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Kimberly-Clark Releases Lifecycle Analysis

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, global producer of Kleenex, Huggies and many other major brands that are sold in over 175 countries, has published a comprehensive Lifecycle Analysis, which Canopy describes as “a cutting-edge study of the existing and potential raw materials for their products.”


Vancouver-based Canopy, a not-for-profit organization that works with corporations and environmental programs to build progressive supply chain policies and procedures to protect forests, provided independent analysis to the advisory board that oversaw the creation of Kimberly-Clark’s Lifecycle Analysis. The report itself was authored by the Georgia Institute of Technology.


“With an eye to protecting our planet’s remaining ancient and endangered forests – and not trading off one environmental issue for another – we have reviewed countless lifecycle assessments related to traditional forest products,” stated Amanda Carr, Campaign Director with Canopy. “The key to our endorsement of Kimberly-Clark’s report is that this study includes measurements for biodiversity and carbon stored in our global forests as part of the environmental considerations.”

With the inclusion of eight key environmental indicators, such as land occupation, human toxicity, climate change and water depletion, the study concluded that recycled paper along with alternatives such as leftover wheat straw had reduced environmental impacts when compared with traditional use of forest fibre.

“Canada’s ancient and endangered Boreal Forests continue to be made into toilet paper and incontinence products,” stated Carr. “This study is exciting because it weighs the other options for a global company that had over US$20 billion in sales last year. That is a lot of purchasing power exploring what is best for our planet.”


The study is available online at www.kimberly-clark.com