Singapore’s largest grocery retailer NTUC FairPrice has removed all products supplied by Asia Pulp & Paper from its stores due to the paper giant’s role in contributing to the toxic haze.
The Singapore Environment Council (SEC) has instituted a temporary restriction on the use of the “Singapore Green Label” certification for APP products after becoming aware the company sourced paper from companies responsible for the fires across Indonesia which have left Singapore and parts of Malaysia shrouded in a toxic haze.
FairPrice carries 14 housebrand paper products that are certified with the Singapore Green Label. Two of these are housebrand tissue products sourced from APP through Universal Sovereign, a licensed distributor, while the rest of the products are not affected. In addition, all 16 APP related products from the various brands FairPrice carries have also attained the Singapore Green Label certification.
FairPrice CEO Seah Kian Peng said the company has taken the opportunity to reiterate its firm stance on the issue.
“We have been proactively monitoring the situation over the past week. We initiated meetings with the various parties concerned when the list of firms including APP, was named by the authorities as suspects for contributing to the haze. As a fair business partner, we reserved taking action pending further information and investigation by the authorities.
“Our decision to withdraw all APP products is a result of the temporary restriction of their Green Label certification. This reflects our conviction and commitment towards promoting and adopting sustainable practices, as we have done all these years.”
FairPrice has been championing various initiatives that promote sustainability. One of these initiatives is certifying housebrand products with the Singapore Green Label Scheme administered by SEC. Last week, SEC requested companies with paper products certified under the Singapore Green Label Scheme to declare compliance with using sustainable materials. FairPrice was unable to sign the declaration for the two housebrand products earlier as it was pending APP’s confirmation of their compliance to SEC’s requirements.
Following the temporary restriction of the Green Label notification, FairPrice has withdrawn both housebrand products, which include FairPrice Softpack Tissue 200s and the FairPrice Gold 3 Ply Facial Tissue 140s supplied by APP. Beyond this, FairPrice will also withdraw all APP related products including Paseo, Nice and Jolly.
“We assure customers that FairPrice has alternative brands of paper products, including products with the Green Label, available to meet consumers’ needs.”
All APP products will be withdrawn from all FairPrice stores by 5pm today.
