Greenpeace

Tissue giant (and forest destroyer) Kimberly-Clark is trying to convince Spanish speakers in the US to buy its products – Huggies and Pull-ups in particular.  To do so, they’re touring southern California, handing out sample diapers.  If you’re a regular Treehugger blog reader, you know that they’ve had some weird marketing tours in the last year, including an ugly dog-bus and a fake café.  This time, it is a diaper-train tent.  I’m serious.

On Saturday, Kimberly-Clark advertisers set up in shopping center parking lots in the San Diego area.  Everything was going according to plan…until Greenpeace activists showed up again.

The diaper-dealers didn’t realize that Saturday was the start of the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a holiday of Mexican heritage that celebrates those who have passed with a variety of activities – including the building of commemorative altars.

Our team sprang into action, setting up a Day of the Dead altar to honor the animals and ancient forests that have been destroyed for Kimberly-Clark’s throw-away products.  The display was complete with Boreal animals, posters of clearcut ancient forests, and placards that explained in Spanish and English: Dedicado a la memoria de los bosques eliminados por KC (In Memory of Forests Destroyed by Kimberly-Clark).

The team also passed out bilingual fliers to hundreds of shoppers, educating them about Kimberly-Clark’s role in ancient forest destruction.  The response was enthusiastic.  It seems ancient forest destruction stinks no matter how you say it.

The diaper-dealers tried to scare away our activists by threatening to “call Kimberly-Clark” and “take pictures” of them.  The activists were delighted by this news, since they’d been working hard to get people to call Kimberly-Clark and had been taking pictures of themselves all afternoon!

Stay tuned as our creative activists turn up the heat on K-C.  In the meantime, visit our take action center to use your own creativity to make a statement for ancient forests.

-Rolf

If you watch TV, open a magazine or browse the web these days, you’ve probably seen the phenomenon called “greenwash.”  Simply put, greenwash is the act of pretending to be green when you’re not.

An expert greenwasher is Kleenex maker Kimberly-Clark.  Responding to pressure from our Kleercut campaign, Kimberly-Clark has made many claims about its environmental performance in recent years.  Unfortunately, Kimberly-Clark’s claims have not been matched by commitments and results in the real world.

For example, Kimberly-Clark often claims that the wood fiber they get from Canada’s Boreal Forest are made from “sawdust and chips – or leftovers – of the lumber production process.”

That’s not what see in the Canada’s Boreal Forest.  We recently documented a huge pile of wood ripped from the ancient forests in northern Ontario destined to be turned into Kleenex and other disposable products.  As you can tell from the photo below, a lot of whole trees -- not "sawdust and chips" -- have been sawed down to feed Kimberly-Clark.  Check out the video and full story here.

Kimberly-Clark also claims they are green because they are listed on the Dow Jones World Sustainability Index (DJWSI).  Sounds nice, right?  The problem is, the DJWSI a tool for measuring a broad range of company characteristics – from “talent attraction and retention” to philanthropy – but it doesn’t have much to do with environmental standards.  In fact, only 7% of the overall DJWSI rating has anything to do with the environment, and most of that is focused on energy efficiency.  The index does not address the hot-button topics like endangered species or ancient forests.  These are core issues that have inspired the campaign against Kimberly-Clark.  Oops.

Here’s another one: Kimberly-Clark also claims it is green because it is a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.  The Council can be a decent forum to exchange ideas and promote sustainability initiatives.  But, there are no real environmental standards required for membership.  Basically, any company can join.

In fact, many corporations that are neck-deep in environmental controversies, such as Chevron, General Motors, Royal Dutch Shell, DuPont, Dow Chemical, ConocoPhillips, Weyerhaeuser, and the China Petrochemical Corporation are members of the Council.  I’m not trashing the Council, but we can’t let companies like Kimberly-Clark claim their membership in the Council is proof of environmental achievement.  That’s like saying you’re in tip-top shape just because you belong to a gym. 

The list of greenwashers and greenwashing is long and growing.  Greenpeace has a new website dedicated to greenwashing where you can rate and report greenwashing.  Check it out here.  Together, we can make sure corporations match green words with green deeds!

- Rolf

Tissue giant and forest destroyer Kimberly-Clark launched a $100 million advertising blitz for its Cottonelle brand last week – and activists were there to greet them on the first day.

The set-up was as silly as it was expensive: Cottonelle paid for a eerie-looking mutant dog-bus filled with public relations hacks to tour New York City and tell people how to “be kind to your behind.”  Don’t ask me what dogs have to do with toilet paper.  Last time I checked…oh, nevermind.

Anyway, things didn’t go as planned.  Before long, people began asking the Cottonelle reps about their ties to ancient forest destruction.  Cottonelle’s day spiraled down the drain from there.  Click here to see photos of the day.

Activists unfurled a banner in front of the mutant dog-bus and told passersby how Kimberly-Clark products like Cottonelle and Kleenex drive the destruction of ancient forests.  People learned that Cottonelle contains no recycled content, but plenty of wood fiber from the Canadian Boreal forest – the last great ancient forest in North America.  They learned that the Boreal forest is crucial for efforts to fight global warming, critical habitat for caribou, songbirds and bears, and important to Canada’s native First Nations.  They also learned Kimberly-Clark could make Cottonelle from recycled fiber and sustainable wood, but favors spending cash on butt-themed advertising campaigns and greenwashing.

