Alemais Forest Policy

ALEMAIS Commitment to Protect Forests Through Paper, Packaging and Fabrics Choices

Alemais is committed to the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility and ethical conduct. For this reason, Alemais is committed to protecting the world’s forests through our approach to procurement of pulp, paper, packaging and fabrics.

We recognise that trees are one of the best tools we have in removing carbon pollution from our atmosphere, as well as providing a myriad of benefits to our ecosystem. As substitutions for single use plastics are sought out it is recognized that the environmental issues arising with an increase in demand for forest-based products as a substitute must be addressed. Alongside our current responsible sourcing of wood pulp products and investing in reforestation projects, this policy considers the pressing need for conservation of Ancient and Endangered Forests.

Conservation of Ancient and Endangered Forests and Ecosystems
Alemais supports approaches and systems to build a future that does not use Ancient and Endangered Forests in the packaging, paper or in man-made cellulosic fabrics, including rayon, viscose, lyocell, modal and other trademarked brands. We will influence these supply chains in order to protect the world’s remaining Ancient and Endangered Forests and endangered species habitat.

To do this, we will:

Work with Canopy innovative companies and suppliers, to support collaborative and visionary solutions that protect remaining Ancient and Endangered Forests in the Coastal Temperate Rainforests on Vancouver Island and the Great Bear Rainforest , Canada’s Boreal Forests , Indonesia’s Rainforests and Australia’s old growth forests.
Assess our existing use of man-made cellulosics, packaging and paper and eliminate sourcing from endangered species habitat and Ancient and Endangered Forests such as the Canadian and Russian Boreal Forests; Coastal Temperate Rainforests; tropical forests and peatlands of Indonesia, Australian old growth forests, the Amazon and West Africa by 2025.
Work to eliminate sourcing from: companies that are logging forests illegally ; tree plantations established after 1994 through the conversion or simplification of natural forests; or areas being logged in contravention of First Nations/tribal/indigenous peoples’ and community rights or from other controversial suppliers.
At any time prior to 2025, if we find that any of our products are sourced from Ancient and Endangered Forests, endangered species habitat or illegal logging, we will act immediately and engage our suppliers to change practices, eliminate these sources and/or re-evaluate our relationship with them.

Design and Prioritization of Reduction and Reuse
The reduction and reuse of paper and packaging is of paramount priority for the protection of the world’s limited forest resources.

At Alemais we prioritize the development of a reduction and reuse strategy with targets and timelines. Over the next 3 years Alemais will:

Source or design re-usable/refillable shipping boxes to reduce corrugated paper and paperboard
Design and implement e-commerce, shipping, display and wrapping systems that minimize the use of virgin paper
Utilize re-useable packaging systems for intra business applications
Increase the use of digital communication, marketing and accounting systems
Adopt best practices including researching and applying emerging and circular economy innovations.

Shift to More Environmentally and Socially Beneficial Fabrics
Alemais will collaborate with Canopy, innovative companies and suppliers to encourage the development of fibre sources that reduce environmental and social impacts, with a focus on agricultural residues and recycled fabrics. We will participate in trials where appropriate.

In 2023, Alemais will put in place a preference for purchasing man-made cellulosics products that include minimum of 90% of these innovative fibre sources and develop a 2025 procurement target for these closed-loop solutions based on viscose fibre producer innovation.

Improve Environmental Quality of Packaging and Paper
Alemais will collaborate with Canopy, innovative companies and suppliers to encourage the development of Next Generation Solutions and packaging and paper that reduce environmental and social impacts, with a focus on agricultural fibres (particularly residues)10 and recycled content.

To help reduce the footprint of the paper and packaging we use Alemais will:

Do an annual review of all of our paper and packaging use in order to identify areas where we can increase paper use efficiencies, reduce paper and packaging basis weights, and save money and resources.
Give preference to paper/packaging with high-recycled content, specifically post-consumer waste content reaching an overall recycled fiber content in our papers and packaging of at least 50% average within 3 years;
Encourage our suppliers to continuously improve and expand the availability of recycled content in papers/packaging;
Source packaging and paper from alternative fibres such as wheat straw or other agricultural residues, when possible;
Support research and development of commercial scale production of pulp, paper and packaging from alternative fibre sources such as wheat straw, and other alternative fibres including participation in trials as appropriate.

Forest Certification
Where the above conditions are met (including 1-4), Alemais will request that all fabric, packaging and paper sourced from forests are from responsibly managed forests, certified to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification system, and where FSC certified plantations are part of the solution.

Recognizing, Respecting and Upholding Human Rights and the Rights of Communities
Alemais will request that our suppliers respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and acknowledge indigenous and rural communities legal, customary or user rights to their territories, land, and resources. To do so, we request that our suppliers acknowledge the right of Indigenous People and rural communities to give or withhold their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) before new logging rights are allocated or plantations are developed. We request that our suppliers resolve complaints and conflicts, and remediate human rights violations through a transparent, accountable, and agreeable dispute resolution process.

Reduce Greenhouse Gas Footprint
Alemais recognizes the importance of forests as carbon storehouses and their role in maintaining climate stability. Alemais will continue to fund the planting of trees for each sale made. Supporting reforestation projects around the world in an effort to help restore healthy ecosystems, sequestering carbon and boosting biodiversity.

As part of our ongoing leadership on climate we will continue to support initiatives that advance forest conservation to reduce the loss of high carbon stock forests, by encouraging suppliers to avoid harvest in these areas, and by giving preference to those that use effective strategies to actively reduce their greenhouse gas footprint.

Safeguarding Water and Critical Systems
Alemais recognizes that Ancient and Endangered Forests are vitally important systems for the protection and regulation of water from the local to global level. Large areas of contiguous forest act as a biotic pump helping to move moisture from coastal areas to the interior of continents. We give preference to those suppliers that use effective strategies to actively maintain and restore forest intactness to maintain forests’ function of regulating the flow and purity of water at a micro and macro scale.

Support Best Processing Practices and Procurement
Alemais, requires that our man-made cellulosic suppliers use best available environmental practices for processing, such as the ‘closed-loop’ lyocell processing.

We will give purchasing preference to paper and packaging that has been processed utilizing technologies such as chlorine free bleaching .

Promote Industry Leadership
Alemais looks to create a positive impact together with our suppliers, partners and customers. As implementation progresses, Alemais will work with suppliers, non-governmental organizations, other stakeholders and brands that work with Canopy to support the protection of Ancient and Endangered Forests and forward solutions to reduce the demands upon forests. We will also seek opportunities to educate and inform the public on these issues and solutions through our marketing and communications.

Kelly Elkin
Head of Environmental and Social Impact

April 2023

Download policy here