Students persuade Rice to ditch Kleenex

So here's something interesting: A group of students at Rice University have persuaded the university to stop buying Kleenex products and instead go with paper goods that aren't going to wipe out the North American boreal forest. Who knew?

Students in several environmental groups talked to Rice purchasers about buying recycled materials and ones that don't come from boreal trees: "We simply showed our purchasing (department) that there are cheaper and environmentally superior products, so it was a no-brainer," sophomore earth sciences major Kyle Saari told the Chronicle. According to a statement released yesterday by Greenpeace, the boreal forest makes up 25 percent of the Earth's remaining ancient forest; Kimberly-Clark, which makes Kleenex, said it only used a small percentage of boreal fiber in 2005. Rice isn't taking a stand for or against Kleenex: "Our purchasers substituted these products ... but there is no official prohibition of buying Kimberly-Clark products for use on campus," spokesman B.J. Almond said.

Also Thursday, Saari and some other students delivered a 4-foot-tall copy of a letter announcing the purchasing change to Houston businessman Marc Shapiro, a member of the boards of Rice and Kimberly-Clark. We're sure it was printed on recycled paper ...