Greenwashing By International Paper and Pulp Companies Hides Facts

At first, sustainability analysts at BlueMap Inc. were excited to hear about the paper product supplier Solaris:  the company was supposedly not only environmentally friendly, but also cheaper than traditional paper supplier Kimberly-Clark. According to Solaris’s website, its paper products are made from 100% rapidly renewable sources (1) … all at a cheaper cost.  BlueMap, whose business model is based, in part, on sustainability investigation, wanted to know:  what does “rapidly renewable resources” mean when it comes to paper?  BlueMap began by investigating exactly where Solaris got its paper.

According to Solaris’ website, the company is the North American sales and marketing group of Sinar Mas Group, which is based out of Indonesia (2). BlueMap found that Sinar Mas gets its pulp and paper from a subsidiary called Asia Pulp and Paper (APP),one of the largest pulp and paper producers in the world. Therefore, since APP is Sinar Mas’ paper supplier and Solaris is an away-from-home brand of Sinar Mas,  Solaris, too, gets its paper from APP.

In order to determine Solaris’ actual degree of sustainability, the next logical question is, where does APP get its pulp?  APP’s website claims that the company is ”committed to responsible Best Practices in all of its production facilities, and to Sustainable Forest Management for all of its fiber sources” (3). APP claims that, through intensive research, integral practices, and producing paper in a carefully selected eco-friendly location (in Indonesia), it has created a “rapidly renewable” paper production process.  By operating out of Indonesia, APP can yield more raw materials from the area’s forests, where the climate and soil type allow for a faster growth and return rate than other climates. This is distinct from non-rapidly renewable paper production processes, which use slowly-growing trees. 

While, on the surface, APP’s argument for rapidly renewable paper production sounded feasible, BlueMap was still stumped by the question:  How is making paper from "rapidly renewable resources" more sustainable, in the end, from producing traditional virgin paper(made from non-rapidly renewable trees)?   After all, even rapidly renewable trees must be transported to the production site, and APP paper is distributed across the globe – productions steps that leave an undeniable carbon footprint.

BlueMap’s further investigation into APP’s practices uncovered incriminating evidence against this "eco-company."  BlueMap found that APP conceals environmentally destructive processes:  it grows rapidly renewable trees in relatively small space encased in a much larger forest of non-rapidly renewable trees.  In doing so, APP destroys the larger space’s trees while waiting for the rapidly renewable trees to mature, destroying wildlife habitat in the process.  BlueMap’s findings were backed by the Environmental Defense Fund website, which cited that some of APP’s paper mills are still consuming “200 square kilometers of old growth forest per year until its plantations mature” (4). Furthermore, Rainforest Alliance ended their partnership with APP last February due to the company’s lack of “a comprehensive, consistent or dedicated approach toward conservation management” (5).  The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) issued a 2006 report, titled “Asia Pulp and Paper: Hiding Destruction behind False Advertisements” and stated that “APP refuses to commit to conservation beyond compliance and continues to destroy High Conservation Value Forests” (6). Large paper distributors such as Staples, Wal-Mart, and Office Depot have all terminated their relationship with APP on the basis that the company lacks any apparent progress in improving their environmental performance.

BlueMap's experience is telling.  BlueMap's analysts are experts in this research, and even we were stumped, briefly, by Solaris' fantastic claims.  What is the likelihood, then, that the everyday consumer would be able to see through APP’s assertions?   Sometimes it is easy to be sold on a company’s claim to be environmental friendly, hence the term“green washing”. Legitimate products that help the planet and cost less than the traditional alternative do exist.  But finding them takes work.   Consumers must rely on their own research (not solely the company’s website) to select true environmentally conscious products.

For those without the time to do research, staying vigilant may be tough.  Contact BlueMap if you would like help verifying claims that seem to good to be true.