Labor pledges a crackdown on illegal timber imports – what on earth will Woolworths and Safeway do?

Today The Australian newspaper has a story on page 5 about the Labor party pledging to crackdown on illegal timber imports into Australia if they win the election.

Forestry and Conservation Minister for the Liberal Government, Eric Abetz, admits that “10 per cent of Australia’s timber imports were sourced illegally”.

HOWEVER, he goes on to say that “to ban illegal imports would actually mean banning most timber imports” – meaning most of the stuff that comes into Australia now is actually illegally logged! Of course this must include the illegally logged products that Woolworths imports from APP.

What I want to know if the Labor party is elected, will proposed crackdown apply to timber-derived products that come into the country too, like paper and paper pulp. If it does, then maybe this is what will finally force Woolworths to stop using illegally logged pulp products imported from Asia in their own Select brand toilet paper, tissues and paper towel.

What Woolworths (Safeway) is doing is ethically wrong! We need to keep telling them that they can’t do this in Australia! Go here to tell them what you think, or email me (sustainable55 at hotmail . com) and tell me what you think about it. Let me know what you think of the blog too.

Here is the article from today’s paper.

Woolworths & Safeway selling dodgy toilet paper AGAIN!

Surprise surprise! Woolworths Limited has treated consumers like total fools by putting their dodgy and misleadingly labelled Select brand toilet paper back on the shelves.

After being so publicly shamed last month into taking their Select upmarket-home brand off the shelves in Australia and New Zealand, they have put the same toilet paper back on the shelves. I went into my local store last week, and was totally flabbergasted when I saw it! Since then I've checked out a few other shops in the Sydney area, and they too all have the toilet paper back on the shelf.

As far as I'm aware, Woolworths has given no reason as to why they are AGAIN selling toilet paper made by a company that gets its paper pulp by logging old growth forests. I checked their website, but found no statement.

We can not let Australia's biggest supermarket do this and intentionally mislead customers for the sake of their own greedy profits. Our environment is at stake here. When even the Australian Prime Minister admits that we need to address climate change, Woolworths should not be using a company that actively destroys the planet and contributes to environmental damage to this extent.

It's disgusting Woolworths, that you treat us like morons.

Waiting and watching to see what Woolworths and Luscombe do

I was looking over what Michael Luscombe who’s the CEO of Woolworths, looking at what he said last week, and I’m really worried that this is not the end of the problem.

If you look carefully what he said, you’ll see he is leaving plenty of room (semantics, weasel words, call it what you will) so that Woolworths can go away, put new labels on the old product, and use new packaging to put the same old products back on the shelves. The fact that the packaging doesn’t say it’s environmentally friendly doesn’t make the logging of old growth forests and the bullying tactics used by Woolworths’ supplier, in any way acceptable, at all.

That sort of action is totally contemptuous of the public and of ethical practice. If the products come from a suspect company then it doesn’t matter if you change the packaging!

We must remain vigilant - we can’t let Woolworths get away with such fraud. These products should never be put back on the shelves until we can all independently verify that they come from sustainable plantations.

We can’t trust Woolworths to tell us the truth and I don’t want them to get away with putting the products on sale again under new packaging.

Keep contacting Woolworths on the numbers in other posts to tell them you won’t let them get away with treating customers like idiots and destroying forests and habitat in China and Indonesia.

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.

Woolworths admits

Wendy Frew, a reporter at the Sydney Morning Herald has written another story on Saturday about Woolworths. Now the company has admitted to using Asia Pulp and Paper as a supplier.

See the story here ("Admission Tears Strips Off Woolies' Green Tissues" 25th August).

The ABC has also done a report or two on the issue of Woolworths / Safeway supermarkets and their misleading labeling and APP's bad environmental practices - i've put the links in below.

• Woolworths Admits to Deceptive Packaging Claims

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• Certification Body Hits Out At Woolworths "Environmental" Tag

Woolworths Exposed in the Newspaper!

Today a story appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald exposing Woolworths' dodgy, misleading labelling.

Here's the introduction -

"AUSTRALIA'S largest supermarket chain, Woolworths, is marketing some of its tissue and paper products as environmentally responsible even though the paper is imported from Indonesia, a country with one of the world's worst records for illegal and unsustainable logging.

It also appears to be sourcing at least some of the paper from Asia Pulp and Paper, an Indonesian company with what green groups have described as an appalling environment and human rights reputation." (SMH Online 23 August 07).

From what the jouranalist wrote, it appears Woolworths is still trying to avoid saying anything about their relationship with Asia Pulp & Paper.

Woolworths can't ignore these questions much longer. More and more people are concerned with the environment, and it is disgusting that woolies lies to shoppers about the source of their pulp.

We all need to question our country's biggest retailer - call Woolworths and ask them to explain!

(02) 8885 0000

Or write to them and request a formal reply:

Woolworths Head Office
Attention: Mr. Michael Luscombe (Cheif Executive)
1 Woolworths Way
Bella Vista 2153
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*Great thanks goes to Mr John Kaye, Greens MP MLC, for his work is taking this issue public.*

Woolworths' Environment Policy - corporate fiction

Woolworths claim to have a “corporate social responsibility” commitment (see the Environment and Community Report 2006 on their website). Part of the report is an environment policy which states:

Woolworths’ commitment to protecting the environment from processing impact is an important consideration in the manufacture, processing and supply of products to our business. Where possible, Woolworths supports the use of recyclable packaging. Processing considerations should also be given for recycling, reducing and reusing process inputs to reduce any impact on the outside environment

This just highlights the extent to which Woolworths is willing to lie to consumers, when you can see that clearly the products which go into their Select paper products do not meet the claims on the packaging. The logos on the packaging have been designed by Woolworths to indicate to consumers that the product has less of an impact on the environment.

Proof Woolworths use APP for their pulp

I got an email from someone yesterday asking how they could tell if Woolworths was in fact being supplied by APP as it doesn’t say this anywhere on the pack.

Well, the Select “pocket pack facial tissues” 6 pack (the little packets for the kid’s schoolbags) actually have the APP logo embossed on the tissues.

Woolworths have obviously become aware of this and are trying to hide it, because at some stores they have new packets that don’t have the embossing.

I did manage to purchase some more of the ones that say APP on the weekend.

So I’ve taken some photos so you can see…

More good news

I've been in contact with a Member of Parliament from the Greens, and he has taken an interest in the issue.

He has contacted Woolworths, only to get an "evasive response" about the source of their products.

The big Aussie retailer is looking more and more suspect!

Good News!

We are making progress!

One of the organisations I contacted about this problem, Friends of the Earth, said they’re interested. They recognise that what Woolworths is doing is wrong and have promised to look into my complaint and take the matter up further.

But I need your help, too.

We need to show support for Friends of the Earth in this case so please contact them and tell them you are behind them in trying to tell Woolworths that it is NOT acceptable to lie to shoppers.

The bottom line is not a good enough reason.

Here’s the FOE phone number: (03) 9419 8700.

Let me know what you think – sustainable55@hotmail.com or post back here.

Woolworths Lies on YouTube

video on woolworths and their misleading labeling

CFMEU admits this is happening - Woolworths using illegal sources for their Select brand

Found this on the weekend - it's from the CFMEU. Their workers are losing out because Woolworths is importing the cheap, illegally sourced pulp from APP in Asia.

It's not a very clear pic, so I'll try to get another up soon.

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