Major tissue and toilet paper manufacturers are failing to sell environmentally friendly products, conservationists have warned.

The WWF environmental group rated Georgia-Pacific, Kimberly-Clark, Metsa Tissue, Procter & Gamble and SCA Tissue on their environmental friendliness.

Two of the five companies surveyed achieved a score of over 50 per cent, compared with none in 2005.

Metsa Tissue received a 53 per cent score, while SCA Tissue achieved 69 per cent, the only firm to get a "green mark" from the WWF.

SCA Tissue, the manufacturer of such brands as Cosy and Velvet, was the only company that used wood fibres in its products that did not come from poorly-managed forests.

The study also found that SCA Tissue promotes the highest environmental and social standards in forest management.

According to the WWF, Metsa Tissue was the only firm to increase recycled fibre levels in its products.

Kimberly-Clark finished in third place with a 40 per cent score, followed by Procter & Gamble in fourth with 34 per cent.

Georgia Pacific, the producers of Nouvelle and Lotus, was ranked bottom of the five companies surveyed.

Helma Brandlmaier, from WWF's Global Forests Programme, said: "We welcome the improvements made, but we urge these companies to seriously work on the persistent weaknesses identified in the assessment."

The global conservation group is also very critical of retailers who demand virgin fibre for luxury, bright white and fluffy tissue products.

Helma Brandlmaier, WWF: "We welcome the improvements made, but we urge these companies to seriously work on the persistent weaknesses identified in the assessment."

"At a time when the world's natural forests are under severe pressure because of the skyrocketing demand for all kinds of timber products, retailers should be offering the most environmentally-friendly tissue products to their customers," added Brandlmaier.

"Customers should urge retailers to stock recycled tissues. The tissue 'giants' should be producing forest-friendly products in the first place."

The WWF claims that the European tissue industry is worth about €8.5bn annually, and accounts for nearly 26 per cent of global tissue consumption, with each European using an estimated 22 billion toilet rolls every year.

The five companies analysed by the WWF make up about 75 per cent of the European tissue market.