We share an increasing awareness of the need for more sustainable products with our customers (wholesalers and retailers) and consumers. We are building on the gains made over more than a decade through our Environmental Vision programs to make Kimberly-Clark and our brands sustainability leaders in the markets in which we compete.

Sustainable materials In December 2007, Kleenex in the U.K. became our first Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) labeled product. FSC is an international, non-governmental organization that promotes responsible forestry. Our long-term goal is to source 100 percent of our virgin fiber from one of five internationally recognized certification programs, preferably FSC. This is no easy task, as only a small proportion of the world’s forests are currently certified to the FSC standards. Learn more Our life-cycle assessment study showed that virgin fiber and recycled fiber have similar environmental impacts. However, some consumers prefer recycled fiber for its perceived environmental benefits, and we are introducing more products to reflect this interest. In the U.S., we are piloting three consumer tissue products containing recycled fiber – Kleenex Naturals facial tissue, and Scott Naturals bathroom tissue and paper towels. Naturals products contain our SoftBlend recycled fiber mix, which gives consumers good quality at the price they expect. Kleenex Naturals contain 20 percent recycled fiber, Scott Naturals bathroom tissue contains 40 percent and paper towels 80 percent. These products are available at select Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Food Lion and Albertsons stores, as well as online retailers such as Amazon. Packaging reductions We are using compressed packaging to fit more product into smaller packs.Yuhan-Kimberly (Y-K) in Korea has reduced cardboard and plastic packaging by 15 percent using compressed packaging on Huggies Gold diapers. As a result, waste and transport costs have also reduced by 15 percent.

Using the same technique for Pull-Ups training pants in the U.S. has resulted in the following annual environmental benefits:

• 140 tons less corrugated cardboard – equal to 577 tons of fiber
• 38 tons less plastic packaging – the equivalent of 530 barrels of oil
• 193 fewer truckloads for distribution – saving 71,000 gallons of diesel fuel
• 795 fewer tons of carbon dioxide equivalents – the same as 156 average passenger cars.

K-C U.K. calculated that increasing the roll length in packs of Andrex Long Roll bathroom tissue will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by a minimum of 318 metric tons per year, because less packaging and fewer deliveries will be needed for the same volume of product (based on 2006 sales).

We have also reduced the thickness of polyethylene film used to package Huggies diapers in Europe by 25 percent. This will save 257,000 kilograms of plastic film a year at our Barton-upon-Humber, U.K. mill and a further 90,000 kilograms a year at our Jaromer mill in the Czech Republic.