ADVISORY: Protest planned outside Procter & Gamble shareholder meeting

NRDC and Stand.earth tell shareholders to stop flushing forests down the toilet; spokespeople to hold media availability after meeting

CINCINNATI, OH – The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Stand.earth are planning to protest outside Procter & Gamble’s annual meeting on Tuesday, October 8, from 8-10 a.m. EST to draw attention to how P&G brands like Charmin are sourced from clearcutting in the Canadian boreal forest — which is contributing to climate change and driving imperiled species like caribou towards extinction — and how the company refuses to incorporate recycled or alternative fiber into its Charmin toilet paper. 

Immediately following the meeting, spokespeople will hold a media availability beginning at 11 a.m. EST outside Procter & Gamble’s headquarters, located at 301 E. 6th Street in downtown Cincinnati. NRDC and Stand.earth will react to the outcomes of the P&G meeting and also discuss their “Issue with Tissue” report on toilet paper.

P&G’s shareholder meeting comes amidst increased calls from consumers and climate change activists for the company to use its extensive resources to create and deliver products with recycled and responsibly-sourced content that is better for the planet — especially its toilet paper. Specifically, P&G is under fire for its Charmin brand, which uses no recycled content and is instead made using 100% virgin fiber from ancient trees, clear-cut from the Canadian boreal forest (the “Amazon of the North”).

WHO: Stand.earth and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) 

MEDIA AVAILABILITY:

• Shelley Vinyard, Natural Resources Defense Council
• Tegan Hansen, Stand.earth

WHEN:

• Protest: Tuesday, October 8, 2019, 8-10 a.m. EST
• Media availability: Tuesday, October 8, 2019, 11 a.m. EST

WHAT: Around 50 tyvek-clad protesters are expected to rally outside P&G’s Annual General Meeting in downtown Cincinnati. The protesters will wear signs that read “Charmin: Stop Flushing Our Forests” and will be joined by a chainsaw-wielding, Charmin-inspired bear. 

As shareholders make their way into the meeting, activists will hand out 100% recycled “Who Gives a Crap” toilet paper and explain how P&G sources its fiber from clearcut forests and refuses to add recycled or alternative fiber to its Charmin toilet paper. Activists will also launch a 10-foot-tall inflatable balloon designed to look similar to a package of Charmin toilet paper (but with the Charmin bear holding a chainsaw instead) above the entrance to the meeting.

Inside the meeting, representatives of Stand.earth and NRDC and activists from Cincinnati will ask questions of executive leadership.

WHERE: Outside Procter & Gamble’s headquarters, located at 1 P&G Plaza (301 E. 6th Street), at the intersection of Broadway and E. 6thStreet.

MEDIA CONTACTS: 

Margie Kelly, NRDC, 541-222-9699, mkelly@nrdc.org 

Virginia Cleaveland, Stand.earth, +1 510 858 9902, media@stand.earth

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The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Chicago; Bozeman, Montana; and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC

Stand.earth (formerly ForestEthics) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with offices in Canada and the United States that is known for its groundbreaking research and successful corporate and citizens engagement campaigns to create new policies and industry standards in protecting forests, advocating the rights of indigenous peoples, and protecting the climate. Visit us at www.stand.earth and follow us on Twitter @standearth.