The Technical Center | Current News Releases

The Textile Resource for Specialty Fabrics and Product Innovation

October 8, 2026

SUPPLIERS EDGE
SUPPLIERS EDGE
Search By:
NETWORKING TOOLS
News:
Dictionaries:
Technical Services:
Trends:
Tradeshow Partners:
1. TITAS 2023
TECHNICAL TEXTILES
Special Features:
APPAREL
Special Features:
HOME FURNISHINGS
Special Features
SAFETY & PROTECTIVE
Special Features
INDUSTRIAL FABRICS
Special Features
MEDICAL
Special Features:
CUTTING EDGE
Special Features:

News-Releases Index | FabricLink Network

08/12/2026

Kimberly-Clark Announces Research Program to Replace Forest Fiber in Tissue Products (8/12/26)

Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Kleenex, Cottonelle, and Scott, has announced a new plan to replace wood pulp with hesperaloe, a drought-tolerant desert plant. Wood pulp for tissue products is a major driver of clearcut logging in the boreal forest of Canada and other climate-critical forests. Following years of engagement and advocacy from NRDC and other organizations, Kimberly-Clark stated it would take steps to eliminate natural forest fiber from its entire product line, and announced this year that they achieved their interim goal of cutting natural forest fiber in half. Following is a reaction from Shelley Vinyard, Director of Global Nature at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council): “Kimberly-Clark spent two decades and a quarter of a billion dollars researching sustainable alternatives to forest fibers. That happened because consumers started asking where their toilet paper comes from, and because shareholders started asking how long a business built on clearcut forests can last. Forest fiber stopped looking like a safe default.” “This is just the beginning, but signals a potentially market-shifting breakthrough. If Kimberly-Clark can scale up production of this fiber sustainably and without displacing other native ecosystems, this could alleviate significant pressure on the forests currently used to make tissue products. We also encourage Kimberly-Clark to use this same innovative spirit to continue increasing its use of recycled materials, which have the lowest carbon footprint of all tissue fibers.” “Procter & Gamble, one of Kimberly-Clark’s biggest competitors, should look hard at this announcement and at what it took to get here. If P&G is serious about forest-friendly supply chains, they need to make serious investments in innovation.”