Toilet Roll Investigation Media Briefing

The Investigation:
In December 2010, the Greenpeace, the Green Party and WWF New Zealand wrote to all
major retailers and suppliers of toilet paper here in New Zealand asking them to confirm that
all the tissue products they sold including their own brand products were made from legal
and sustainable sources. We wanted to ensure they were not selling toilet paper from
companies who are converting rainforests to plantations.
Each company was asked to provide their company policy on the procurement of pulp and
paper products and to complete a chain of custody audit form for each of their products.
After rigorous assessment of the written evidence and chain of custody certification provided
by the retailers and suppliers, we categorised the sustainability of the different toilet paper
products in a consumer guide, which can be viewed here: http://greenpe.ac/toilet-paper-

guide . A summary is provided below.

GREEN
SAFE (recycled)
Earthsmart (recycled)
Earthcare (recycled)
Red Stamp (recycled)
Purex
Savers
Pams
Budget
Smart 365
Kleenex Cottonelle
Homebrand

AMBER
Sorbent
Signature

RED
Cottonsoft
Kiwisoft
Paseo

Quilton

Green category: toilet tissue brands have supplied documentation confirming that their tissue
is made with 100% recycled paper or paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Amber category: toilet tissue brands are looking at their sourcing policy and implementing
change. Tissue that has PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification)
certification is included in this category because the scheme fails to recognise the rights of
indigenous people, to protect forests of critical importance and endorses schemes that have
weak chain of custody.
Red category: toilet tissue brands that have come from companies linked to rainforest
destruction.

Forensic testing: Cottonsoft linked to Indonesian deforestation

Cottonsoft were the only company that failed to provide written evidence about where their
products came from. Greenpeace therefore sent samples of Cottonsofts toilet paper to an
independent laboratory in the US, Integrated Paper Services, to be forensically tested. IPS has
confirmed the presence of Mixed Tropical Hardwood (MTH) and acacia in a range of
samples. This forensic evidence links Cottonsoft to the destruction of Indonesia's rainforests.

The key steps for Greenpeace's forensic investigation were as follows:

1. Greenpeace sent samples of the Cottonsoft toilet paper to IPS, the global authority for
testing of paper products, widely used by the paper sector1.
2. An IPS expert prepared and examined the packaging samples under a forensic
microscope to identify the wood species used.
3. In some cases, the virgin fibre content of the toilet paper sample was examined to
identify the share of MTH - mixed tropical hardwood - or acacia fibre in the sample2.
4. The presence of either MTH or acacia strongly indicates that the pulp fibre originates
from Indonesia3.
Who are Asia Pulp and Paper?
Auckland based Cottonsoft is owned by Asia Pulp and Paper (APP).
APP is the Sinar Mas group's pulp and paper arm. It is the largest pulp and paper producer in
Indonesia, and according to the company it is now the third largest globally4 and in 2008 was
the worlds fifth largest tissue producer5.i APP sources mixed tropical hardwoods (MTH) to
produce high-quality virgin pulp for use in copy paper, tissue paper, packaging and glossy
print materials6 In fact it has estimated that about 20% of the fibre going into its pulp mills
comes from clearance of natural forest7 The remainder comes from plantations - largely
acacia.
The expansion of pulp and paper plantations is one of the leading causes of rainforest
destruction in Indonesia.
Tropical forest destruction is responsible for around a fifth of global greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions8. The destruction of rainforests and carbon-rich peat lands is the key reason why
Indonesia accounts for around a quarter of all GHG emissions caused by deforestation.
Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), is Indonesias largest pulp and paper producer. According to
mapping analysis conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), APPs two pulp
mills in Sumatra are responsible for more loss of rainforest on the island than any other
company9.

http://www.ipstesting.com/
Following industry standard TAPPI T401
3
If a product contains mixed tropical hardwood (MTH), it comes from Indonesia. Other countries with
tropical forest do not clearcut and pulp their forests on a commercial trade scale. Acacia pulp is also
largely confined to Indonesia. In other tropical regions, eucalyptus is the principal species used in
pulpwood plantations
4
Rushton, Mark, APP exclusive: Chairman, Teguh Ganda Wijaya, talks to PPI, Pulp & Paper
International Magazine, 19 January 2010.
5
Tissue World (2008)
6
See APP website
7
% in 2007, according to APP (2009a). Greenpeace calculations based on Indonesian government data
likewise resulted in 20% for 2009. Source MoFor (2010a)
8
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (2007) SPM. Figure: 1.
Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change, Summary for Policymakers, IPCC www.ipcc.ch/
publications_and_data/ar4/wg3/en/spmsspm-b.html. National Climate Change Council (NCCC)
(2009a) Indonesia GHG abatement cost curve, Media interaction, National Climate Change Council
(DNPI), 27 August 2009
9
WWF (2009) APPs forest clearing linked to 12 years of human and tiger deaths in Sumatra, 17
March 2009 www.panda.org/ wwf_news/news/?uNewsID=159162
2

The destruction of Indonesias forests and peat lands also has a devastating impact on
biodiversity. The endangered orang-utan and the Sumatran tiger are just two of the species
under threat of extinction, in part due to the loss of natural forest habitat.
There are now only 400 Sumatran tigers estimated to remain in the wild10. Greenpeace has
repeatedly shown how APP suppliers are clearing rainforests that have been mapped as tiger
habitat by tiger conservation experts, to feed the companys paper mills, pushing this species
closer to extinction11.
In July, Greenpeace released footage of a Sumatran tiger caught in a trap in an APP
concession that died in agony. View footage here: http://youtu.be/tEg2AKTbxK4
August 21st 2011

10

Chundawat et al (2008), Panthera tigris, in IUCN (2010) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species,
Version 2010.1 www. iucnredlist.org
11
Dinerstein et al (2006) Setting priorities for the conservation and recovery of Wild tigers: 2005-2015.
A users guide. WWF, WCS, Smithsonian and NFWF-STF.