The investigation found wood from plantations that cut down tens of thousands of hectares of forest was processed at an Indonesian mill supplying packaging firm Asia Symbol.

It supplied UK-based Haleon -- known for household brands such as Panadol, Sensodyne and Centrum vitamins -- with "carbon-neutral" packaging for its China operations.

AFP and investigative newsroom The Gecko Project used satellite imagery, government audit documents, trade data, ship-tracking information and open source material to trace timber from plantations in Indonesia to Asia Symbol factories in China.

Asia Symbol said it had placed the mill supplying the pulp under "enhanced due diligence", but insisted the material used for packaging supplied to Haleon did not come from plantations linked to deforestation.

It did not provide evidence for how it separated supply chains.

Haleon said its own investigation found no evidence that "deforestation-linked material" entered its supply chain, but it was nonetheless "very concerned".

"We have therefore asked our suppliers to ensure that any material supplied to Haleon is not sourced from Asia Symbol" or plantation companies "associated with risk of deforestation".

Asia Symbol has a no-deforestation policy and its parent company, Singapore-headquartered conglomerate Royal Golden Eagle, has committed to a deforestation-free supply chain since 2015.

Its bid to win back the environmental seal of approval granted by the Forest Stewardship Council has stalled over allegations of rights violations against Indigenous people by another of its subsidiaries.

"The findings of this investigation indicate that RGE is still very much in the business of deforestation," said Robin Averbeck, forest programme director at Rainforest Action Network.

Indonesia has lost vast tracts of rainforest to plantations, mining and fires, threatening biodiverse landscapes that are home to endangered species like orangutans.

Forest loss has also been blamed for worsening natural disasters like last year's flooding in Sumatra, which killed over 1,000 people.

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HALEON