Kimberly-Clark to Reduce Wood Fiber Sourced from Natural Forests

June 21, 2012

The world’s largest tissue manufacturer, Kimberly-Clark, has pledged to reduce forest fiber footprint with ambitious goals set for 2025 achievement, including reducing by 50 percent the wood fiber it sourced form natural forests by 2025.

Over the next 13 years, the Dallas-based company will transition to alternative fiber sources to replace the reduction in wood fiber. The new initiative will help protect biodiversity and reduce the impacts of fiber that the company uses while ensuring the fiber is sourced in an environmentally and socially responsible way, the company said, noting that it will also help insulate the company from continuing volatile price fluctuations in the world fiber market.

"We continue to strongly support sustainable forestry where those materials are needed but at the same time we are aggressively exploring high-potential alternatives to the traditional fiber sources used in our industry, while maintaining the high quality standards our customers and consumers have come to expect," said Suhas Apte, vice president, global sustainability. "In the long run, we hope that one day all of our fiber needs will be met from sources that collectively have maximum land use efficiencies while minimizing impact on people and our planet."

In 2011, the company used nearly 750 thousand metric tons of primary wood fiber sourced from natural forests. To reduce its Forest Fiber Footprint, Kimberly-Clark is pursuing high-potential fiber alternatives innovative product solutions such as plants that make efficient and sustainable use of land and resources with the desired intent not to displace food crops or lead to loss of natural forests.

For example, Andrex Eco bath tissue was launched in the United Kingdom, which contains 10 percent bamboo, and 90 percent recycled fiber. K-C Professional is currently test marketing in North America with 20 percent bamboo.

K-C has also recently signed a development agreement with Booshoot, a biotech firm in Washington state and the global leader in bamboo forestry. The agreement will enable further exploration into the supply chain to manufacture K-C tissue products containing bamboo using Booshoot's unique bamboo propagation technology.

The company is also exploring rapidly growing tree plantation sourced fiber. "Waste" fibers that are currently discarded or considered of low value such as agricultural crop remnants that remain in the field after harvesting.

Keywords: forest fiber footprint

« View All Articles

Guest Columns

Key Themes Emerge at FMI Sustainability Summit

Areas of focus included making the business case for sustainability, leadership development and radical collaboration.

Source: Food Marketing Institute

What's Your Sustainability Elevator Speech?

A new FMI toolkit offers concise, customizable strategic language to help executives effectively articulate the business case for sustainability in less than 60 seconds.

Source: Food Marketing Institute

On a Mission to Reduce Food Waste

FMI, GMA and the National Restaurant Association are developing an aggressive strategy that will direct more edible food to the hungry and waste away from landfills.

Source: Food Marketing Institute

See All Guest Columns »