“Kimberly-Clark is wiping away ancient forests by using boreal tree
fiber for disposable tissue products including the Kleenex brand. They
need to be a responsible corporate citizen and increase ecologically
sound fiber in all their brands,” said Pamela Wellner, senior
Greenpeace forest campaigner, who attended the AGM.
In conjunction with the AGM, Greenpeace engaged shoppers and employees
of Kimberly-Clark, the maker of the popular Kleenex® brand, with a
15-foot “Kleercut Truck.” The truck, which resembles a giant
Kleenex® box, made stops at the company’s headquarters in Irving, Texas
as well as at two busy shopping areas, where activists traveling with
the truck handed out information about Kimberly-Clark’s role in the
destruction of ancient boreal forests.
“Almost 40,000 concerned NRDC activists have already asked
Kimberly-Clark to increase the post-consumer recycled content of its
products,” added Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, an NRDC senior attorney who
also attended the AGM. “By using post-consumer recycled content,
Kimberly-Clark would relieve much of the pressure to log Canada’s
boreal - our last, large North American wilderness forest.”
Greenpeace also distributed “
Kimberly-Clark: Investing in Forest Destruction”
to investment analysts and the company’s board of directors. The report
summarizes the rise in green consumerism, socially responsible
investments, and the potential economic ramifications of the company’s
ecologically unsound practices. The report also includes specific
recommendations on how Kimberly-Clark can improve its practices.
Currently, less than 19 percent of the pulp Kimberly-Clark uses for
tissue products is from recycled sources, and none is used for Kleenex®
products. Much of the pulp used is sourced from North America’s boreal
forest. The boreal forest, often called the “Amazon of the North,”
represents 25 percent of the world’s remaining ancient forests. Thirty
percent of North America’s land birds and 40 percent of its waterfowl
depend on this forest and its wetlands.
See photos of the events.B-roll and high resolution photos of boreal forests and clearcuts are available.
