Kimberly-Clark says shoppers won't pay to go green

CHICAGO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Kimberly-Clark Corp (KMB.N) is researching sustainable products, but at this point consumers are not willing to spend significantly more for environmentally friendly paper goods, its chief financial officer said on Wednesday.

The company, which makes Kleenex tissues, Cottonelle toilet paper and Scott paper towels, has also found consumers do not want to buy items that are more environmentally sound but do not perform as well as traditional paper products, CFO Mark Buthman said at a Lehman Brothers conference.

His comments, which were in response to a question at the conference, were also broadcast over the Internet.

The company, which is working on expanding its health and hygiene businesses and expanding in developing markets, raised its full-year earnings forecast to $4.20 to $4.25 per share on an adjusted basis from a prior range of $4.10 to $4.20 back in July. Buthman disclosed that forecast again on Wednesday.

(See here for "Shop Talk" -- Reuters' retail and consumer blog)

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl)

((Editing by Lisa Von Ahn; Reuters Messaging: jessica.wohl.reuters.com@reuters.net; +312-408-8132; e-mail: jessica.wohl@reuters.com)) Keywords: KIMBERLYCLARK/

(C) Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution ofReuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expresslyprohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuterssphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group ofcompanies around the world.nN05199140