Social well-being

Our core business - your questions answered

Q Wouldn’t it be better for the planet to stop making tissues?
A Tissues are often recommended by public authorities as the best solution to limit transmission of germs and viruses. Using a
tissue once and immediately throwing it away afterwards is described as a simple but necessary step towards better hygiene.
In the UK the “Catch it, Bin it, Kill it” campaign launched by the UK Department of Health in November 2007 raised awareness of
the need for good respiratory and hand hygiene and encouraged people to follow correct hygiene steps when coughing and
sneezing. In France the Institut National de Prévention et d’Education pour la Santé (INEPS) launched a campaign in 2006
entitled “Jetez vos mouchoirs dans une poubelle, un geste simple pour limiter les risques d’infection”.

Q Why use paper towels and not hand dryers?
A According to the European Tissue Symposium (ETS), a study undertaken by scientists at the University of Westminster suggests
that electric hand dryers found in thousands of public toilets can dramatically increase the number of bacteria on people’s hands
after washing them. The study states that drying hands with warm air dryers increases the total number of bacteria on average by
254% on the palms, while paper towels reduce the total bacteria count on average by 77% on the palms. This is especially important as hand hygiene prevents the spread of infectious disease.  According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cross contamination is the Number 1 cause of the spread of disease. Hand washing is the most important and least expensive measure to prevent transmission of infection.

Georgia-Pacific measures its impact on social well-being in two ways:

• Our impact on our communities – the places where we work, and the lives of our consumers
• Our impact on the health and well-being of our people – the team who works hard for Georgia-Pacific around the world