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Kimberly Clark, Greenpeace struggle in Forest Friendly Bookstore Challenge
Bookstores urged not to carry Kimberly-Clark products, which aren't considered 'green'
Ben Sundberg
Issue date: 5/6/09 Section: News
In mid March, the Greenpeace organization launched a new initiative in its Kleercut campaign. This new initiative, the Forest Friendly Bookstore Challenge, aims to convince university bookstores not to carry Kimberly-Clark products.
Kimberly-Clark is the producer of products such as Kleenex and Scott tissues. This is the latest chapter in a three-year struggle between the two organizations.
"The pledge is that the bookstores will remove Kimberly-Clark products and will refrain from carrying Kimberly Clark products until Kimberly Clark changes its practices to environmentally-conscious sustainable ones," said Greenpeace student liaison Kirsten Ronholt.
The contention between the two surrounds the source of the wood pulp or paper fiber that goes into Kimberly-Clarks' products. Until several years ago, most of the products that Kimberly-Clark produced for the American consumer have been made of 100 percent virgin fiber.
"The Kleercut Campaign asks three things of Kimberly-Clark: one, that they stop sourcing wood from important endangered forests. Two, that they significantly increase post consumer recycled content across their product line. And three, for virgin fiber, that they use wood from Forest Stewardship Council," said Greenpeace student coordinator Robin Averbeck.
According to Dave Dickson, a representative of Kimberly-Clark, the company provides "a variety of products with recycled content that ranges from 20 to 100 percent recycled … [However,] American consumers have shown through sales that they won't buy tissue made from recycled fiber … The products don't provide the quality or softness that you want in a bathroom tissue."
Currently, only 68 percent of the fiber that Kimberly Clark uses is virgin. Another point of contention is the location that this virgin fiber comes from. Greenpeace is most concerned with the Boreal. The Boreal, or Taiga, is a continuous band of evergreen forest that stretches from Alaska across North America and from Europe to the east coast of China.
Kimberly-Clark is the producer of products such as Kleenex and Scott tissues. This is the latest chapter in a three-year struggle between the two organizations.
"The pledge is that the bookstores will remove Kimberly-Clark products and will refrain from carrying Kimberly Clark products until Kimberly Clark changes its practices to environmentally-conscious sustainable ones," said Greenpeace student liaison Kirsten Ronholt.
The contention between the two surrounds the source of the wood pulp or paper fiber that goes into Kimberly-Clarks' products. Until several years ago, most of the products that Kimberly-Clark produced for the American consumer have been made of 100 percent virgin fiber.
"The Kleercut Campaign asks three things of Kimberly-Clark: one, that they stop sourcing wood from important endangered forests. Two, that they significantly increase post consumer recycled content across their product line. And three, for virgin fiber, that they use wood from Forest Stewardship Council," said Greenpeace student coordinator Robin Averbeck.
According to Dave Dickson, a representative of Kimberly-Clark, the company provides "a variety of products with recycled content that ranges from 20 to 100 percent recycled … [However,] American consumers have shown through sales that they won't buy tissue made from recycled fiber … The products don't provide the quality or softness that you want in a bathroom tissue."
Currently, only 68 percent of the fiber that Kimberly Clark uses is virgin. Another point of contention is the location that this virgin fiber comes from. Greenpeace is most concerned with the Boreal. The Boreal, or Taiga, is a continuous band of evergreen forest that stretches from Alaska across North America and from Europe to the east coast of China.
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