Greenpeace, worked with Kimberly-Clark on its revised standards, which include obtaining 100 percent of the company’s wood fiber for tissue products, including the Kleenex brand, from environmentally responsible sources. The revised standards will help protect Endangered Forests and increase the use of both Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified fiber and recycled fiber.

By 2011, Kimberly-Clark has set a goal that hopefully will ensure that 40 percent of its North American tissue fiber is either recycled or FSC certified. That’s a 71% increase of recycled fibers from 2007 levels. Additionally, at the end of 2011, Kimberly-Clark plans on eliminating the purchase of any fiber from the Canadian Boreal Forest that is not FSC certified. Good news since the Boreal is North America’s largest old growth forest and provides a safe habitat for a large amount of threatened wildlife.

The new standards also support Kimberly-Clark’s long-standing ban on use of wood fiber from illegal sources but adds in a preference for post-consumer recycled fiber. Lastly, Kimberly-Clark is revamping their recycling initiatives along with the inclusion of a system that provides identification, mapping and protection of areas that have the potential to be designated as Endangered or High Conservation Value forests.

Greenpeace is tough on the folks doing eco-baddie acts for sure, in fact sometimes you have to wonder if they’re taking it a little too far, but past campaigns show that some companies when pressured do make changes for the better which helps the company appeal to the growing green market and of course the planet as well.

Post from: Blisstree

Greenpeace + Kimberly-Clark Kiss & Make Up

The post got sort of long so I didn’t give my opinion, which is…

I do like Trader Joe’s and I really like Greenpeace. One thing making me uneasy about this whole situation though is the fact that Greenpeace notes, “Of the 20 largest supermarket chains in the United States, nine have made no visible effort to increase the sustainability of their seafood operations and continue to ignore scientific warnings about the crisis facing global fisheries and the marine environment. These include: Aldi, Costco, Giant Eagle, H.E.B., Meijer, Price Chopper, Publix, Trader Joe’s, and Winn Dixie.” So other major supermarkets also aren’t doing well on the fishy front, but the attack seems to be mainly been focused on Trader Joe’s.

Partially I get this because Trader Joe’s, unlike some other stores on the list, tends to spout off about the advantages of better food at their stores and on their website – i.e. organics, genetically engineered crops, cage-free eggs, and so on. That makes you think they’d take this whole sustainable fish issue more seriously than other stores on the list.

Another reason Greenpeace may be focusing so much attention on Trader Joe’s is because they’ve done so before (regarding genetically modified foods) with positive results. This is actually a score for Trader Joe’s because it shows they’re listening to the issues and are willing at least to make changes. The same can’t be said for all other stores.

We’ll see how this all pans out – maybe Trader Joe’s will cave to the pressure and only offer sustainable seafood (good for humans, the oceans, and the store). I’m hoping so, because I like them overall, and would like to continue shopping there. Maybe Greenpeace will focus their attention on another store for a while, I mean there are lots of baddies on the new scorecard not just Trader Joe’s.

If you’re looking to buy sustainable fish without a big old hassle read: How to choose eco-friendly seafood

If you want to learn more about why saving our oceans and protecting our fish matter visit the Greenpeace oceans issues section of their website.

You tell me, will you dump Trader Joe’s if they don’t ban unsustainable seafood?

[image courtesy of ©Greenpeace]

Post from: Blisstree

Would You Dump Trader Joe’s?

• Greenpeace recently released their latest version of their seafood sustainability scorecard, Carting Away the Oceans, and once again ranked Trader Joe’s as the worst of the national supermarket chains surveyed (three regional stores were below Trader Joe’s).
• Two days after the release of the seafood scorecard Greenpeace visited Trader Joe’s stores in San Francisco where activists protested the company’s lack of sustainable seafood policies and purchasing practices.
• Greenpeace has also launched a fake website – Traitor Joe’s in order to inform consumers about this problem.

Trader Joe’s posted a response to the fish situation at their website, which reads…

“We’ve received inquiries about the recent report and information that Greenpeace has been disseminating. Some of you have commented that is it seems so… well, “unbelievable.” That’s because much of it is not credible. We do not partner with outside organizations, nor do we participate in any surveys. As a result, information gets gleaned from sources outside of Trader Joes, and this can lead to inaccurate reporting, which can lead to confusion. That’s why we wanted to take a moment to clear up a few things.

The Greenpeace report details that Trader Joe’s sells a certain number of items on their “Red List.” But several of the items that they call out are NOT for sale in our stores. We do NOT sell Chilean Sea Bass, Monkfish, Ocean Quahog or Redfish in any of our stores. In fact, Trader Joe’s sells fewer items on that “Red List” than the #1 ranked grocery retailer in their report.

We would also like to make clear that ALL of Trader Joe’s fresh and frozen seafood is labeled with the country of origin, and whether or not it has been farmed or is wild-caught. We feel strongly that it is important to allow our customers the opportunity to make informed decisions about what they buy.

We understand the importance of sustainability and consistently strive to improve our efforts in this arena. We continue to work closely with all of our seafood suppliers to ensure that a high level of standards and practices are adhered to at all times. We have been working on our own report that we hope to publish to our customers in the near future to help clarify our processes.”

Greenpeace in turn responded to Trader Joe’s with these posts – Don’t Believe Greenpeace and Widgets are Out to Get Me! at their staff blog.

Coming up a little later – my take on this situation.

[image courtesy of ©Greenpeace]

Post from: Blisstree

Greenpeace & Trader Joe’s Throw Down

If you’re not interested in cutting down forests just to blow your nose, then Greenpeace’s Recycled Tissue and Toilet Paper Guide, can help you make smarter tissue choices. The credit card-sized shopping guide, can help you find greener household paper products, such as facial tissues, paper towels, toilet paper, and paper napkins.

In the guide Greenpeace gives a thumbs up to companies like Green Forest, Natural Value and Seventh Generation. Kleenex (manufactured by Kimberly–Clark) was given an “avoid” score along with Charmin and Angel Soft.

The products recommended in the paper guide must meet three important Greenpeace environmental benchmarks: “They are made from 100 percent recycled content, a minimum of which is 50 percent post-consumer recycled content; and are not bleached with chlorine or toxic chlorine compounds.”

Get the Greenpeace Recycled Tissue and Toilet Paper Guide.

Coming up later some Earth Day minded reading for you to enjoy.

[image via Greenpeace]

Post from: Blisstree

Recycled Tissue & Toilet Paper Guide

Amalie Obusan is the campaigner of Greenpeace Climate and Energy and she says, with regards to the solar lantern that they had put in the senate, “Energy revolution is a transformation of the global economy into one that is low carbon and sustainable in its production and consumption.”

This solar lantern measures six feet. It is made of rattan and Obusan says that this lantern is going to help the senators be reminded “that renewable energy is the clear solution to our problems with climate change and not nuclear or fossil fuels which is more catastrophic.” She also did add, “The main focus of this activity is to highlight how energy efficiency could work in the country and how renewable energy can be its backbone in the Philippines.”

Source: GMANews.TV

Post from: Blisstree

Solar Christmas Lantern Lights Up Philippine Senate