Kleenex manufacturer destroys Canada’s Boreal Forest
Vancouver February 15, 2007 Paper giant Kimberly-Clark received low marks on the environmental protection in a recent ranking of the top 100 corporate citizens by Corporate Responsibility Officer Magazine on the issue of environmental protection. The world’s largest manufacturer of tissue products including Kleenex uses large amounts of pulp from destructive logging operations in Canada’s Boreal Forest. The company has been under the spotlight recently for circulating misleading information about the company’s environmental impacts to its shareholders, customers and the US Securities Exchange Commission.
"Kimberly-Clark does a better job of talking up corporate responsibility than actually acting responsible, especially on environmental issues,” said Richard Brooks with Greenpeace. “This company continues to cause the destruction of endangered forests to manufacture disposable Kleenex facial tissue and toilet paper.”
Kimberly-Clark uses more than 3.1 million metric tonnes (3.4 million tons) of pulp each year to manufacture its products. The majority of this pulp comes from logging operations that cause widespread destruction, including clearcuts upwards of 11,000 hectares (20,000 acres) in Canada’s Boreal Forest. Canada’s Boreal Forest is recognized as one of last intact forest ecosystems on the planet, essential habitat for threatened species such as woodland caribou and wolverine. It is also one of the best defenses against the impacts of global warming.
“Dig below the surface of Kimberly-Clark’s statements and one will discover the terrible impacts that this company has on the environment,” added Brooks. “Despite the wide availability of alternative sources of pulp, including recycled material and pulp from ecological logging operations, Kimberly-Clark chooses to do business as usual and wipe out ancient forests.”
-----------
For more information including video and photos of forests and clearcuts:
Richard Brooks, Greenpeace forest campaign coordinator. 416-573-7209 (cell)
