Kleenex

Do you buy Kleenex products? If not, good for you. If you do, then you either don't care or don't know.

Kleenex, who is owned by the Kimberly-Clark Corporation, is a company that makes tissue which is sold in 150 countries. They're so widely known and used that most people refer to any tissue as a "kleenex". They're the first thing people go to when they start to tear up.

There's a lot to cry about, too. Most people don't know this, but that soft tissue you hold in your hand is made from virgin ancient forests, such as the Boreal forest.

"Much of the virgin tree fibre Kimberly-Clark uses for its tissue products come from unsustainably managed forests. These forests are predominantly logged in clearcuts - a devastating form of logging where most if not all trees are removed from an area of forest.

"What's left behind is a barren landscape that can no longer support wildlife species, such as wolverines, bears, caribou, wolves and the billions of birds that depend of ancient forests for their survival." (Kleercut.net)

Kleercut, a campaign organized by Greenpeace, is finally alerting people to this destruction. The scariest part about the whole affair is that Kimberly-Clark is happy & proud about what they're doing. It is easy for a large company to switch to sustainable practices, and most of the time the difference in the finished product is unnoticable.

You'd think that becoming a (semi-)sustainable company would be great for business. After all, the green movement in America is speeding up rapidly, and "green" products are selling more and more. Even major chain stores like Wal-Mart are starting to sell better products. Making such a change would be great for PR.

I urge everyone reading this to stop buying Kleenex products. There are plenty of alternatives available, such as Seventh Generation. If you want to help spread the word about Kimberly-Clark/Kleenex, visit Kleercut for more information, or go to Kleenex's website and contact them (the link's at the bottom of the page).