Chicago, IL—A group of Greenpeace activists and members of the University of Chicago’s Environmental Concerns Organization performed a revised version of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax in front of the Johnson Publishing Company on Chicago’s busy Michigan Avenue. President and CEO of Johnson Publishing Company, Linda Johnson Rice, also serves on Kimberly-Clark’s board of directors.
Watch the YouTube Video University of Chicago's Lorax
Seuss’ story is a traditional environmental tale about a selfish company’s senseless clearcutting of a forest. The Lorax, a “mossy, bossy” man-like Seuss creation, speaks for the Truffula Trees, standing up to the company that is intent on cutting them down to create products that consumers do not need. The Greenpeace activists used this classic story to highlight K-C’s destruction of ancient and ecologically sensitive forests.
Between performances of The Lorax, the activists distributed leaflets to passersby, gathered petition signatures, as well as spoke through a megaphone about Kimberly-Clark’s atrocious forestry practices and deceptive policy statements. The activists’ requests for a meeting with Ms. Rice were met with hostility; security guards locked the building, then refused to accept a letter and press packet addressed to Ms. Rice, throwing it into the street.
“Public awareness of, and opposition to, Kimberly-Clark’s indefensible destruction of ancient forests are growing. They tried to ignore us today, but our presence and our message were made clear,” said protest organizer David Reese.
