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At dawn on April 27th, volunteers with Greenpeace set up a blockade at Kimberly-Clark’s manufacturing factory in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada. The activists stopped all shipments of materials going into and out of the factory via train and truck. Other volunteers occupied the rooftop of the factory and hung a large banner reading: “Kimberly-Clark & Kleenex: Stop destroying the Boreal Forest.” The blockade was in place for fifteen hours.
» Support the activists - take action now!
The action took place on the same day as Kimberly-Clark’s annual shareholder meeting in Irving, Texas where a resolution on sustainable forestry was voted on.
Three seven-meter high metal tripods blocked truck access to the factory, with activists perched on their tops and locked to their bases. They activists held holding banners reading “Kleenex = Forest Destruction” and “Save the Boreal Forest,” and wearing jackets that read: “Boreal destruction: Time to act.”
» See video updates from the blockade
» Audio updates from the roof of the building
» See photos from the blockade
» Meet some of the activists
The Huntsville, Ontario factory manufactures tissue products including Kleenex facial tissue. The fiber used to manufacture these products comes from ancient Boreal forests in Ontario, Canada including the Kenogami Forest, a 1.98 million hectare forest in northern Ontario where clearcuts are over 10,000 hectares (26,000 acres) in size.
The blockade comes after more than a year of public campaigning by Greenpeace and other environmental organizations urging Kimberly-Clark to stop destroying ancient forests to manufacture tissue products. Greenpeace has been in communication with the company since 2003. Since then the company has done little to decrease its impacts on the planet’s last remaining ancient forests.
Support the activists on the blockade
1. Join the Kimberly-Clark Bustathon»
We still need your help to get businesses to pledge not to purchase Kimberly-Clark products. Our goal to sign-up 500 businesses, in the US, Canada and abroad by the end of May. To help out click here».
2. Call Kimberly-Clark CEO Thomas Falk»
Call Kimberly-Clark CEO Thomas Falk and voice your support for the activists who were on the blockade and urge the company to stop destroying ancient forests. For call-in numbers and sample speaking points, please click here».
3. Send an email to Kimberly-Clark»
Send an email to Kimberly-Clark executives and tell them you want them Kimberly-Clark to start acting like an environmental responsible company. Send your email now».
