Hasbro, the second largest American toy company, today announced a new packaging policy that excludes the use of fiber produced via destruction of rainforests, reports Greenpeace. The policy requires suppliers of forest products to "demonstrate compliance with all applicable international and national legal requirements for forest management, harvest, manufacturing and trade." It mandates third party verification of legality in cases when a supplier is sourcing from areas determined to be "high risk" for illegal logging.

They'll no longer be wrapping their dolls and their toys in rainforest destruction... This is a huge win ­­ Rold Skar spokesman, Greenpeace
US toy giant Mattel, maker of the world-famous Barbie doll, has decided to use more environmentally friendly materials in its packaging. The decision comes after months of facing criticism from Greenpeace.

The California-based company said on Wednesday that it hopes to source 70 per cent of its paper packaging from recycled material or sustainable fiber by the end of the year. The goal would be to rise to 85 per cent by the end of 2015.

“The department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) is ready to come up with guidelines for the industry in a month or two. We are trying to create awareness among small manufacturers of this unorganised sector now. We have already urged all our 600-odd members to adopt non-toxic materials only, and if possible, to recycle toys too,” said Raj Kumar, president of the Toy Association of India (TAI).

Greenpeace said on Wednesday it had evidence that Barbie doll packaging comes from Indonesian rainforests, accusing toy manufacturers such as Mattel and Walt Disney Co of contributing to the country's rapid deforestation.

On Tuesday, Greenpeace activists dressed as Ken dolls abseiled down the side of Mattel headquarters near Los Angeles to unfurl a banner saying Barbie packaging contributes to

Toys manufactured locally as well as those imported from China have high quantity of

The Toys Society of India (TSI) on Thursday told the Bombay high court that if the norms laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) are made mandatory, it will lead to loss of livelihood for many smaller toy manufacturers across India.

In a PIL filed by Consumer Welfare Association urging the court to order action against the sale of toxic toys manufactured in India and those imported fr

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday sought a reply from the Union government why the standards for permissible toxic levels prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards was not made mandatory for toys-both imported and local-sold in India. A division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice S C Dharmadhikari have given the Centre four weeks time to furnish their affidavits in reply.

Mumbai: The central government may soon have to explain to the Bombay high court why the norms laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards have not been made mandatory for toys

MUMBAI: Be warned. Your child's seemingly innocent remote-controlled car that you would normally sell to the local raddiwallah could soon be categorised as e-waste. That is if the Ministry of Environment and Forests' (MoEF) draft on the disposal of hazardous e-waste is notified and made into a law.

Study traces it to lead-based paints, asks government to frame law

Sudden decline in IQ levels of children and unexplained retardation or hyperactivity among them can now be traced to unacceptably high levels of lead in their blood-sugar levels.