Kimberly-Clark, makers of Kleenex, Cottonelle, and Scott products has “set a goal of obtaining 100 percent of the wood fiber for its products — including its flagship brand, Kleenex— from environmentally responsible sources. By the end of 2011, the company will no longer use any pulp from the Boreal Forest unless it is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified. The policy also prevents the company from cutting endangered forests, and increases the company’s use of FSC-certified pulp and recycled fiber globally.”

Finally.

Greenpeace and countless other activists have been after Kimberly- Clark since 2004 trying to get them to stop clear cutting ancient forests, especially the North American Boreal.“Today, ancient forests like the Boreal Forest have won,” said Richard Brooks, Greenpeace Canada Forest Campaign Coordinator. “This new relationship between Kimberly-Clark and Greenpeace will promote forest conservation, responsible forest management, and recycled fiber as far and wide as possible.”

Kimberly-Clark has also stated that by the end of 2011, they will no longer purchase fiber from the Canadian Boreal Forest that is not FSC certified.

The Canadian Boreal Forest is North America’s largest old growth forest. It provides habitat for endangered and threatened wildlife including the woodland caribou. It is a sanctuary for more than one billion migratory birds and is the largest terrestrial storehouse of carbon on the planet, storing the equivalent of 27 years worth of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Yeah, keeping that around is a good idea. Personally I don’t think anyone needs to be cutting into it for any reason whether the FSC certifies any of it or not.

Kimberly-Clark’s revised standards reinforce their long-standing ban on the use of wood fiber from illegal sources and they support the expansion of recycling initiatives .

“These revised standards are proof that when responsible companies and Greenpeace come together, the results can be good for business and great for the planet,” said Scott Paul, Greenpeace USA Forest Campaign Director. “Kimberly-Clark’s efforts are a challenge to its competitors. I hope other companies pay close attention.”

Now Greenpeace hopes that Georgia-Pacific and Procter & Gamble will follow suit and become sustainable as well.

Honestly I think this is wonderful, a huge step in the right direction. A major company is publicly making changes for a better, greener, earth.

My big question though is why cut any trees down?

With so much paper out there floating around why can’t everything be made from recycled paper right now? Obviously in the future if we keep recycling the same paper over and over again it will lose strength but right now there is so much…why the need to cut down trees?

I mean honestly they make toilet paper and tissues it’s not like we need fresh tree pulp to wipe with, do we?

I don’t. Almost all of the toilet paper products I buy are made with PCW recycled content. Unless I find myself at a store that doesn’t offer one of the brands I usually buy then I’m stuck with whatever they have.

I’ve avoided buying Kleenex products for years. At least with K-C becoming sustainable in the future I’ll have more product options at the grocery store.

But remember they have set a goal to become sustainable, that doesn’t mean they are instantly eco. So it’ll be awhile before I think of buying Kleenex.