Kimberly-Clark Tests Hesperaloe Fibre to Reduce Reliance on Forest-Based Materials

Kimberly-Clark is testing a new plant-based fibre that could reduce its dependence on traditional wood pulp and create a more geographically diversified raw material supply chain for hygiene products.

The US consumer products manufacturer has developed a proprietary alternative natural fibre platform using hesperaloe, a succulent plant suited to the dry conditions of the southwestern United States. The company announced the programme in August 2026 after evaluating more than 70 fibre candidates against performance, sustainability and cost criteria.

Kimberly-Clark is now building a pilot facility in Yuma, Arizona, as it moves the technology beyond laboratory testing. The project will assess whether the fibre can be produced consistently and economically at a scale relevant to the company's tissue and personal care operations.

The initiative provides an example of how large manufacturers are increasingly considering material innovation not only as a product development issue, but also as a tool for managing environmental impacts and supply chain risk.

Hesperaloe Selected After Testing More Than 70 fibres

Kimberly-Clark said its researchers examined more than 70 possible fibre sources before selecting hesperaloe. The candidates were evaluated according to product performance, sustainability characteristics and cost.

Hesperaloe is native to arid environments and requires relatively little water. Kimberly-Clark says the plant requires less water to cultivate than several crops currently grown in the region, although the company has not yet published detailed comparative water consumption figures or a full commercial-scale environmental assessment.

The company is working with growers, technical specialists and community stakeholders in Arizona, California and other parts of the US Southwest to study whether the crop could provide a reliable year-round agricultural feedstock.

Its significance extends beyond water use. Conventional hygiene products rely heavily on wood pulp, meaning manufacturers can be exposed to changes in timber availability, forestry regulation, extreme weather, transportation costs and global pulp prices.

Developing an agricultural fibre supply closer to US manufacturing operations could therefore provide Kimberly-Clark with another sourcing option rather than replacing wood pulp immediately.

Supply Chain Digital noted that a domestic hesperaloe supply chain could potentially give the company greater influence over production and sourcing than is possible when relying on forestry operations distributed across several countries. However, the programme remains at pilot stage, and its eventual commercial scale has not yet been established.

Fibre Diversification Forms Part of a Wider Forest Strategy

The project builds on Kimberly-Clark's broader effort to reduce its use of fibres sourced from natural forests.

According to the company's 2025 Sustainability Report, Kimberly-Clark reduced its use of natural forest fibre by 50% compared with its 2011 baseline, measured using the average monthly run rate over the final five months of 2025. The result met an interim target established by the company.

Kimberly-Clark defines environmentally preferred fibres as FSC-certified virgin fibre, recycled fibre and sustainable alternative non-wood fibres.

In 2025, FSC-certified virgin wood fibre accounted for 77% of the company's total virgin fibre purchases, including fluff pulp. Kimberly-Clark also reported that 95% of its tissue fibre came from environmentally preferred sources, maintaining performance above its 90% target for a third consecutive year.

The company's longer-term ambition is to become "Natural Forest-Free" across its product portfolio beyond 2030. Its strategy includes increasing recycled material, alternative non-wood fibres and FSC-certified wood fibre while reducing reliance on fibres primarily sourced from northern boreal and temperate forests.

Hesperaloe could therefore become part of a broader fibre mix rather than functioning as a single replacement material.

Material Choices Also Affect Scope 3 Emissions

Alternative fibre sourcing is also relevant to Kimberly-Clark's value chain emissions.

Purchased goods and services and the end-of-life treatment of products together represent more than 70% of the company's Scope 3 emissions inventory, according to Kimberly-Clark. The company has identified material and product design changes as important elements of its strategy for reducing those emissions.

Kimberly-Clark has been using life-cycle assessment to compare the carbon impacts associated with virgin wood, recycled and alternative non-wood fibres in tissue products. It has also developed a baseline for Scope 3 emissions associated with land use to help guide future sourcing decisions.

The sustainability performance of hesperaloe at commercial scale will consequently depend on more than the amount of water required to grow the crop.

Cultivation practices, agricultural inputs, land-use effects, harvesting, processing energy, transportation distances and fibre conversion efficiency will all influence its overall environmental footprint. These factors will become particularly important if the programme moves from pilot production to large-scale sourcing.

Pilot Project Will Test Commercial Viability

Kimberly-Clark has described early research results as encouraging and says the alternative fibre has demonstrated the performance characteristics necessary for potential use across its hygiene portfolio. The company says those conclusions are based on internal testing comparing the new fibres with forest-derived materials currently used in its products.

However, the company has also made clear that testing remains ongoing.

Pilot production will provide evidence on whether the technology can overcome some of the major challenges facing emerging biomaterials, including maintaining consistent fibre quality, establishing reliable agricultural supply, controlling processing costs and integrating new materials into existing manufacturing systems.

The project also has implications for farmers. If hesperaloe can provide competitive returns while requiring comparatively little irrigation, it could create another crop option in water-constrained parts of the US Southwest. Whether that opportunity becomes material will depend on crop yields, purchase agreements, processing infrastructure and long-term demand.

A Potential Model for Supply Chain Diversification

For the wider tissue and hygiene industry, Kimberly-Clark's programme highlights how raw material diversification can connect sustainability objectives with operational resilience.

Manufacturers using large volumes of wood pulp increasingly have to consider forest protection requirements, certification, traceability, climate exposure and commodity volatility alongside conventional considerations such as quality and price.

Kimberly-Clark's fibre procurement policy already requires responsibly sourced materials and recognizes recycled fibre, sustainable alternative non-wood fibres and certified virgin wood as acceptable environmentally responsible sources. The company also requires suppliers to provide information demonstrating compliance when requested.

Introducing agricultural fibres could expand that sourcing framework further.

The commercial implications remain uncertain. Kimberly-Clark has not announced a timetable for large-scale deployment, volumes of hesperaloe it expects to purchase, or a specific share of existing wood pulp that the material could eventually replace.

Those questions will be central to evaluating the programme's eventual environmental and supply chain impact.

For now, the Yuma project represents a practical experiment in moving fibre innovation from laboratory research into a supply chain setting. If performance, economics and environmental outcomes remain competitive at larger scale, hesperaloe could become another option in the growing range of materials being considered to reduce dependence on traditional forest-based fibres.

Source: supplychaindigital.com