Williams-Sonoma, Victoria's Secret Commit to Certified Paper

Two major catalog companies released policies last month which could raise environmental standards for the wasteful catalog industry. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and Limited Brands, parent company of Victoria’s Secret, announced they would begin to source paper from sustainably managed forests, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. announced it will begin sourcing virtually all (in excess of 95%) of the paper used in the company’s seven catalogs – Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Bed and Bath, Pottery Barn Kids, PBteen, West Elm and Williams-Sonoma Home – from sources certified by FSC. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will begin to display the FSC Mixed Sources label on its catalogs in early 2007.

“Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is committed to responsible catalog paper procurement practices that promote the sustainability of forests. We believe that FSC is the gold standard when it comes to forest products certification systems. FSC certification is a key component in our ongoing efforts to deliver on our commitment to our employees, customers and shareholders to operate in an environmentally sound manner,” said Pat Connolly, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Williams-Sonoma, Inc. “We could not have achieved this certification without the support and determined efforts of our supply chain partner, NewPage Corporation. Securing FSC certification demonstrates their continued dedication to responsible forest management and long-term sustainability.”

Following this announcement, Limited Brands, parent company of Victoria’s Secret, revealed a new policy, unprecedented in its scope, which includes several landmark environmental measures and ensures that the pulp for the company’s catalog paper will not come from Endangered Forests. A new paper contract was also signed in accordance with the new policy.

For more than three years, ForestEthics, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, has been educating the catalog industry about its negative environmental impact on the Canadian Boreal. Two years ago, they launched a campaign against Limited Brands/Victoria’s Secret and shortly after began discussions with the company. Since then, Limited Brands has increased their use of post consumer waste (PCW) recycled content, transitioning its clearance catalogs to sustainable paper with 80% PCW recycled content.

Says Todd Paglia, Executive Director of ForestEthics, “The steps they’ve taken make up one of the strongest environmental policies to result from a corporate campaign, and we applaud them for it. They’ve set a new standard, one that we expect other major catalog companies to meet or exceed.”

New, groundbreaking measures include:

* Limited Brands has partnered with its paper supplier to eliminate all pulp supplied from the Boreal Forest (Alberta’s Rocky Mountain Foothills) and British Columbia (Inland Temperate Rainforest).

* Shifting its catalogs to either 10% PCW or at least 10% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) content during 2007.

* A preference for FSC certification, the only credible certification for sustainable logging. Limited Brands has partnered with its supplier to shift four of its mills to FSC.

* A commitment to continual improvement on environmental attributes of catalog paper and paper use. Progress will be audited by an independent third party and made public.

* $1 million committed to research and advocacy to protect Endangered Forests and ensure leadership in the catalog industry

At issue throughout the discussions and campaign has been the impact of Victoria’s Secret’s catalog production on Canada’s Great Boreal Forest, which contains 25% of the intact, roadless forest remaining in the world. Stretching from Alaska to Canada’s Atlantic coast, the Boreal is a key regulator of global climate, providing one of our first lines of defense against global warming. It is critical habitat for many species, including endangered caribou and half of North America’s songbirds, and provides $93.2 billion a year in ecosystem services like air and water filtration.

Currently, the Boreal is being logged at a rate of two acres per minute, 24 hours a day, and paper production accounts for nearly 50% of that logging. Limited Brands new policy prohibits sourcing paper from Endangered Forests in the Boreal, and provides other measures that will decrease impact on the Boreal as a whole.

ForestEthics’s “Victoria’s Dirty Secret” campaign featured over 750 protests and events, and over a million unique visitors to [sorry this link is no longer available].

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www.forestethics.org