Minister Cramer enthousiast over nieuwe generatie toiletpapier
‘The manner in which Van Houtum Papier expresses corporate social responsibility serves as a role model for other companies,’ enthused Jacqueline Cramer, the Dutch Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, while complimenting CEO Henk van Houtum during a meeting at the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in The Hague. Henk van Houtum presented the Minister with the first roll of fully biodegradable toilet paper at the gathering.
Van Houtum Papier is the world’s first company to manufacture fully biodegradable toilet paper. Produced under the brand name Satino Nature, the toilet paper is Cradle to Cradle certified by MBDC, the American agency run by Michael Braungart and William McDonough. They are the founders of the Cradle to Cradle concept. Its philosophy revolves around the principle that waste is the raw material for the next link in the chain (‘waste equals food’).
Satino Nature is made from 100 percent recycled paper and has been awarded the FSC-recycled quality mark and the European Ecolabel. Fully in line with the philosophy of Cradle to Cradle, the Satino Nature product range was developed with an eye to the biological cycle of production, use and recycling.
Minister Cramer emphasised that she is always pleased to make time in her busy schedule for companies that merge sustainable business practices with innovative, sustainable products. ‘The Cradle to Cradle philosophy makes it possible to add economic value without doing damage to People, Planet and Profit,’ she explained. She congratulated Henk van Houtum on obtaining the Cradle to Cradle certification and enthusiastically autographed the first roll of Cradle to Cradle toilet paper.
Sustainable business is a high priority to many people and organisations, as evidenced by the presence of several Satino Partners, Roermond’s Mayor Henk van Beers, and Provincial Executive Bert Kersten for the Province of Limburg. They, too, were happy to make time to present the new generation of toilet paper to the world.
The Satino Nature product range will be available in stores from 1 September 2009.