Woolworths’ “dirty little secret” – staff boycott the company’s own Select brand

Since the ABC and Channel 10 News aired reports about Woolworths supermarkets’ green-washing campaign surrounding the Select toilet paper and tissues, Today Tonight has also stepped up its game and has investigated the issue.

Today Tonight (Seven Network) went to a town in South Australia where the local Woolworths store has boycotted the company’s own Select toilet paper, tissues and paper towel.

The store, in a town called Millicent, has banned the Select paper products saying that if locally produced products aren’t good enough, then nothing is.

This all seems to stem from there being a manufacturing plant in the town, which employs local workers.

What the report doesn’t adequately cover is that manufacturing plants in Australia have to conform to certain environmental practices, where as those in foreign, developing nations, such as APP in Indonesia and China, ignore logging laws and instead massacre forests in old growth, high-conservation areas.

The investigative reporter makes a good point – that if Woolworths continues to source its products from cheaper, questionable sources from overseas, that over 100,000 hectares of pine and gum tree plantations that employ Australian workers, will be wiped out.

All of this will happen while Woolworths continues to fund the carbon-emitting practices of APP, simply by sourcing its toilet paper and tissue from Indonesia and China.

Toilet paper is maybe the most-used item on everyone’s shopping list – so the fact that enormous quantities of it are being sourced from environmentally un-friendly, unsustainable and illegal sources, should be of concern to us all.

The video I got of the report is well-worth a look. I’ve posted it on YouTube and it’s embedded below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLSCR-wI5e8

It’s common knowledge that Select is a huge money-maker for Woolworths. But Michael Luscombe really needs to realise that these dodgy business practices are not acceptable and are un-Australian.

Woolworths exposed on TV x 2! Channel 10 & The ABC

It's about time really. This week the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia) and Channel 10 News in Sydney each aired a report about Woolworths and Safeway supermarkets' contempt for the environment and for shoppers.

The reports, on ABC Lateline and the 5 O'Clock News specifically, told how Woolworths is still stocking the toilet paper, tissues, paper towel, napkins / serviettes, which are made by Asia Pulp & Paper (APP). This is in spite of the fact that Woolworths know APP logs forests UNSUSTAINABLY.

The reports told just how terrible Woolworths is by plastering those silly grey stickers over the environmental claims on the back of all the packets (check previous posts for pictures and details).

The reporters gave a demonstration of the stickers being pulled off the back of the packs, and just how dodgy Woolworths are being, trying to cover up the claims of environmental righteousness.

I caught Lateline, but missed the 5 O'Clock News on ten. Luckily they ran it again and I got to see it. Take a look as I'll post up some good footage.

My net connection is slow, so if the videos don't appear below, come back tomorrow as I'll keep trying to upload them.

Victory! Wooworths recalls the product

I'm sorry I haven’t updated the blog for a few days but I’ve been unwell.

Thank you to all those of you who helped in this campaign.

We now have some success! On Monday Woolworths said they would take the Select toilet and facial tissues which are manufactured by APP off the shelves. You can read what the Woolworths ceo said here.

Thank you to all those who helped me this far and I hope they will continue to help: John Kaye, the Green member for the NSW Parliament, the reporters Wendy Frew at the Herald, the ABC, Friends of the Earth too and others who helped, including the CFMEU union.

Please keep watching Woolworths like I will because I don’t trust them.