Suddenly, Cottonelle didn’t seem very “kind” to forests, the climate or people.  Folks on the street agreed to keep Cottonelle far from their behinds.  After all, there are plenty of other quality tissue products that are forest friendly (click here for a list).

New York City commuters have expressed disgust over Cottonelle’s toilet-themed ads that literally line the interior of subway cars with headlines like “Too Much Bran?” and “The Average Man Keeps His Underwear Until the Elastic Breaks.”  That’s not what I want to think about during rush hour.

Throwing Cottonelle’s adolescent attempts at bathroom humor back at them, activists donned boxer briefs with slogans such as “Be Kind to Forests” and “Leave Cottonelle Behind.”  Onlookers were amused -- even the famous Times Square “Naked Cowboy” got into the spirit, posing for photos holding a pair of shorts stating: "Leave Cottonelle Behind."

When the day was over, forest defenders left behind literature on Cottonelle tour vehicles (printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper of course) to educate their public relations staff.

Here’s more good news: the Cottonelle toilet paper dog-bus is scheduled to tour cities in the US and Canada for next few months, including Philly, Chicago, Toronto and San Francisco.  Here’s how you can help:

1. Keep your eyes out for Cottonelle ad blitzes and the mutant dog-bus!  Let us know if you spot the bus or think it is coming to your town.

2. If you see the bus, stop by and talk to Cottonelle reps (in a respectful manner, of course) about their role in ancient forest destruction.  Tell them you, your family and your friends won’t buy Cottonelle, Kleenex, or other Kimberly-Clark products until the company protects ancient forests.

3. Take action at our new Kleenex website.  Click here to send a message to Kimberly-Clark, upload photo messages, design your own spoof Kleenex box and more! 

The story of Greenpeace versus the forest destroying dog-bus has just begun.  Stay tuned!

-Rolf
 

If you’re a parent with school age children, a student, or a teacher, there’s a new way you can stand up for ancient forests: make your school Kleenex Free.

If you’ve participated in our Kleercut campaign before, you know tissue giant Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Kleenex, Cottonelle, Scott, Viva and other products, destroys ancient forests to make its disposable tissues.  Flushing away ancient forests doesn’t make sense – a grade school student could tell you that!

Of particular concern is the Canadian Boreal forest – the largest ancient forest left in North America.  Kimberly-Clark has a long history of gobbling up ancient forests in the Boreal to make its throw-away products.  In the process they’re chopping apart habitat for woodland caribou, wolverines, songbirds and many other animals.  They’re also cutting into the largest storehouse of carbon on land – something we can’t afford to do if we want to curb global warming.

People are also affected.  About 80% of Canada’s native First Nations are dependent on the Boreal forest for their livelihood and cultural survival.  Many parts of the Boreal are being logged without their input or consent.

So, Kimberly-Clark is earning a failing grade in a lot of basic subjects.  Thankfully, there are plenty of high quality forest friendly tissue products to choose from.  Check out our tissue buying guide to learn more.
 
The other good news is that there are new ways for students, parents and school faculty to teach Kimberly-Clark a lesson.

You can show Kimberly-Clark how you feel about forest destruction. We've unveiled a new online tool so you can send a photo message directly to the company.

Start your own Kleenex Free Schools project today by downloading our new toolkit – a resource guide with tips and info to help you make your school more forest friendly.

All of this and more is available on our new website.

Click here to spread the word to friends, family and colleagues.  If we work together, we can help Kimberly-Clark finally earn a passing grade!

-Rolf

Question: What would happen if the government suddenly erased protections for old-growth forests and clean water on public lands?

Answer: The public would freakout!

Unfortunately, this is not a hypothetical situation.  The Bush administration’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is working on a scheme to scrap protections for old-growth forests.  That’s right – Bush’s “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” on our public lands is back again!

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) just released plans to increase logging of old-growth trees by up to 900% in Oregon.  The proposed plan – called the Western Oregon Plan Revisions or “WOPR” -- would remove protections for old-growth forests and salmon-rich rivers across 2.6 million acres of public forests.  This includes old-growth forests where, in 2004, Greenpeace set up a Forest Rescue Station.

How did this scam of a plan get hatched?  The story behind the WOPR is almost as bad as the plan itself.

In 2003, the logging industry sued the Bush administration, complaining that there wasn’t enough old-growth logging on BLM lands in Oregon.  Instead of defending itself in court, the administration rolled over and settled out of court.  The sweetheart deal they came up with would wipe away protections for old-growth forests and buffers for streams.

Teddy Roosevelt, who helped establish America’s legacy of conservation and public lands, must be rolling in his grave.

The rest of us rolled up our sleeves!  Thousands of you took action and submitted comments on the WOPR.  Thanks!  Greenpeace staff in Portland, Oregon presented the BLM with your comments (printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper, of course).

The BLM staffer could hardly carry all of your letters.  They've got some reading to do!  With a stack that big, we hope the BLM got the message: the public wants old-growth forests protected!

The story is not over yet.  The BLM will respond to comments and publish a final plan later this year.

Stay tuned and stay involved.  Together we'll do what it takes to make sure ancient forests on public lands are not sacrificed to the saw!