Boots and Somerfield labeled paper "eco-villains"

Greenpeace report singles out high street chains for failing to embrace sustainable forestry sourcing practices

Greenpeace has today accused Boots and Somerfield of "trashing forests", after the retail giants came bottom in its new league table of environmentally responsible tissue products.

The environmental group said that while Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's are now only selling tissue products from sustainable forests, and other retailers have committed to improving their "green" range, Somerfield has no plans to start using more sustainable paper products.

Meanwhile, Boots only stocks one environmentally friendly tissue product across its entire range, despite committing in as far back as 1992 that it would source all timber and paper products from well-managed forests.

"When it comes to selling tissues, Boots and Somerfield are the eco-villains of the high street," said Mariana Paoli. "While other stores, like Marks & Spencer, are making a real effort to reduce their impact on the world's ancient forests, these two are doing virtually nothing."

A spokeswoman for the Forest Stewardship Council certification scheme said the report highlighted the extent to which sustainable forest labels have become a standard requirement for retailers selling paper and timber-based products.

"The high street is a competitive market and when you see one retailer go 100 per cent FSC-certified the others have to get their act together pretty quick," she said. "As a result, adoption of the label for paper and tissue products in the past 18 months has happened very quickly."

She added that retailers, such as Boots and Somerfield, that are yet to embrace the scheme could gain significant commercial benefits from sourcing FSC-certified products. "There is a very negligible cost difference between certified and uncertified products, and there is evidence that consumers are aware of the logo and want to buy these sustainable products," she said.