KFC uses paper from endangered southern forests for packaging

Forest activists Dogwood Alliance says KFC sources its paper packaging needs for its iconic buckets from the Green Swamp forest in North Carolina.

The group claims that while other major fast food companies are adopting sustainable packaging policies - like usage of recycled paper and containers and virgin paper from sustainable forests, KFC continues to use paper originating from Southern forests.

The Green Swamp situated in Brunswick County, North Carolina, is an irreplaceable track of swampland covered with stretches of open water and wet areas.  It boasts of the country's best example of longleaf pine savannahs and is home to the meat-eating venus flytrap.

The Southern forests comprise 2 percent of the world forests but supply approximately 25 percent of the world's paper needs. The site claims that about 6 million hectares of pristine forests are cleared each year in this region. According to the US Forest Service, nearly half of the southern wetlands have been wiped, natural pine forests have reduced by half in the last 50 years and pine plantations have replaced natural forests and now occupy over 40 million acres of the Southern forest.

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International Paper operates Riegelwood a paper packaging plant in North Carolina with KFC being its largest customer. Major chunk of paper from this mill is used to meet the packaging needs of KFC.

The group says that all their attempts to involve Yum brand - which holds key brands such as Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silvers and KFC - have been snubbed. KFC claims that its operations in these regions are sustainable as they are certified by Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) while Dogwood calls it an industry backed certification and instead supports the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification as valid source of certification.

The environment group has been successful in influencing major organizations including Staples and Sony into purchasing paper and packaging materials sources approved by FSC.

Yum brands that own KFC reported $10.8 billion in revenues for the year 2009 with KFC booking $960 million in revenues in U.S.

KFC operates more than 5,200 restaurants in the United States and more than 15,000 units around the world.