Kimberly-Clarke, Wal-Mart and tan TP

Pogo’s famous dictum, “We have met the enemy, and he is us,” was given plenty of support by several news items reported in the Nov. 30 Herald.

One told of Wal-Mart having its biggest single-day sales total ever, and the other described the trampling of a shopper in a Wal-Mart store as she fought her way toward a stack of discounted DVD players. Avid bargain-hunters, we are told, stepped around and over her prostrate form.

The other story discussed Kimberly-Clarks’ struggles with pollution control, and made the point that PCBs, which rank among the most hideous of our industrial byproducts, are primarily the result of the bleaching process employed in the manufacture of toilet paper. Consumers must have white TP, and ( with the possible exception of a handful of Seattle “greenies”) would never accept a tan product. Considering the ultimate purpose of this material, isn’t insisting that it be snowy white akin to demanding mink-lined septic tanks? Do we have any right to kvetch about PCBs in our environment if we require such trivial amenities?

Let me issue the following challenge to Kimberly-Clark, and to area consumers; K-C, give us a choice of bleached and unbleached TP in our market area. Consumers, reckon the true costs of whiter-than-white and choose accordingly.

My fondest dream would be someday to read, “Local curmudgeonly letter-to-editor writer trampled as shoppers clamor for unbleached TP.”

Everett