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I recently learned of a Greenpeace campaign to stop Kleenex, and more specifically their parent company, Kimberly-Clark, from continuing their practice of razing old (as in ancient, been around forever, miss-them-when-their-gone) forests for Kleenex paper. Kimberly-Clark is, according to the Kleercut website, the largest tissue product company in the world. A very short list of their brands are Huggies, Scottex, Poise, Depend, Scott, Pull-Ups, Fiesta, WypAll and a number of other US and international hygiene products. So it’s almost guaranteed that most of us use one of their products on a regular basis, whether or not we know it.

So what’s the beef with the Kimberly-Clark corporation again? The problem is put very succinctly on the Kleercut website:

Kleenex, one of the most popular brands of tissue products in the world, contributes to the destruction of ancient forests. Its manufacturer, the Kimberly-Clark corporation, has been unwilling to improve its practices, continuing to rely on paper and pulp made from clearcut ancient forest including Canada’s Boreal forest. Kimberly-Clark clears these ancient forests, essential in fighting climate change and providing home to wildlife like caribou, wolves, eagles and bears,into products that are flushed down the toilet or thrown away.

Curious, I looked to see just which brand of facial tissue we keep on hand here in the WKU Art Department, which I assume is provided by the university and is probably the same brand throughout most of the campus. The brand is Marcal. On the back of the Marcal box there is a friendly looking design that says Premium Recycled - Paper from Paper - Not From Trees. Whenever I see words like Premium and Natural used in packaging I wonder if I’m having dyed green wool pulled over my eyes. I called Marcal and asked them if it was just the packaging (the paperboard) or the product (paperboard and tissue) that was from recycled paper. They assured me it was the entire product.

So, it can be done. So why can’t Kimberly-Clark do it? According to their 2005 Sustainability Report (PDF download, app. 1.8MB) they have taken other steps towards becoming a greener corporation. One is the voluntary collaboration with the EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership, which boasts the goal of saving “between 3.3 and 6.6 billion gallons of fuel [presumably diesel] per year…” Also, according to the report, in 2005 their employees “benefited [sic] from utilizing the web-based www.GreenBiz.com,” a non-profit environmental education organization with tremendous amounts of great information.

This excerpt (pictured) from their 2005 Sustainability Report seems odd, as they display that they are willing to inventory, report and cut GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions, but clearly still unwilling to stop cutting down the very forests that combat global warming and are a habitat to many important animals.

Only the Kimberly-Clark corporation knows why they haven’t made this enormously important step in environmental sustainability. Until they tell us why, or change, I will also be boycotting Kimberly-Clark products. I’d encourage anybody who reads this to think about it as well, and get informed at the Kleercut website.

Other things that we can do:

Call Marcal Paper Mills at 800-548-7337, Seventh Generation at 800-456-1191, or email Trader Joes and tell them you are glad to blow your nose into something an owl didn’t recently call home.

Email Kimberly-Clark and tell them you’re one potential customer who will not use their product anymore.

Read all about it and spread the word to your friends.

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