dependent upon clearance of natural rainforests by affiliate companies within SMG to meet its production needs. Logs from the clearance of Indonesia’s rainforests, including peat swamp forests, accounted for about 20% of the fibre pulped in APP's mills between 2007 and 2009.

China is now the main production base for APP paper, packaging and tissue products. APP's facilities in Indonesia and China produce packaging papers and products for many global brands across sectors, from food to electronics, cosmetics, footwear, cigarettes and toys.

In July 2010 Greenpeace International released the report 'How Sinar Mas is Pulping the Planet'. On-the-ground investigations documented the impacts of SMG/APP operations in Bukit Tigapuluh and Kerumutan on the island of Sumatra. Actions included clearance of deep peat and tiger habitat. Report investigations revealed massive expansion ambitions in terms of areas for future clearing as well as aspirations for pulp mill capacity expansion in Indonesia.

A growing number of corporate consumers who were buying products produced by APP, many identified in Greenpeace investigations, have now introduced policies that will eliminate products from companies linked to deforestation in their supply chains. These companies include Kraft, Nestlé, Unilever, Carrefour, Tesco, Auchan, LeClerc, Corporate Express and Adidas.

Led by Franky Widjaja, the Sinar Mas palm oil division, Golden Agri Resources (GAR), is introducing a new forest conservation policy 'to ensure that its palm oil operations have no deforestation footprint. Core to this is [...] no development on peat lands' – in effect, this is a business development model that avoids deforestation.

By contrast, APP – led by Franky’s brother, Teguh Widjaja – is rapidly expanding its global empire through acquisition of pulp and paper mills, with the goal of becoming the world's largest paper company. Company statements confirm that Indonesia will remain a key resource base for pulp production, and it will continue to use rainforest logs to feed its production  – in effect, pursuing a deforestation-dependent business development model.

APP has hired Cohn and Wolfe, a subsidiary of the world's largest PR group, WPP, to help portray it as a conservation-led company. Recent PR statements include support for the Indonesian President's two-year moratorium on the issuance of new concessions on peatlands and in forests. However, the May 2011 moratorium announcement only covers areas of primary forest and peatland outside existing concessions. 

A look at the map shows that millions of hectares of wildlife habitat and carbon-rich peatland remain threatened by pulp sector expansion. Rainforest areas targeted by APP remain unprotected by the moratorium. Forest clearance within these areas would drive climate change and push species such as the Sumatran tiger one step closer to extinction.

APP has repeatedly promised over the past decade to become fully reliant on renewable plantation fibre - initially by 2007, subsequently revised to 2009 - and to end its dependence on logs from rainforest clearance in Indonesia. In 2011, APP's head of sustainability, Aida Greenbury, repeated the commitment to meet this target by the end of 2015 - eight years after the initially promised date.

In 2010, APP stated that about 20% of the fibre going into its Indonesian pulp mills in the preceding year came from clearance of natural forest. Currently, the majority of this clearance is taking place within concession areas in Riau and Jambi.

A 2007 confidential SMG / APP document identified millions of hectares of concession areas the company was targeting to meet existing production needs and allow for potential expansion in Indonesian pulp mill production. Two million hectares were targeted in Kalimantan and Sumatra.

These documents confirm that as of December 2010, SMG/APP had increased its supply concession area by at least 800,000 hectares. The status of the remaining targeted area remains unclear. Mapping analysis shows that about 40% of the additional area now owned by SMG/APP or for which SMG/APP has been granted preliminary approval was still forested in 2006, including significant areas of wildlife habitat and peatland.

Within the Sumatran provinces of Riau and Jambi alone, SMG/APP was aiming to expand its concessions by 900,000 hectares between 2007 and 2009. In 2006, over half of this area was forested and a quarter of it was peatland. By the end of 2007, over half of these targeted expansion concessions had either been approved by the Indonesian government or were in the process of being acquired by SMG/APP. 

Two of the largest areas targeted by SMG/APP for expansion were the Bukit Tigapuluh Forest Landscape, stretching across Riau and Jambi provinces, and the Kerumutan Peat Swamp Forest in Riau. Mapping analysis by Greenpeace published in July 2010 identified the areas of forest, peatland and wildlife habitat targeted for expansion. The maps were accompanied by photographic evidence of recent or ongoing deforestation within newly acquired concessions.

Greenpeace 2011 investigations and analysis show that SMG/APP expansion continues in these areas in line with the 2007 plan.

In light of the above evidence, Greenpeace has launched a campaign through Facebook, Twitter and other mediums to directly combat APP through Mattel. They are using the branding of Barbie & Ken to turn the tables and gain support against the deforestation of Sumatran rainforests. If you would like to get involved, please visit the campaign website.






Source: Greenpeace