[pp.int.general] LEGO(

[john dickinson]

Sorry, still working the kinks out.



WORLDWIDE LEGO  TAKEBACK ANNOUNCED

----------------------------------------------Guest Author--------------------------------------
In an unprecedented decision, 9 October, 2012, the Municipal Court of Prague in the Czech Republic issued a global takeback order to remove all LEGO products contained in their pirate lines.

The Municipal Court of Prague remains unclear in its ruling whether the takeback order was based upon LEGO's refusal to remove offensive promotions to children of its pirate product line. The product line includes THE BLACK PEARL and WHITECAP BAY with their references to drugs,  CAPTAIN'S CABIN promoting homosexuality to children, QUEEN ANNE'S REVENGE with its blood red ship aimed at emerging female children, FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH also marketed to impressionable pre-teen female children, THE CANNIBAL ESCAPE with its references to the eating of human flesh, and ISLAND OF DEATH associated with teenage suicide and violence. Although marketed to young children around the world, this product line is clearly for adults.

To be onsidered in the ruling was whether the motivation for the takeback reflected LEGO's mission and goals for the future of the company to divert its fossil fuel based product lines that have for 80 years been adding immensely to the waste stream, products that are impossible to biodegrade for generations:

	* "The most important stakeholder of the LEGO Group – the children and their children – will inherit the future and our planet. They have a right to a healthy and rich environment. We acknowledge our contribution to human-induced climate change, and we are very concerned about the consequences. This is why we have embarked on a journey to change all fossil fuels used in our production for own consumption into renewable energy." 
	* 

	* http://aboutus.lego.com/en-us/sustainability/the-topics-we-work-with/climate/

SUSTAINABLITY AT THE LEGO GROUP

	* "It is in our nature in the LEGO Group to leave a positive impact on our  surroundings. We are in the business of play and inventing the future of  play. Children are our role models. They reinvent the world and  themselves in it over and over again, surprising themselves and others  in what they can create and do. We want to leave them a future which  will enable them to achieve their full human potential and  possibilities."
	* 

	* http://aboutus.lego.com/sustainability

PROGRESS REPORT 2011

	* page 6
	* "The report is developed in accordance with the main reporting principles of the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines from the Global Re- porting Initiative (GRI). And we are inspired by the voluntary standard AA1000 Accountability Principles drawn up by the Institute of Social and Ethical Accountability (AccountAbility)."
	* 

	* page 8
	* "We have an ambitious vision of reducing the amount of waste we produce and increasing the amount of waste we recycle. In 2011, we recycled 88% of the total waste, compared to our target of 85%."
	* 

	* PROGRESS REPORT 2011: MESSAGE FROM THE CEO
	* 

	* page 10
	* "The LEGO Group achieved a record-breaking profit for 2011. It is essential for us to create good financial results in order to secure the health of the company. We can only do so by continuously working to develop our sustainability efforts, while striving towards our Planet Promise of leaving a positive impact." Jørgen Vig Knudstorp President and CEO
	* 

	* PROGRESS REPORT 2011: SUSTAINABLE PLAY
	* 

	* page 14
	* "Throughout 2011 we worked on developing new corporate standards such as the new position on marketing to children. This chapter is about how we maintain consumer confidence in our products and how we work with systematic creativity and learning for children."
	* 

	* PROGRESS REPORT 2011: CHILDREN'S PRIVATE SPEECH AND PLAY
	* 

	* page 16
	* "In 2011, the Billund-based LEGO Learning Institute intensified its academic collaboration with the University of Cambridge and Dr David Whitebread. In a project on Private Speech and Play, supported by the LEGO Foundation, a new study has initiated a series of experiments to evaluate how open-ended play stimulates children’s ‘private speech’."
	* 

	* "This research describes the relationship between what children are doing with their hands through play, and what they are think- ing about when playing. This indication of ‘children speaking out loud’ when playing by themselves, signifies a the start of a process of self-regulation, which is important for cognitive development, school readiness and the general ability of children to manage their emotions and social behaviour, explains Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Senior Research Manager LEGO Learning Institute."
	* 

	* PROGRESS REPORT 2011: ONLINE SAFETY, WEAPONS AND VIOLENCE
	* 

	* page 17
	* "We have a focus on online protection when we deve- lop our digital platforms. We support and comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) as well as articles of the 1989 United Nation’s Children’s Rights Convention, stating that children have the right to participate in play and the right to protection."
	* 

	* "Boys’ interest in weapons between the ages of four and nine is considered by aca- demics to be a phase in their de- velopment. Learning about how to handle conflicts, aggression and weapons is often part of a LEGO play experience, but only as a means to achieve the goal, whether it is rescuing citizens, finding treasure or sa- ving the universe."
	* 

	* We have strict rules for the use of weapons and violence in our products. The LEGO play experience must never be related to real world modern warfare, killing, torture or cruelty to animals. In 2011 we expanded the LEGO brand guidelines with regard to use, expression and form of violence and wea- pons. The standard consists of guidelines already known to our employees, but now these guidelines serve as an explicit basis for product development and communication.
	* 

	* See: Progress_Report2011_Final.pdf http://aboutus.lego.com/en-us/sustainability/goals-and-progress/progress-report/
	* 

	* The global admirers of all things pirate support the Municipal Court of Prague and their injuction to remove their referenced pirate products to protect the children of the world. We also understand and agree with LEGO with their mission to create zero waste knowing full well the difficulties when their product line has been designed to sustain for generations. We urge the Honorable Court to address the pirate product line and LEGO's marketing implications when these adult products are marketed to children.
	* 

	* We urge all consumers to email or mail their pirate products in this worldwide LEGO takeback to:
	* 

	* John Dickinson
	* World Post Enumeration Recovery Council
	* =access since 1991
	* PirateProductTakeBack at WorldPerc.com
	* 5242 S Fontanelle Place
	* Seattle, WA 98118
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