Sears challenged over catalog practices

CHICAGO Sears Holdings has been criticized of being envrionmentally irresponsible in its catalog practices, by ForestEthics, a network of environmental activists from across North America.

The group claims that the Sears' Land's End catalog contains almost no recycled content, and uses paper sourced from endangered forests, including Canada's Boreal Forest.

"Sears/Land's End was once an innovative American icon -- the problem is when it comes to the environment, they are stuck in the past instead of leading the way into a greener 21st century," said Ginger Cassady, senior paper campaigner for ForestEthics, who has been in negotiations with the company over its environmental practices. "In an era of growing concern about corporate responsibility, companies must demonstrate their values and protect their brand by implementing better environmental policies."

In response to this matter, Sears Holdings issued the following statement: "Sears Holdings has developed a paper policy to address many of the issues that non-governmental organizations (like ForestEthics) have raised and we continue to progress with practices to support that policy.   We are engaged with our suppliers and industry associations to continuously improve on our prudent use of natural resources."

Sears Holdings paper sustainability policy can be found at http://www.searsholdings.com/about/sustainability/paper.htm