Hasbro Joins Other Toy Makers in Asia Pulp & Paper Boycott

By B. McPherson


Hasbro toy maker has joined other forward thinking companies in shunning the products of Asia Pulp & Paper(APP). Greenpeace has announced that along with toymakers Mattel and Lego, other companies are already on board in avoiding the products of APP.

“These names join the likes of Nestlé, Adidas, Kraft, Unilever, Tesco, Carrefour, Auchan and Metro Group who have all taken action against APP in their supply chains. Staples, the stationary retailer, summed things up pretty well when they described APP as a "great peril to our brand". More and more companies agree.” Greenpeace
The reputation of APP is increasingly tarnished in spite of its maintaining that most of its fibre comes from sustainable plantations. They have been accused of illegal logging in Cambodia and Indonesia. APP started in Indonesia, but currently makes its headquarters in Singapore.

Indonesia’s rainforests are home to endangered species as well as being biologically diverse. They are increasingly under attack by unscrupulous poachers of their tropical forests. The palm oil industry and the pulp and paper industries are two of the industries applying a great deal of pressure on the forests.

It is relatively easy to tsk, tsk at a multinational pulp and paper corporation and condemn them for despoiling the Earth, but it is us, as consumers, who bear the final responsibility. How many of us question the source of the paper that makes up the wrapping paper on our seasonal gifts?

Multinational corporations are in business for the money. If we disagree with their environmental practises it is our responsibility to refuse to buy their products. Societies like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth act and educate us, but they cannot be at their most effective without our participation.
Location: Indonesia

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