In Toronto and San Francisco, Greenpeace activists set up artinstallations of trees being flushed down toilets, with bannersreading: "Kimberly-Clark: Flushing Ancient Forests Down theToilet". In Vancouver, they set up a mock area of clearcut forestin a public square and in Knoxville, Tennessee, a group of activistssealed off Kimberly-Clark's world administrative headquarters withyellow "Forest Crime Scene" tape and projected giant photos of areas ofclearcut forest onto the building.
"Kimberly-Clark is flushing one of the world's last ancientforests down the toilet," said Pam Wellner, Greenpeace USA forestcampaigner. "North American Boreal forests are vital for threatenedspecies like the woodland caribou and to help combat climate change.Clearcutting them for throw away products when environmentally friendlyalternatives exist is a crime."
Kimberly-Clark does not use any recycled materials in its 'at-home'brands such as Kleenex. Instead, the company uses over 3 million tonnesof virgin tree pulp from North America's ancient Boreal forests eachyear, equivalent to the weight of over 17,000 jumbo jets.
Life on Earth depends on ancient forests. They regulate our weather,filter air, clean our water and stabilize our climate and are home totwo thirds of land-based life. We have destroyed most of our ancientforests; today only twenty per cent remain undamaged.
Greenpeace is calling on Kimberly-Clark to stop destroying ancientforests, to use more post-consumer recycled fiber and ensure any virginfiber it uses comes from Forest Stewardship Council certified sources(3) Greenpeace is also calling on governments to protect large areas ofancient forests worldwide for future generations.
Greenpeace is an independent campaigning organization, which usesnon-violent, creative communication tools to put the spotlight onglobal environmental problems, and to drive towards solutions essentialfor a green and peaceful future.
Other contacts: Pamela Wellner, Forest Campaigner in San Francisco, (415) 730-0105.Nancy Hwa, Greenpeace Communications, (202) 319-2432.www.kleercut.net
VVPR info: http://www.greenpeace.ca/e/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album20
Notes: (1) The International Day of Action to Save the Boreal Forest was called by a coalition of environmental groups in Canada and the U.S., which includes Greenpeace, Natural Resources Defense Council, Forest Ethics, Rainforest Action Network and others. In total, over 350 protests took place across North America today. For more information on the protests, please contact Greenpeace. Over 124, 000 people have sent emails from Greenpeace's www.kleercut.net to Kimberly-Clark. Tens of thousands of more people are expect to take action against Kimberly-Clark today in support of the International Day of Action to Save the Boreal Forest.(2) The Boreal forest stretches across North America from Alaska to the Atlantic Ocean, forming part of a "green halo" of forest that encircles the planet. The Boreal comprises 25 per cent of the planet's remaining ancient forest, and is as important to the planet as the Amazon rainforest.(3) The FSC® is the only way you can ensure that the virgin fibre is coming from environmentally and socially responsible sources.