Greenpeace Catches Kimberly-Clark in a Chain of Lies
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 07.27.06
In the past six months, we've taken note of campaigns by both the National Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace aimed at corporate giant Kimberly-Clark's use of virgin pulp from Canada's boreal forests. Today, Greenpeace released a report showing evidence that, despite its claims to the contrary, the maker of Kleenex tissues and other paper products does use wood fiber from coastal temperate rainforests in British Columbia, as well as from US federal forest lands. Based on this evidence, Greenpeace has not only publicly called the company out on the distance between its statements and practices, but also filed a letter with the US Securities and Exchange Commission asking for further investigation into K-C's statements to its stockholders.
“We now know that Kimberly-Clark has been lying to the public and its shareholders for years to make itself look like a greener company than it actually is,” said Christy Ferguson, a forests campaigner with Greenpeace. “This is totally unacceptable. Kimberly-Clark executives need to stop making empty claims and start implementing meaningful policies to track the company’s fibre supply and reduce its impact on ancient forests.”Greenpeace's findings put the company in a bit of a "rock and hard place" situation in regards to its policies on forest stewardship: either the company didn't know what suppliers were providing, which goes against its own environmental operations policy adopted in 1991, or it lied to its shareholders and the public. The 24-page report details both the evidence against the company, as well as its numerous statements since 1998 claiming that it wasn't using fibers from unsustainable sources. Greenpeace's Kleercut campaign site offers activism tips for consumers concerned about K-C's disregard of its own fifteen-year old policy. Of course, shoppers can send a very strong signal by refusing to purchase K-C products, and opting for paper products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Or, better yet, buy cloth napkins, handkerchiefs and cleaning towels that can be reused. ::Chain of Lies (in PDF) via Kleercut.netThe evidence, compiled in an investigative report entitled Chain of Lies: the Truth about Kimberly-Clark’s Use of Ancient Rainforests for Tissue Products, details the movement of wood pulp from coastal temperate rainforests in British Columbia to Seattle-area sawmills to the company’s pulp mill in Everett, Washington. The evidence is based in part on US Customs data.
“In 1998, Kimberly-Clark announced that it was ending the use of pulp from coastal temperate rainforests, and officials have repeated that stated position numerous times since,” added Ferguson. “In truth, the company continues to use pulp from temperate rainforests, calling all of the company’s environmental statements into question.”
The claims to not use coastal temperate rainforest pulp form a key tenet of the company’s Corporate Policy on Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and are consistently used as a response to criticisms of the company’s destruction of other ancient forests, like Canada’s Boreal.
Sylvanthane
O Sylvanthane, thy forest wanes;
men slay thy trees with bladed chains.
They cut them down for profit’s sake
and rape the land as they do take
thy trees of old into their mills
to make their goods and warm their chills
while they think not of right or wrong
of silencing the ancient song
of birds and wolves and forest brooks,
this greedy band of selfish crooks.
A tree farm they make of thy land
to rob thy heritage right out of hand.
The virgin forest they clear-cut,
and render brooks a muddy rut.
With barb’ed wires girded ‘round
their tree farm stands all mute of sound
until the buzz of harvest time
by which they still excuse their crime—
“for every tree we cut, we plant
a dozen more,” they always rant.
But every dozen seedlings give
a mere sapling that might live,
and their trees grow not free as thine;
not wild habitats, but pine.
Not nests for birds but pulp for paper
they’re cut so young they give no shelter.
Thy wild forest, so they claim,
are by their roads now rendered tame.
And yet their pav’ed ribbons lay
a swath of death each tree they slay.
The creatures they kill as they go—
endangered species lists thus grow.
O Sylvanthane, don’t shed a tear
lest weep ‘til blind for loss so dear.
Earth’s stewardship they disregard
as they lobby for their blunt demands;
we must truly fight them hard
or they’ll consume our Father’s lands.
Keep on following this issue. I think it is of real interest to consumers across North America (and around the world).
Its a real disgrace that you have company that's so big and so well-known and who can clearly do better, continue to trash ancient forests to make toilet paper. And then lie about it.
Go recycled, go with cloth and don't use Kimberly-Clark products.
i agree overpackaging ruins the whole wide world we should stop it now before it becomes a national problem