Press release – 16 August, 2011Greenpeace is calling on Solaris Paper to come clean on whether senior staff have resorted to astro-turfing and personal abuse against Greenpeace and staff members at IGA supermarkets.Yesterday, the online news site Mumbrella alleged they had traced personal abuse against Greenpeace and senior management of the supermarket IGA posted in their comments section back to the IP address of Solaris Paper. (1)
One comment labeled Greenpeace campaigner Reece Turner ‘scum,’ while a second stated, “as a woman, I have no respect for the lack of testicles shown by the IGA management. To all you South Africans running the show there, WE LOVE BRAVE AND STRONG MEN IN AUSTRALIA SO GO HOME.”
Solaris is the Australian affiliate of notorious Indonesian company Asia Pulp and Paper (APP). Last month, Greenpeace exposed further evidence of APP’s destruction of rainforests and tiger habitat in Indonesia. (2) (3)
“Greenpeace is calling on Solaris Paper to answer the allegations of abuse and take appropriate action. It’s about time they started dealing with the real issues surrounding their pulp and products,” said Greenpeace Forests Campaigner, Reece Turner.
“Solaris claims to want to ‘engage’ with Greenpeace but if this is what they mean by ‘engage’ then it gives little hope that the company will start to look at the real problem – the destruction of rainforests it is causing in Indonesia. I certainly hope other businesses that trade with Solaris in Australia consider whether this is a company to do business with.”
With a new $20 million facility in Sydney, APP has an aggressive plan to penetrate the Australian marketplace but their reputation here is already looking murky.
Woolworths dropped its contract with APP in 2008 after concerns were raised about the environmental and social impacts of the company’s operations and many major brands such as Lego, Burger King, Unilever and Nestle have removed APP from their supply chains.
Earlier this year APP was fined $4.2m for price fixing following action by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). In March, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) backed Kimberly-Clark when it blocked Solaris from bidding for the Millicent paper mill in South Australia, reportedly accusing the company for many job losses because it had dumped cheap tissue on the Australian market. (4)
Contact:
Greenpeace Communications Officer, Jessa Latona – 0488 208 465
Notes:
1.Mumbrella article:

‘Scum’ attack on Greenpeace campaigner linked to paper company Solaris


2.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/business/tiger-death-linked-to-australian-loo-paper-sold-by-iga/story-e6frez7r-1226102310442
3.Greenpeace evidence of APP’s rainforest destruction:
http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/news/forests/save-the-tigers/
4.
http://www.borderwatch.com.au/archives/8924