US Kleercut activists kicked off grocery store actions in Roswell and Athens, Georgia with the Kleercut Caravan during the last week of June. On Tuesday, June 28, over 25 activists descended upon three grocery stores in Athens to educate consumers, make calls to Kimberly-Clark executives, and ask store managers to fax a letter to CEO Thomas Falk. This action marked the first grocery store action in the United States!
The action started at a Kroger grocery store near the University of Georgia campus. Activists and students pulled up to Kroger in the Greenpeace van adorned with a Kleercut banner, and jumped into immediate action at the storefront. Two activists went inside to talk to the manager about Kimberly-Clark ancient forest destruction and to request that he fax a letter of concern to Kimberly-Clark CEO Thomas Falk. Meanwhile, activists provided Kleercut tours of the store to educate consumers about Kimberly-Clark's clearcutting of ancient forests and the alternative products available.
Volunteers also collected over 1200 signatures for a Kleercut petition and asked consumersto make phone calls to Ken Strassner, the Vice President of Environment and Energy at Kimberly-Clark, and Dennis Beresford, a member the Kimberly-Clark Board of Directors and professor at the University of Georgia. Over 120 voice mail messages were left for Strassner and Beresford. Lastly, a team of activists brought Kleenex products to the cashiers to ask about the lack of recycled content in Kleenex and to find out what alternative products Kroger offers.
After speaking with customers and the manager at Kroger, the team jumped back into the Kleercut caravan, turned up the music and headed to the Publix grocery store down the road.
The team jumped into action upon arriving at Publix. We gathered petitions, made phone calls, and talked to the manager. Activists at the cash registers were especially successful as two cashiers shut down their registers and escorted the activists to the alternative, ancient-forest friendly products. The manager asked us to leave within fifteen minutes. After this store, the activists headed to the third grocery store. The manager at the third grocery store was particularly sympathetic to the campaign and was shocked to learn the Kimberly-Clark is clearcutting ancient forests.
The first Kleenex grocery store actions in the US were a success and energized citizens and grocery shoppers in Georgia to take further actions to stop Kleenex crimes in the boreal forest!
For the Kleercut Caravan,
- Diana and Amy -
Click here for more pictures from the Kleercut Caravan
To organize similar Grocery store actions and events in your community, download a Kleercut Action Pack
