Do you know where your toilet paper comes from?
Because it could be made from pulp that comes from trees in the Great Northern Forest
As I step into this forest, all my senses come to life. The deep green needles of spruce and pine contrast with the flaming yellow of the birch leaves. It’s a beautiful checkerboard of colour. There is a sweet smell from the wet moss, and the calls of geese heading south echo above. Autumn is alive in the Great Northern Forest.
But then I walk into a barren wasteland. A clearcut.
Tracks of heavy machinery scar thick layers of moss. Uprooted stumps, scraped boulders, and discarded piles of branches. Along the perimeter the remaining tall pines seem to look at this landscape in bewilderment.
My name is Merijn and I’ve come to Sweden to see first hand what is happening to these forests. Logging companies in the supply chain of the world’s second largest tissue producer — a Swedish company called Essity — are responsible.
You might not have heard of Essity but they are behind some of the most well known toilet paper and tissue brands like, Lotus, Edet, Tempo, Colhogar and many more.
Essity and its suppliers use wood fibres from the critical parts of these forests to produce soft tissue. Of course, most of us use these products daily, but wiping your nose (or bum) shouldn’t mean wiping away these incredible old-growth forests. They are vital to biodiversity; a number of red-listed species rely on this unique ecosystem to survive.
Less than 5% of Sweden’s productive forest land is formally protected from industrial activity.
I hope that by bearing witness here, more people will find out what’s going on. Maybe you’ll start to look for alternatives, like recycled paper products.
But individual boycotts are simply not enough. My biggest hope is that Essity hears our message and starts to clean up its supply chain and stops sourcing from companies that are wiping away the Great Northern Forest.
You can do something by sending a message to Essity here. All your signatures will be delivered to Essity’s director.
Merijn Ryckebusch is a volunteer with Greenpeace Belgium
