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

Remember when a Kleenex commercial crew was surprised by Greenpeace activists in New York City this spring? Well, it’s happened again.

This time, Kimberly-Clark showed up outside Wrigley Field – home of the Chicago Cubs. As usual, they invited the public to sit on a couch and "let it out" to a fake shrink. What they didn’t consider was the irony of advertising Kleenex at a Cubs game while destroying habitat for cubs (and bears) in the Boreal Forest.

You could say they walked right into the pitch.

At the Bank of America Annual Investor Conference that wraps up today in San Francisco, Kimberly-Clark was singled out as a bad investment. On Monday activists gathered outside of the Ritz-Carlton with Kleercut banners and shirts conveying to investors the failure of Kimberly-Clark to protect the Boreal forest. In addition to the presence outside each hotel guest received a copy of the spoofed conference newsletter. After explaining Bank of America's role in funding environmentally destructive practices the newsletter went on to highlight Kimberly-Clark as an unsustainable company to avoid.

It isn't only Kimberly-Clark causing the destruction of the Boreal Forest. Other companies are fueling this destruction -- but all need to step up and take action to protect the forest, not just hide their heads in the sand.

On Friday morning, the Greenpeace Ship Artic Sunrise began a blockade of the freighter Jaeger Arrow in Quebec’s Saguenay River, preventing the export of thousands of tonnes of pulp to Europe. The pulp, manufactured by SFK Pulp from destructive logging in Canada’s Boreal Forest, is destined for paper giant Stora Enso in Germany and France. Courageous Greenpeace activists are preventing the freighter from departing. They are risking arrest and injury to stop the export of Boreal forest destruction.

In a one-two punch against Kimberly-Clark, the Kleercut campaign made important progress last week at KC's Annual General Meeting (AGM). A significant portion of KC shareholders voted in favor of a proposal submitted by Domini Social Investments. This proposal, which addresses many of the Kleercut campaign's concerns, asks the company to: prepare a report assessing the feasibility of phasing out our company's use of non-FSC certified fiber within 10 years� with an emphasis on increasing the use of recycled fiber and avoiding fiber sourced from certification schemes other than FSC. The resolution earned the support of 7.4% of voting shares or a whopping $2 billion worth of KC stock. By voting in favor of the resolution, KC shareholders have sent a strong message to KC executives that the company's environmentally irresponsible behavior will not be tolerated.

Members of the University of Chicago Environmental Concerns Organization delivered a singing telegram to Kimberly-Clark Board member Linda Johnson Rice's receptionist, Helena Boyd. The video is difficult to see so please focus on the audio.

Boyd was so impressed, she promised to deliver a letter to Linda Johnson Rice, and asked for a copy of the video footage from the event to share with Rice.

You may have noticed lately the new Kleenex Let It Out tv commercials and massive PR campaign where folks stop to sit on a blue couch and share personal stories that make them 'cry' into some facial tissue. On Saturday, Kleenex and Kimberly-Clark got more than they bargained for when Kleercut activists arrived to Let It Out about the fact that they are making tissue from ancient forests during their New York City filming.

On Feb 12, 2007 four activists locked themselves together with chains inside Kimberly-Clark?s Canadian headquarters in Toronto. They announced that they would stay put until K-C?s Vice President of Environment, Ken Strassner, agreed to meet with Greenpeace.

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.

Following Greenpeace Italy's blockade of Kimberly-Clark's regional headquarters in Turin, Italy, activists continued to pump up the pressure by protesting at supermarkets across Italy.

The Greenpeace Kleercut bus began touring the Pacific Northwest on a mission to raise public awareness and apply pressure on Kimberly Clark (K-C) to change their destructive forest policies. The bus, outfitted as a 35-foot tissue box, has the message "KLEENEX: WIPING AWAY ANCIENT FORESTS" painted on the side within the characteristic oval of Kimberly- Clark's Kleenex brand tissues.