Attention of Fortune Magazine Article Brought Back to the Source
October 3
Kimberly-Clark Mill, Everett, Washington
Greenpeace activists peacefully protested Kleenex maker-- Kimberly-Clark’s largest U.S. tissue paper facility to draw attention to the company’s role in destroying North America’s last remaining ancient forests. Last week a CNN Money / Fortune Magazine article brought attention to our findings that “K-C makes disposable tissue and toilet paper from wood that comes from old-growth forests in coastal British Columbia and from boreal forests in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan. (These forests are habitats for countless wildlife species as well as a way to curb global warming.)” After releasing our Chain of Lies report describing Kimberly-Clark’s breech of its own environmental policy, we thought it was time to take some attention back to the source.
Greenpeace has made repeated requests to meet with the company decision-makers to discuss the company’s impact on ancient forests and how to reduce its environmental footprint. Greenpeace wants the company to greatly increase the amount of recycled paper content in Kleenex and other K-C brands such as Cottonelle, Scott and Viva; currently, there is no recycled content in these retail brands. We are asking also K-C to use only new wood fiber that comes from logging operations certified to the strict standards of the Forest Stewardship Council. Not only is the Boreal forest critical to wildlife, it is also one our best defenses against global warming pollution because it stores large amounts of land-bound carbon. When the forest is clearcut for Kleenex, the trees and plants release carbon that significantly adds to global warming pollution.
A recent Leger Marketing poll shows that over 80% of Americans are likely to buy recycled tissue paper products and even pay more to do so to protect ancient forests. “Clearly, Kimberly-Clark is not concerned about what the shoppers want, or the growing trend of environmentally sustainable products in the marketplace,” explained Greenpeace Campaigner Pam Wellner. Further, K-C is out of touch with the industry: “Many companies have implemented policies that protect ancient forests, it’s time for Kimberly-Clark to do the same.”
