Pressure mounts on KFC to stop trashing rainforests for packaging as the campaign spreads across the world. With two KFC national divisions now declaring they will rule out Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), how much longer will KFC's global headquarters hold out against the public outcry?
Last week's news that KFC UK and Ireland have committed to excluding suppliers actively involved in rainforest clearance was a great boost to the campaign. It sent a clear message that sustainable sourcing policies are possible at KFC. It also makes it harder for KFC Global CEO, David Novak, to ignore your concerns.
KFC UK&I follow KFC Indonesia in committing to stop sourcing from companies like APP. But as KFC operate in 100+ countries, we still have a long way to go before the fast food giant drops deforestation from its menus.
And while we wait for KFC's global headquarters to act, the campaign has been spreading across the world.
After mopping up damage caused by super-storm Sandy, Canada pushed on with their plans to challenge KFC on deforestation. Accompanied by the ghost of Colonel Sanders, activists visited two of KFC's flagship stores in Toronto. They spoke to the public about the Colonel's dirty little secret, and talked directly to the store's managers.
Meanwhile in the US, volunteers from seven cities took to the streets, organised marches, petitions and more.
In the Netherlands activists targeted KFC stores in six cities. Accompanied by a (human friendly!) Sumatran tiger, customers visiting the stores were offered real plates and asked to reject KFC’s packaging until the company has proper policies in place. Passers-by were also invited to send a message to the Dutch Marketing Director, urging him to pressure David Novak to act.
Meanwhile China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan joined the campaign, encouraging people to take action online, by emailing KFC's Board of Directors.
At the start of the campaign the US said that if 30,000 people sent a message to the Board of Directors they would dunk a real life colonel into a giant tub of dipping sauce. The number has gone way beyond that … so let the dunking commence!
On 15th November the dunking will be live streamed on Facebook. You can also vote for which sauce you'd like to see him dunked in. Follow us on Facebook to find out more.
And don't forget, you can't stop now. It's important everyone keeps the pressure on KFC until they commit globally to sustainable sourcing.
Send a message to KFC's Board of Directors to tell them to cut rainforests out of their packaging.
Let's act today to keep the forests and tiger habitat standing tomorrow!