Kimberly-Clark Corporation announced it will invest heavily in research that has the potential to reduce or even eliminate wood fiber in its paper consumer products.
“This represents an exciting moonshot for Kimberly-Clark and the culmination of more than two decades of materials and plant science expertise,” said Craig Slavtcheff, chief research and development officer at Kimberly-Clark. “We have developed a highly proprietary technology platform rooted in alternative fiber research and believe that these novel natural fibers will form our next great materials platform – an innovation with the potential to reshape the hygiene category.”
After evaluating more than 70 fiber candidates across performance, sustainability and cost criteria, Kimberly-Clark research scientists identified a promising solution in hesperaloe, a native, low-water-use plant that thrives in the arid climate of the Southwest United States. The company’s innovation program, based in Yuma, Arizona, has demonstrated this plant and its proprietary technologies yield a rapidly renewable natural fiber source that carries the performance and quality standards consumers expect from Kimberly-Clark’s brands.
Kimberly-Clark is building a pilot facility in Yuma and hiring local, specialized talent to support it. The plant is expected to open in 2027. According to the Wall Street Journal, Kimberly-Clark has invested $250 million in the effort so far and expects it will need to invest many times that amount to commercialize hesperaloe.
The company is collaborating with growers, technical experts, and community stakeholders in Arizona, California, and across the broader U.S. Southwest to evaluate hesperaloe’s potential as a year-round source of agricultural and economic opportunity. Compared with several crops currently grown in the region, hesperaloe requires less water to cultivate, offering potential benefits for growers, local communities, and regional water stewardship efforts.
Kimberly-Clark believes its Alternative Natural Fiber has the potential to be integrated across its hygiene products portfolio, accelerating its efforts to deliver consumer-inspired, science-driven innovation, strengthening its long-term fiber supply resilience, and advancing responsible stewardship of natural resources.
