Victoria’s Secret pledges to end use of endangered-forest paper in catalogs

The parent company of sexed-up retailer Victoria’s Secret announced yesterday that it will nip a bad trend in the bud: sourcing its catalog paper from endangered forests. Succumbing to two years of pestering from ForestEthics and other green groups, U.S.-based Limited Brands agreed to stop supporting suppliers who log in at-risk boreal forest and rainforest in Alberta and British Columbia, unless the paper is Forest Stewardship Council-certified. To fill the void, the company will aim to use at least 10 percent post-consumer recycled waste in the more than 360 million soft-pornalogs Victoria’s Secret sends out yearly. Limited Brands has “set a new standard, one that we expect other major catalog companies to meet or exceed,” says Todd Paglia, ForestEthics executive director. As we take a look in Gristmill at companies whose catalog ethics could use a boost, we wonder: did anyone ask the trees whether they prefer storing carbon to hobnobbing with nearly nude models? Didn’t think so.