Statement: P&G takes step away from forest fiber-based paper products

With the development of a new bamboo-based Charmin product, the company is responding to several years of pressure from environmentalists 

DENVER – Procter & Gamble, maker of Charmin, Puffs and Bounty, announced a new “Charmin Ultra Eco bamboo” product in their July update about forest practices. This announcement comes more than two years after a shareholder majority voted for the company to lessen its impact on forests, particularly the boreal forest in Canada, where much of the wood pulp for soft paper products is sourced. The company also has agreed to reduce impact on primary forests, intact forest landscapes (IFLs) and caribou habitat but did not include specific timelines for these plans.

Since 2020, Environment America supporters and partners have urged the company to phase out wood pulp from Canada’s boreal forest from their paper products. The boreal, known as North America’s ‘bird nursery,’ is one of the most important natural carbon sinks on the planet. 

Ellen Montgomery, public lands director with Environment America Research & Policy Center, issued the following statement in response to the announcement from Procter & Gamble: 

“Logging trees from the pristine boreal forests so we can have super-soft tissue products is ridiculous. More than two years after shareholders voted for better forestry practices, we are pleased to see Procter & Gamble is finally making progress with its new ‘Charmin Ultra Eco bamboo product’. To make this new product truly eco-friendly, we urge the company to ensure that those bamboo fibers are sourced responsibly, and we hope that this is the first step toward replacing all wood fibers in their paper products.

“In addition, we appreciate that P&G is planning to advocate that the Canadian government protect intact forest landscapes and that the company has also acknowledged the necessity of protecting primary forests. 

“While Procter & Gamble has set a timeline for achieving 100% Forest Stewardship Council certification by 2030, the updated ambitions to reduce impact on primary forests, intact forest landscapes and caribou habitat lack concrete timelines. With no time to lose to combat the climate and biodiversity crises, it’s critical that corporate plans and actions include specific benchmarks and timelines. We urge the company to set deadlines as soon as possible.

“We look forward to seeing more progress on forestry practices, Procter & Gamble could be a leader on these issues and we hope that they decide to be in the future.”