K-C NZ welcomes Greenpeace research rating its products amongst 'greenest' on sale, says all tissue products sourced from FSC-certified forests, not from Indonesia

Kendall Sinclair

WELLINGTON, New Zealand , August 22, 2011 (press release) – Kimberly-Clark NZ welcomes the detailed research conducted by the Green Party, Greenpeace NZ and WWF NZ which rates its products as amongst the “greenest” on sale.

Michele Bollinger, General Manager for Kimberly-Clark which makes Kleenex Cottonelle toilet tissue and Kleenex tissues said:-

“We only use paper that we can trace back to the plantation forest. Our toilet tissue products are all sourced from wood and fibre suppliers that have their forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. We were happy to provide Chain of Custody certifications and work with NGOs and the Green Party so that people know that we take our responsibility to source ethically and sustainably very seriously.”

“While we are aware that approximately 25% of all tissue products sold in New Zealand come from Indonesia, we do not and have never sourced pulp for our tissue and sanitary hygiene products from Indonesia because suppliers from this market have been unable to demonstrate that they meet internationally recognised standards for forest stewardship.”

The fibre used in making the products which Kimberly-Clark sells in New Zealand comes from a blend of plantation Eucalypt wood and northern hemisphere softwoods grown in sustainably managed forests. The Pine pulp is sourced from Canada and the Eucalypt from Brazil. Both types are certified by FSC.

Ensuring that our tissue paper in New Zealand has FSC certification which represents a small part of the global supply base comes at a financial cost because it is in high demand from responsible brand owners. However we believe that not to source from sustainable forests comes at a much bigger environmental and societal cost.”

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