Consumers have the power in their pocketbooks to demand greener products

by Kim Barto
published January 18, 2007 12:15 am
in the Citizen Times (Canada).

For those in North America / Canada, the NRDC site has a Shoppers Guide to Home Tissue Products" (see site for much more). They also name the business not named in the Citizen Times article - Kimberly-Clark if you couldn't guess.

NRDC has a page to Tell Kimberly-Clark to stop destroying forests for toilet paper.


Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) say yes. They’ve launched a massive campaign to protest against a major tissue and toilet paper corporation for using virgin wood fiber to make a throwaway product.

These environmental groups argue that the company buys pulp from logging operations that destroy forests and wildlife habitats through clear-cutting, and that very little recycled paper is included in its consumer goods. For the skeptical, the Greenpeace and NRDC Web sites offer graphic photos of the environmental devastation caused by paper manufacturing.

Trees from Canada’s ancient boreal forest, for example, are being chopped down only to end up in bathrooms across the continent. This is among the largest intact forest ecosystems left on earth, according to the NRDC, and is home to more than 500 communities of indigenous people who rely on the land for food and income.

The boreal forest also houses hundreds of animal species, including 30 percent of North America’s songbirds, according to Greenpeace. And while some people may find it hard to sympathize with caribou living thousands of miles away, these ancient forests are a crucial part of human survival, as well. According to The Washington Post, the forest absorbs millions of tons of carbon dioxide, helping to stabilize the climate.

So far, 700 businesses (mostly small) have signed on to a boycott, pledging to use only paper that has been recycled or made from sustainably-harvested wood.

...

Read the article.