Yahoo Finance Americans are literally flushing Canada's forests down the toilet
A new report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is calling out the top tissue manufacturers in the U.S., urging them to use recyclable and sustainable materials to reduce their environmental impact on the Canadian boreal forest.
According to the report from the environmental group, released Wednesday, the three top tissue producers – Procter & Gamble Co., Georgia-Pacific and Kimberly Clark – have made commitments to environmental sustainability, but none of their flagship brands contained recycled materials or alternative fibres. The three companies rely almost exclusively on virgin tree fibre for their tissue products, the report says, which has a “substantially higher carbon footprint than those made from other materials.”
“Given these companies’ substantial market shares, if they were to embrace recycled or sustainable alternative fibres throughout their product lines, it would lead to dramatic, positive changes in the industry,” the report said.
“Use of these materials to create tissue can dramatically reduce our destructive impact on the boreal and other forests around the world.”
According to the report, the American tissue market is the largest in the world, generating US$41 billion in revenues every year. While the U.S. represents four per cent of the world’s population, it accounts for more than 20 per cent global tissue consumption, the NRDC says.
Paper pulp used for the production of tissue products, including toilet paper, paper towels and facial tissue, can come from several sources, but the report says the most environmentally destructive is virgin pulp. According to the NDRC, northern bleached softwood kraft (NCSK) is a softwood Canadian pulp that is the most desired for tissue products in the U.S.
The report calls on tissue producers to use recycled materials or sustainably sourced alternative fibres instead of virgin pulp.
The report also included a scorecard grading the sustainability of tissue products by several different brands sold in the U.S. The top brands of toilet paper that received an “A” grade included Green Forest, 365 Everyday Value, Earth First, Natural Value and Trader Joe’s Bath Tissues. At the bottom of the list, receiving an “F” ranking, were Charmin Ultra, Kirkland, Angel Soft, Quilted Northern, and Up & Up Soft & Strong.
“This destructive ‘tree-to-toilet pipeline’ does massive harm to Indigenous peoples and iconic species like the boreal caribous and Canada lynx,” the NRDC said in a statement.
“Toilet paper and tissue manufacturers continue to rely on forests even though they have the resources and means to create and deliver products with recycled and responsibly sourced content that are better for the planet.”
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