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| Trees in Hesquiat Peninsula Provincial, Park, Clayoquot Sound, BC |
This New Year’s Resolution: No More Christmas Trees. Living in rural communities over the years I have seen firsthand the necessity of our forests. In the current state of the world, trees, forests, birds, wolves, cougar, bear and all of our forest friends, are in need of protection.
It’s hard to fully understand the cost of logging, especially when we live in urban environments where our connection with nature doesn’t seem as important. Almost every moment in our lives has to do with paper nowadays. When I buy something I receive a paper receipt; I buy everything in boxes; I write and I print articles; I use toilet paper. I can’t get away from using paper in this world, but I do have the choice on what paper products I buy.
Today I picked up a box of Puffins, a natural cereal made by Barbara’s Organics in Petaluma, CA, and I was impressed with the information on the label of their box. By using Green Choice 100 paper products by Strathcona Paper in Ontario, they state that they were able to save 5,499 trees, 111,854,709 litres of water and reduce 933,773 kgs of landfill waste. It’s a simple feat for Barbara’s Organics. Like any other company, they sourced their product, designed their label, had boxes shipped to their factory, and they distribute their product, just like any other business would do. Plus, Barbara’s Organics has just increased the value of their product by practicing corporate social responsibility (CSR). The more difficult feat is to get companies on-board of the sustainability, resiliency movement. NGO Forest Ethics has been working since 2000 to protect Endangered Forests, wildlife and human well-being, by getting companies & corporations to offer sustainable solutions.
Former Forest Ethic’s Campaign Director and current CEO of Green Peace International, Tzeporah Berman, explained at the 2006 Bioneer’s conference, that Forest Ethics team members started their work by following BC logging trucks to factories & superstores nation-wide. They watched as trucks pulled into the warehouses of Staples Business Depot and Home Hardware.
Afterward Tzeporah or another ForestEthics representative would show up in the offices of these major corporations, aiming to educate their CEOs in sustainable forest products. (Many of these stories are epic and can be found in Tzeporah’s biography, This Crazy Time, released in 2011.) Through the work done by Forest Ethics, and other similar initiatives, Forest Stewardship Council of Canada Certified (FSC Certified), products are now available through both Staples and Home Hardware. They say that with knowledge comes responsibility and I agree.
Our regular-everyday products, like Kleenex boxes, paper towels, toilet paper, office supplies, kitchen cabinets, etc., don’t come with a carbon footprint report. By purchasing products that are FSC Certified, you ensure that our Canadian forests continue to provide clean water, purify the air, maintain biodiversity & provide habitat for species. With only 8% old growth forest left in Canada, and 22% world-wide, it’s detrimental to our health as a species to make sustainable choices in paper products.
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Miranda Black is an artist, activist and advocate for social change. She is currently working on numerous projects ranging from cooperative business development, yoga & movement instruction, and alternative education for children & youth.
Check out her art at mirandala.wordpress.com
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