Greenpeace uses Barbie and Ken to Curb Deforestation

Posted by Rachel Silver in Build Awareness , Very Wired, Humor, Social Networking, Facebook, Twitter, Online Video, YouTube

Using YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr, Greenpeace launched an interactive online/offline campaign to get Mattel (the world's largest toy manufacturer) to alter their supply chain for Barbie packaging. The goal was to get the toy company to  halt practices that threaten the rainforest and tiger habitation there. 

June 7th 2011 Greenpeace activists dressed as "Ken" dolls unfurl a giant banner on Mattel headquarters in California. Image: David McNew

The Challenge

Barbie manufacturer, Mattel, was using products from Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), a pulp and paper company notorious for destroying Indonesian rainforests, including the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. Ken was understandably distraught.

 

The Players

Greenpeace: is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over 40 countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity" and focuses its work on world wide issues such as global warming, deforestation, overfishing, commercial whaling and anti-nuclear issues. Greenpeace uses direct action, lobbying and research to achieve its goals. The global organization does not accept funding from governments, corporations or political parties, relying on more than 2.8 million individual supporters and foundation grants. Greenpeace is a founding member of the INGO Accountability Charter; an international nongovernmental organization that intends to foster accountability and transparency of non-governmental organizations. (Wikipedia, Greenpeace)

Mattel Inc.: is the world's largest toy company based on revenue.[2] The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles.

 

Tools and Tactics

Greenpeace used YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr to create a story in which Ken finds out Barbie is harming the rainforest and subsequently breaks up with her. Through the breakup the public learns more and more about the harm Barbie is doing to the rainforest. Greenpeace has compiled a Storify (below) which provides a timeline of the different story points and tools used: 

 

Stumbling Blocks and Outcome

The campaign led to Mattel taking action against deforestation, adding to the pressure from other companies - among them Nestlé, Unilever and Carrefour, who are also taking action on these issues. These companies are committing to removing deforestation from their supply chains and from their products. This hasn’t happened yet with APP. Greenpeace reported on the tragic costs of how APP operates including the death of a Sumatran tiger on the border of an APP owned concession. The Greenpeace tiger eye tour has been documenting continued forest destruction by APP.  Greenpeace activists have exposed APP’s persistent attempts to greenwash its image and pass itself off as a company that cares and acts responsibly towards the environment.

This campaign is a superb example of combining many different online tools into one campaign. While many organizations and movements may not have the same resources as Greenpeace to produce super slick videos and giant posters- the same tactics can be used. 

 

 

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