Kleenex

Mordecai

-Did you know that it takes 90 years to grow a box of Kleenex? That's right, every time you use a Kleenex tissue, you are blowing away ancient forests. That's because Kimberly-Clark, maker of Kleenex and other toilet and tissue products, all but refuses to use recycled paper in its products. Instead, Kimberly-Clark is clearcutting some of the rarest and oldest forests on Earth - just to create disposable paper products.

from Greenpeace.

It's bad of them really.

qz

So, any alternatives as to what I should dry my nose with?

PowerPuffGirl

Why did they ever get rid of hankerchiefs? They were a lot prettier and felt nicer than tissues... Anyone know if you can still get them anywhere?

b3n

I find the corner of my shirt does the job...

just a thought...

Tabitharose

PowerPuffGirl wrote:

Anyone know if you can still get them anywhere?

Dept stores - failing that irish gift shops (if you don't mind ones with shamrocks on)

nobodythere

b3n wrote:

I find the corner of my shirt does the job...

just a thought...

Yeah but then your jumper gets dirty...

I personally go for the old insides of the sleeves approach sneaky.

Snowball

I get emails from greenpeace all the time. I am on a few of their mailing lists.
When I got the Kleenex one I read as much as I could find from Greenpeace and then agreed to send the email off in protest to Kimberly-Clark.
I did not expect a reply but I got one.

Now this is a bit long (and sorry about that, but thought you should read it all) and you may not want to read it all but what kinda pi**ed me off was this:

Less than 15% of the fiber we use globally is sourced from the Canadian Boreal Forest. The small percentage of Boreal fiber we use is harvested responsibly and is promptly reforested. It’s important to note that trees in the Boreal Forest and other areas of Canada are not harvested solely for the production of pulp. According to the Canadian Forest Service, 83% of all trees harvested in Canada in 2000 were used to produce lumber to build homes.

The vast majority of the fiber we purchase comes from residual waste (sawdust and chips) from the lumber production process. Based on Canadian Forest Service data and Canadian Boreal Initiative estimates, our global use of Boreal fiber represented only 3.5% of the pulp and 1.3% of all forest products (lumber, pulp and newsprint) produced from the Boreal region.

Now, has Greenpeace not done their research???
I always took for granted that Greenpeace would not go off half cocked. Did they get it wrong?
Oppinions and more insight greatly appriciated.

Thank you for contacting Kimberly-Clark (K-C) regarding the use of pulp from Canada’s Boreal Forest. We agree that this is an important issue and would like to share some facts about our global forestry practices and our use of fiber from Canada.



K-C Has a Proud Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability History



We maintain strict corporate policies that emphasize sustainability and sound environmental practices as cornerstones of doing business. That includes one of the most progressive sustainable forestry policies in the tissue industry. We are proud that Kimberly-Clark has been selected as the sustainability leader in the Personal Products sector of the 2006 Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes reflecting our commitment to creating sustainable growth and shareholder value. Kimberly-Clark earned the highest scores in its sector for a number of criteria, including corporate governance, environmental and social reporting, and environmental management systems. You can find more information on Kimberly-Clark's economic, environmental and social performance in our Corporate Sustainability Report at:



HYPERLINK "BLOCKED::http://www.kimberly-clark.com/aboutus/sustainability.asp"http://www.kimberly-clark.com/aboutus/sustainability.asp.



K-C is Committed to Preserving Ecologically Significant Old Growth Forests



With the spin-off of Neenah Paper, Inc., in 2004, K-C no longer owns or manages any forest lands in North America. We continue to adhere, however, to a corporate policy that prohibits the use of fiber from virgin rainforests or ecologically significant old growth areas, including designated areas in Canada’s Boreal Forest.



As part of this commitment, Kimberly-Clark and now Neenah Paper have been actively involved in the Ontario Living Legacy Land Use Strategy since 1999. This program’s intent is to establish 378 new protected areas in the Province.



For our part, we worked with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to identify 10 areas, covering approximately 90,000 acres that will be permanently off-limits to any commercial logging or development. Six of these areas are nearing the end of the program’s review process and, upon approval, will be designated as permanent conservation acreage. Four areas already have been approved and are permanently set-aside to remain in a pristine state.



Fiber From the Boreal Forest Represents a Small Proportion of K-C’s Total Use



Less than 15% of the fiber we use globally is sourced from the Canadian Boreal Forest. The small percentage of Boreal fiber we use is harvested responsibly and is promptly reforested. It’s important to note that trees in the Boreal Forest and other areas of Canada are not harvested solely for the production of pulp. According to the Canadian Forest Service, 83% of all trees harvested in Canada in 2000 were used to produce lumber to build homes.



The vast majority of the fiber we purchase comes from residual waste (sawdust and chips) from the lumber production process. Based on Canadian Forest Service data and Canadian Boreal Initiative estimates, our global use of Boreal fiber represented only 3.5% of the pulp and 1.3% of all forest products (lumber, pulp and newsprint) produced from the Boreal region.



K-C’s Use of Virgin and Recycled Fiber is in Line With Industry Practices



We source a wide variety of virgin and recycled fibers to manufacture our tissue products and produce a full line of away-from-home products that meet the requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Paper Products Recovered Materials Advisory Notice and of Canada’s Environmental Choice Program.



You may be interested to know that none of the leading premium consumer tissue brands in North America contain any significant quantity of recycled fiber. This is due to consumer preference for strength and softness.



Away-from-home tissue products, which serve markets like hotels, restaurants and businesses, generally contain a higher recycled content. Leading manufacturers, including K-C, use an average of 40 to 60% recycled fiber content in these products.



K-C Supports Third-Party Forest Certification and Holds Suppliers to High Standards of Sustainability



We are working with our suppliers to ensure they share our vision for a sustainable future. Our corporate policy specifies that we only purchase fiber from vendors who employ sustainable forestry practices.



Further, we will require that all of our global fiber suppliers adhere to one of the five internationally recognized forest certification systems by the end of 2005. These systems are the:

American Forest & Paper Association’s Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI);

Canadian Standards Association’s National Sustainable Forest Management Standards (NSFMS);

Forest Stewardship Council Standards (FSC);

Sistema Brasileiro de Certificacao Florestal (CERFLOR) in Brazil; and,

Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC) in Europe.



To ensure that our forestry policies are being met on a continuing basis, K-C has established an ongoing forestry audit and review process. At the end of 2004, 69% of our virgin pulp suppliers had received certification of their forest lands, and we expect that 100% of them will achieve certification by the end of 2005.



We purchase FSC-certified fiber where it is available and meets our product performance and fiber cost requirements. However, there is only a limited amount of FSC-certified fiber available. According to the Canadian Sustainable Forestry Certification Coalition, at the end of 2004, FSC-certified forest lands accounted for only 5.1% of the total certified forest lands in Canada, and only a small portion of this fiber is made available for sale to third parties.



In summary, we are taking a responsible approach on forestry issues – both in Canada and around the world. The well-being of the environment and our customers is very important to us. We hope that you will continue to use our products with confidence.





Consumer Services

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

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