The less time I spend thinking about the American consumer's
butt the better, though there's a TP war going on that's just too good to sit
out, so to speak. The battle is between environmentalists who say we should be
more like Europeans and, you know, rough it with toilet paper made from
recycled materials, and U.S. marketers who keep pushing the multi-ply, quilted,
silky soft stuff. They say we demand it; I blame those really cute animated
Charmin bears. (The fluffiest paper comes from the oldest trees, apparently,
and hacking them down for our momentary comfort is as Earth-friendly as driving
a Hummer, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council). After a years
long relentless push, Greenpeace has come to an agreement with Kimberly-Clark
Corp. that has the maker of Kleenex and Cottonelle culling 40 percent of the
fibers used in its tissue products from recycled paper or sustainable forests
by 2011,
reports the L.A. Times. In return, Greenpeace will stop flinging
figurative pooh at the company.
Bathroom
habits -- not the most appetizing subject -- but chances are we haven't heard
the end of this debate.
—T.L. Stanley
