g-Think | Issue 17 | The Great Toilet Tissue Scam Down Under

The humble toilet roll made it into the national spotlight in Australia recently, quickly becoming a cause célèbre in the issue of corporate accountability.

Woolworths—a major Australian retailer—was caught embarrassingly short when it was exposed that the tissue it was purchasing from Asia Pulp and Paper—APP (the world’s largest pulp and paper manufacturer)—was not, in fact, from sustainable wood products despite claims to the contrary on the packaging. As it turned out, the paper came from a company that sources 60 to 70 percent of its wood from clearing natural forests in Sumatra, Indonesia (source: ABC, August 28, 2007).

The problem for Woolworths lay in the fact that it did not independently check on the certification claims made by Asia Pulp and Paper—that the raw materials used in the production of toilet tissue were green, i.e., from sustainable sources. The independent body, Rainforest Alliance, through its SmartWood program, had never certified the tissue and indeed stated that the company (APP) “had not demonstrated a comprehensive, consistent or dedicated approach toward conservation management necessary to maintain or enhance the forest ecosystems.”

So how could Woolworths, Australia’s largest retail chain, get it so wrong, in fact, so wrong that it continued to sell the brand without the bogus certification logo, offering instead another certified roll from the same company, APP, this time from dubious sources in China?

No one is perfect, and it would be ridiculous to suggest that companies should somehow have higher standards than the consumers who are buying their products. But it’s another thing to make a claim knowing it to be false, or simply failing to do due diligence and then repeating the mistake. Increasingly, consumer product companies, such as Wal-Mart in the U.S., are demanding that their suppliers guarantee strict compliance to sustainable and green standards and have instituted a reporting and checking mechanism to that effect. Not so in the Woolworths case.

It is foolhardy for companies to dismiss criticism and consumer activism as just coming from a bunch of “greenies.” Savvy consumers are increasingly reading between the lines and prepared to call companies to account for dubious claims. On the other hand, companies that engage in dialog with their consumers and stakeholders on the complex (and often murky) issue of sustainable and green standards will find they accrue considerable good will and likely be rewarded with increased sales and a positive brand image. Those that don’t will be left behind having to explain themselves.