Leger Marketing poll reveals a majority of consumers unlikely to support companies that destroy ancient forests to manufacture toilet paper and facial tissue
(Toronto, April 11, 2006)-Greenpeace today released the results of a North American Leger Marketing survey which surveyed 2500 adults in Canada and the USA on their attitudes towards the environment and tissue products such as toilet paper and facial tissues. The survey found that [o]verall, consumers in both Canada and the United States are concerned with cutting down ancient forests, as well as the use of chlorine, when manufacturing tissue products. In addition the survey found that [m]ost are likely to switch to environmentally friendly options, and are even willing to pay more to do so.
For too long Kimberly-Clark maker of Kleenex brand tissue products has told us that it uses no recycled content in its tissue products because of consumer preference and demand, said Richard Brooks, a forests campaigner with Greenpeace. Well, the data is in and as we've been saying since the launch of this campaign, consumers do not want to have North America's Boreal forest destroyed for the production of disposal products. It's time for Kimberly-Clark to listen to consumers and drastically change the recycled content in its disposable paper products.
Findings of the survey include:
* 81% of Canadian consumers and 73% of Americans are opposed to the cutting down of ancient forests to manufacture tissue products.
* 80% of Canadian consumers and 765% of those in the U.S. (Kimberly-Clark's largest market) are likely to purchase products that are environmentally friendly.
* 71% of Canadian consumers and 66% of U.S. consumers say they are less likely to purchase from companies who cut down trees from ancient forests to make their tissue products.
* 86% of Canadians and 84% of Americans say that they would switch to tissue products made with recycled paper.
* Seven in ten Canadians are willing to pay at least 5% more for recycled tissue. Two-thirds of Americans are willing to make the same choice.
On April 5th, students on over 100 campuses across the US participated in a Day of Action against Kimberly-Clark to protest the company's continued destruction of ancient forests. The students called on their schools to cancel contracts with the tissue product giant and to switch to companies that have less of a negative impact on the environment and forests.
Kimberly-Clark is the world's largest manufacturer of tissue products, using over 3.1 million tonnes of virgin fiber from forests each year. Much of the fiber comes from logging companies clearcutting Boreal forests in provinces such as Alberta and Ontario. Greenpeace is urging consumers and businesses to stop purchasing Kimberly-Clark products until the manufacturer commits to supporting sustainable forestry and to dramatically increasing the use of recycled fibre in all of its products.
For more information contact:
Richard Brooks, Greenpeace, cell: 416-573-7209, office: 604-253-7701 ext. 16
Andrew Male, Greenpeace Communications Coordinator, cell: 416-880-2757
