Kleercut.Net Kimberly-Clark and Kleenex are wiping away ancient forests

When tissue giant and forest destroyer Kimberly-Clark launched a $100 million advertising blitz for its Cottonelle brand, activists were there to greet them on the first day.

The set-up was as silly as it was expensive: Cottonelle paid for a strange-looking dog-bus filled with public relations folks to tour New York City and urging people to “be kind to your behind.” This, apparently, was supposed to sell toilet paper.

But things don’t always go smoothly when you are selling products that destroy ancient forests. Before long, people began asking Cottonelle reps tough questions about the Boreal forest, recycled fiber and other issues they’d rather ignore. Cottonelle’s day spiraled down the drain from there.

WEShop, the Wesleyan University store has discontinued the use of Kimberly-Clark products opting to replace Kleenex products with alternative brands high in recycled content. The two students behind the campaign consider the WEShop victory an important step but intend to escalate the campus campaign until all campus facilities are free of Kimberly-Clark products. Take a look at the campus newspaper article detailing the win.

Will University of Vermont Drop Kimberly-Clark Next?

This week the student led University of Vermont Forest Crimes Unit has been pushing for a similar victory against Kimberly-Clark and in the process they've caught the attention of local media. To watch the nightly news feature broadcast in the Northeastern US please click here.

The UVM campaign has also been covered by The Vermont Cynic, National Student News Service, and The Water Tower.

An Open Letter to Forest Friendly Companies or Institutions

You may have received a letter from Kimberly-Clark (K-C) revealing that Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) were in confidential negotiations with the company to improve its fiber sourcing practices. We would like to correct some misperceptions that may arise from that correspondence.

A new Greenpeace report reveals that American, Canadian and European corporations are fueling the destruction of the Boreal Forest. The report is a powerful reminder of the damage wrought by Kimberly-Clark’s unsustainable appetite for Boreal wood – and the importance of acting now to change it.

The report, Consuming Canada’s Boreal Forest: The Chain of Destruction from Logging Companies to Consumers, focuses on the provinces of Ontario and Quebec where forest products giants Abitibi-Consolidated, Bowater, Kruger, and SFK Pulp, are razing forests and trampling the rights of indigenous communities. In Ontario, less than nine percent of forests are protected. In Quebec, the situation is worse, with only five percent of forests shielded from industrial logging.

Kimberly-Clark's destruction of ancient forests earned it a nomination for the 2007 Corporate Hall of Shame. With plenty of corporate malfeasance these days, Kimberly-Clark truly distinguished itself - in a bad way - by landing on this list.

After thousands of votes were counted, Kimberly-Clark fell just 60 votes short of being one of the three finalists entered into the Corporate Hall of Shame. The new inductees include Halliburton, Wal-Mart and Exxon-Mobil. Kimberly-Clark handily beat Merck, Ford, Nestle and Coca-Cola.

Thanks to all of you who voted. Click here to see the results.

ASPEN, CO � The Aspen Skiing Co.'s latest environmental initiative is nothing to sneeze at. The Skico has removed all Kimberly-Clark paper products from their ski mountains, hotels and restaurants due to Kimberly-Clark's atrocious environmental practices. Diners at the Skico's 15 restaurants will no longer use Kimberly-Clark napkins when they bite into a cheeseburger and send ketchup squirting down their chins; guests at the posh Little Nell Hotel will not reach for a Kimberly-Clark Kleenex when they need to blow their nose. And to show they really mean business, Skico officials have even decided to drop all printed references to Kleenex Corner, an iconic spot on Aspen Mountain on the catwalk that connects Spar Gulch and the top of Little Nell. Observant skiers and riders might have noticed the removal of a trail sign for Kleenex Corner before this season.

In a series of ads in major Canadian newspapers, Greenpeace and other conservation organizations called on provincial political leaders to take measures to protect the Boreal forest.