Very interesting news from earlier this week ... So who should the next target(s) be? How about Tim Hortons or Starbucks for all those non-recyclable/unrecycled beverage cups???
Dec. 7, 2006. 05:37 AM
After two years of sparring with a major conservation group, the company that publishes the Victoria's Secret catalogue vowed yesterday to use more paper that's either recycled or from sustainably managed forests.
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Ohio-based Limited Brands, which owns Victoria's Secret and several other store brands, said that by the end of 2007, the more than 350 million catalogues the lingerie retailer sends out each year will contain at least 10 per cent recycled paper, or paper from forest operations certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC.
The council is an international non-profit organization that supports environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests.
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It also said it would no longer buy paper from West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., which has logging operations in the Rocky Mountain foothills near Hinton, Alta., that are considered environmentally unfriendly and which refused to change. A recently expired contract was worth about $100 million a year.
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The moves open the door to purchases from Ontario, where two companies — Tembec Inc. and Domtar Inc. — are expanding the amount of forest operated under stewardship council rules, which limit the size of clear cuts, and set standards for reforestation, habitat protection and other environmental concerns.
"Under our new guidelines, we'd be interested in hearing from any folks in Ontario that meet the new criteria," Tom Katzenmeyer, a senior vice-president with the company, said in a conference call.
Supplies of recycled and FSC paper are limited, he said. "I'm optimistic the industry will rise to the occasion and want to compete for our business."
"We'll meet with the Ontario government and suppliers," said Tzeporah Berman of ForestEthics, which operates in Canada and the U.S. and for more than two years ran a publicity campaign that attacked what it called "Victoria's dirty secret."
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"We believe that working together we can set a new standard for the catalogue industry," Katzenmeyer said."I think this is the tip of the iceberg and other companies will follow," Berman said.
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"We need to look at conservation as part of economic prosperity," Berman said. "The long-term economic health of Ontario is tied to its ecological health."
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Canada, Russia and Brazil have the only large tracts of undisturbed forest left on Earth. Apart from being crucial habitat for caribou and other animals, the forests help to combat climate change by storing massive amounts of carbon.
Canada's boreal forest is being cut at two hectares per minute, Berman said. About 90 per cent of the cutting is in virgin, old growth forest: 88 per cent of the output goes to U.S. buyers.
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