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Greenpeace vs. Kleenex: Either Way You Look At It, This Blows
This morning, according to a Greenpeace press release, four activists “locked themselves down” (sat down and chained themselves to each other) in the Toronto head office of Kimberly-Clark, makers of such things as Kleenex and Huggies. Other Greenpeace members walked the halls of the office, throwing down woodchips, playing chainsaw sounds and generally trying to be as disruptive as possible. They are demanding the company stop using wood from Canada’s Boreal Forest, and instead use a combination of recycled fiber and wood from forests that are FSC certified. There’s no word yet on whether or not the protesters are wearing Huggies to help prolong their stay.
This is the first major Toronto iteration of the Greenpeace Kleercut campaign, which began in the United States in 2005. Kimberly-Clark responded to the campaign in their 2006 “sustainability report,” arguing that they have a corporate policy against logging British Columbian rainforests. Greenpeace then later pointed out that Kimberly-Clark has totally been using BC rainforest pulp since 2004, to which Kimberly-Clark replied with something to the effect of, “oops, yep, you got us.”
Torontoist’s first reaction to this story was a swift and decisive slap to the forehead, followed by a long, heavy sigh. This action comes at a time when environmental sanity is just beginning to get serious attention from politicians, business leaders, and individuals. It’s taken the environmental movement decades to earn credibility. The goals of the protesters are admirable, but protests of this nature aren’t likely to be as effective as making economic and moral arguments in compelling ways to people who have the power to change.
That being said, Ken Strassner, Kimberly-Clark’s VP of Environment (now there’s an important sounding job) has (according to Greenpeace) refused to meet with Greenpeace since April of last year. During that time, the company has continued to log in Canada’s Boreal forest, which not only makes up a full quarter of the world’s remaining intact ancient forests, but also serves as a carbon sink and helps to mitigate global warming, which, like, threatens our survival. So we can understand Greenpeace’s frustration.
Plus, this protest admittedly got our attention, and if you didn’t know that Kleenex is made of ancient trees, now you do. (By the by, a lot of green-type stores around Toronto carry the Seven Generations brand of 100% recycled facial and bathroom tissue, which isn’t nearly as uncomfortable as it sounds.)
If you sympathize with Greenpeace, they would like you to call or email Ken Strassner and tell him what’s what. If you object to Greenpeace’s methods, you can let them know too.
Or, if you’re reasonable, balanced, and have a lot of time on your hands, you might want to do both.
Photos by Greenpeace.