LINCOLN, Nebraska (December 17, 2020) - The Arbor Day Foundation and Georgia-Pacific, the maker of Quilted Northern bath tissue, recently announced their partnership to replant two million trees in areas impacted by wildfires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters as part of the Quilted Northern Ultra Soft & Strong® promise to plant three trees for every one used.
"Partnerships with major companies like Georgia-Pacific allow the Arbor Day Foundation to drive high-impact environmental work all around the world,” said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. "Together, we are taking action to restore critical watersheds, reinstate habitats for threatened and at-risk wildlife species and replant trees in forests where healthy regeneration will not occur."
This partnership is kicking off by planting 625,000 trees by the end of 2020 with more than two million trees planted by the end of 2021. Planting projects include high-need forests recovering from disaster, disease, and other threats across nine states, including Florida, Louisiana, California, Arkansas, Oregon, Michigan, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.
"When we decided to relaunch the Quilted Northern Ultra Soft & Strong® sub-brand, our vision was to produce the same comfortable bath tissue our consumers know and love, but to do so in way that ensures they can feel good about purchasing a product that's made with the environment in mind,” said Vivek Joshi, General Manager of Retail Bath Tissue at Georgia-Pacific. “While we are the experts when it comes to developing a more energy and water-efficient manufacturing process for paper products, for the tree plantings it was important to us to work with experts like the Arbor Day Foundation who can help to ensure that the plantings are done in the appropriate areas and are well taken care of at the proper stages for healthy forest rehabilitation."
Key planting projects include:
- Econfina Creek (Florida) – In 2018, Hurricane Michael passed through the Florida panhandle, destroying thousands of acres of forest surrounding Econfina Creek. Replanting helps the long-term health of the watershed, the primary drinking water source for Bay County, Florida and the surrounding area. Helping to reduce pollutants and erosion is vital to the surrounding community.
- Josephine County (Oregon) – The 2018 Taylor Creek Fire burned over 2,000 acres of land in Josephine County. The area was left with diminished ground cover and exposed mineral soil. Rehabilitation of this area will provide the needed ground cover to help reduce erosion and provide structure for wildlife.
- Klamath National Forest (California) – Reforestation of the Klamath National Forest following a series of large, devastating wildfires, including the 2014 Happy Camp Complex Fire and the 2016 Gap Fire, will aid severely impacted plant and animal habitats. These areas are home to endangered species such as the Northern Spotted Owl and Coho Salmon. Tree planting in this area will help make the forest more fire resilient, improve the wildlife habitat, increase the stream shade, and protect soils from erosion.
To find out more about the Arbor Day Foundation and its partners’ work, visit arborday.org/partnerships.
Visit https://www.quiltednorthern.com/sustainability and https://www.gp.com/sustainability to learn more about Georgia-Pacific's sustainable practices.
About Arbor Day Foundation
Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation has grown to become the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees, with more than one million members, supporters, and valued partners. During the last 45 years, more than 400 million Arbor Day Foundation trees have been planted in neighborhoods, communities, cities and forests throughout the world. Our vision is to help others understand and use trees as a solution to many of the global issues we face today, including air quality, water quality, climate change, deforestation, poverty and hunger.
As one of the world's largest operating conservation foundations, the Arbor Day Foundation, through its members, partners and programs, educates and engages stakeholders and communities across the globe to involve themselves in its mission of planting, nurturing and celebrating trees. More information is available at arborday.org.
About Georgia-Pacific
Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, cellulose, specialty fibers, nonwoven fabrics, building products and related chemicals. Their familiar consumer brands include Quilted Northern®, Angel Soft®, Brawny®, Dixie®, enMotion®, Sparkle®, and Vanity Fair®. Georgia-Pacific has long been a leading supplier of building products to lumber and building materials dealers and large do-it-yourself warehouse retailers. Its Georgia-Pacific Recycling subsidiary is among the world's largest traders of paper, metal and plastics. The company operates more than 150 facilities and employs more than 30,000 people directly and creates approximately 89,000 jobs indirectly. For more information, visit: gp.com/about-us. For news, visit: gp.com/news.