The report, Cut and Run, uses government information,
independent audits, public records and satellite mapping to
document Kimberly-Clark's management and logging of the Kenogami
Forest near Thunder Bay. It alleges the company violated its
previous policy not to use "environmentally significant" old-growth
fibre in its consumer products. Its executives have repeatedly
claimed the boreal fibre used in the company's products comes
primarily from "waste," despite healthy forests being logged to
produce their pulp.
Since Kimberly-Clark began logging in Kenogami in 1937, 71 per
cent of this forest has been fragmented and woodland caribou have
been driven from 67 per cent of the area. Wolverines have been
driven out of the forest completely. Over 80 per cent of the
Kenogami Forest has been classified by a provincial government task
group as inadequately protected, and 78 per cent as high priority
for conservation.
"When Kimberly-Clark arrived in the Kenogami Forest, it was a
healthy, vibrant ecosystem," said Christy Ferguson, a forests
campaigner with Greenpeace. "Today it is unable to sustain healthy
wildlife populations and its old-growth is projected to
collapse⎯largely because of products that are used once and then
thrown away."
Even though Kimberly-Clark has not directly managed the forest
since 2004, the company still buys large amounts of fibre from
Kenogami. Kimberly-Clark's updated policy, adopted in 2007, adds
new disappointment by permitting the purchase of fibre from
old-growth forests. Fibre from intact forests, the habitat of
threatened species, continues to be permitted under the new
policy.
"Kimberly-Clark's shareholders should be alarmed at the
company's ongoing support for logging operations that are
environmentally destructive and a source of multiple social
conflicts," said Ferguson. "Shareholders, corporate customers and
everyday consumers have a responsibility to hold Kimberly-Clark
accountable for its actions."
Nine First Nations communities are presently involved in a legal
case against the Ontario provincial government and the companies
managing the Kenogami Forest. These Aboriginal communities have
been left out of the forest's planning, management and economic
benefits, despite treaty rights. Workers from the forest's Terrace
Bay mill have been on strike for over two years.
A shareholder resolution sponsored by Harrington Investments to
create a board-level sustainability committee will be voted on at
today's shareholder meeting. Greenpeace supports this resolution as
an important step towards increasing recycled materials in
Kimberly-Clark products, respecting First Nations' rights and
ending the logging of endangered forests.
High-resolution photos are available at www.greenpeace.ca/gallery
The report can be downloaded from www.greenpeace.ca/cutandrun
For more information:
Brian Blomme, Media and PR Officer
416-930-9055