Information on
100% post-consumer recycled paper, bleach-free and acid-free,
is available at:
http://www.treecycle.com
Do you know the difference between recycled paper and post consumer waste (pcw) paper?
There is a very simple way to make a difference in this situation. It starts with reducing your usage of paper products. It continues with the idea of re-using as much as possible. Use both sides of the paper sheet for example. It finishes with the effort of every consumer to recycle all paper products wherever possible. Thus, to reduce waste in landfills the amount of pcw content is key. It “closes the loop” of recycling and makes our recycling bins work!
Paper as a commodity is used by almost every human being, everywhere on earth, every day. The consumption of and/or use for paper is not likely to go away any time soon. To help stem the demand on the natural resources required to make paper, I encourage you to purchase paper products containing AT LEAST 30% post consumer waste paper (pcw). This information is somewhere on the packaging. If you don’t see these products where you spend your money, ask.
About 10 years ago a federal regulation requiring the US government to use paper with at least 30% post consumer waste (pcw) went into effect. At first manufacturers had problems creating good quality paper using post consumer waste. That situation no longer exists. Paper products made today with pcw are virtually identical to those using virgin tree fiber. Unfortunately, the idea that pcw paper is hard to work with still exists in some places. This piece of paper is 100% pcw. Could you tell the difference?
As with anything else in our consumer driven society, the more we ask for a product the more likely it is to become less expensive and more available. Using more pcw paper products saves what is left of the forest, saves fresh water and does not require chlorine bleach, a known toxin.
Bottom line? Recycled doesn’t tell you the whole story. When buying paper products for home use, your office, club, group or organization, ask for products containing at least 30% pcw paper, the federal government standard. Or 100% pcw, the CopyCare standard. In either case, your decision really does make a difference.
Graphic Paper
Kenaf: 50% Kenaf/50% Reclaimed Cotton (TREE FREE)
Hemp: 50% Hemp/50% reclaimed Cotton (Tree Free)
Old Money: 30% PCW U.S Currency/70% Reclaimed Cotton. (Tree Free and
Recycled)
Denim Blues: 100% Reclaimed Denim Blue Jean Cotton. (Tree Free)
Weeds: 85% Sugar Cane/15% Hemp)
Evolution: (100% Post-Consumer/100% Processed Chlorine Free)
Sandpiper: 100% Post-Consumer
New Life DP: 60% Post-Consumer/100% Processed Chlorine Free.
The PAPER Project -- a partnership of Co-op America, the Independent Press Association, and Conservatree -- has released a white paper on the impact of the magazine industry on the environment, entitled Turning the Page. Following is the press release announcing the paper. If you have any questions or would like more information on the report or the PAPER Project, please contact Todd Larsen at 202-872-5310, or go to the project's web site at www.ecopaperaction.org.
news release
STUDY: STAGGERING ANNUAL WASTE OF FORESTS BY U.S. MAGAZINE INDUSTRY IS EQUAL TO NATIONAL PARK
Study by Three Nonprofit Groups Finds Industry is "Forest's Deadly Foe"Magazines Use Almost No Recycled Paper and Very Few Are Recycled.
WASHINGTON, D.C.//May 23, 2001///A study released today by the nonprofit PAPER Project - a joint effort of the Independent Press Association, Conservatree and Co-op America - concludes that the U.S. magazine industry is responsible for wasteful deforestation that destroys over 30 million trees a year, which is equivalent to an area of forest the size of the Rocky Mountain National Park.
The major new study, Turning the Page: Environmental Impacts of the Magazine Industry and Recommendations for Improvement, details an array of environmentally unsound industry practices, including the 2.9 billion unread magazines that are destroyed each year and the fact that less than 5 percent of magazines use recycled paper.
The study concludes that if all magazines published in the U.S. switched to at least 10 percent post-consumer content, the resulting annual savings would be over 540,000 tons of trees - an amount equal to what would be used to make copy paper for 11.6 million people per year. The switch to 10 percent post-consumer content also would save enough energy to power 23,000 households, reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to those produced by 56,000 cars, and eliminate solid wastes equivalent to the garbage produced by 66,000 households.
"We must end the environmental assault arising from the magazine industry's addiction to virgin papers," Dana Harmon Charron, director of Co-op America's WoodWise Program said. "As Americans increasingly demand more and more corporate responsibility when it comes to the environment, they won't tolerate magazine publishers who blatantly ignore the obvious value of recycling and limiting pollution."
Independent Press Association Executive Director John Anner added: "There is enormous potential for environmental leadership here on the part of the magazine industry. And it is simply untrue to suggest that it can't be done. Publications such as Sierra, Outside and Blue already are printing on high-quality, recycled paper. Along with quality, cost and availability, the environment should be part of the calculation that magazines make when choosing paper and managing their distribution."
Conservatree Executive Director Susan Kinsella commented: "There
is no longer any way to justify the staggering waste every year of millions
of trees and enormous amounts of energy and water for magazines that use
no recycled paper. There are ample recycled papers readily available
right now at competitive prices, and there will be even more when magazine
publishers start asking for them. This is the 21st century
- we cannot continue the wasteful production systems of the past."
KEY FINDINGS
The 31-page PAPER Project study documents how the magazine industry
is a significant contributor to deforestation, dioxin contamination, air
pollution (including greenhouse gases) and water pollution. Environmental
damage caused by this industry will escalate unless publishers increase
their use of recycled-content paper. Key findings from the PAPER Project
are:
* Magazine production is a major
contributor to deforestation. U.S. magazine production uses more
than 2.2 million tons of paper per year, and this number is increasing
as some sectors of the industry experience tremendous growth. Magazines
are printed almost exclusively on papers made from virgin fiber, resulting
in more than 35 million trees being cut down each year. Virgin magazine
paper production also uses enormous amounts of energy and water, and produces
considerably more pollution than ecological paper alternatives.
* Less than 5 percent of magazine
paper has any recycled content, and even these recycled content papers
generally contain only 10-30 percent recycled fiber. Almost all magazine
papers have been bleached with chlorine or chlorine compounds, which produce
extremely toxic dioxin.
* The vast majority of magazines
are discarded within one year, and few of these are recycled. Approximately
90 percent of all magazines are discarded within a year of publication,
and only about 20 percent of these are recycled. In 1998, approximately
18,000 magazine titles were published, producing a total of about 12 billion
magazines; over 9 billion of these were landfilled or incinerated.
* Overproduction is a key factor
in magazine industry wastefulness. The magazine industry's impact on the
environment is compounded by systems that reward the industry for overproduction
of publications. These inefficiencies are particularly apparent in magazines
sold on newsstands, versus those sold by subscription. Inefficiencies begin
with the publisher
deliberately overproducing magazines to maximize advertising rates
and are compounded by distributors over-ordering to ensure that no magazine
rack is ever empty. Publishers rarely receive the kind of timely
and accurate retail sales information needed to improve efficiency, and
they have little economic incentive to reduce print runs, as the marginal
cost of each magazine is relatively low (about 91 cents on average).
* Almost 3 billion magazines on
newsstands are never read. About 4.7 billion magazines are delivered
to newsstands each year. As a result of the above wasteful practices, about
2.9 billion of these are never read - enough magazines, placed end to end,
to circle the Earth 20 times.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE MAGAZINE INDUSTRY
The PAPER Project report encourages magazine publishers to employ a
two-pronged approach that includes introducing or increasing post-consumer
recycled content into the paper they use, as well as working with retailers
and distributors to achieve higher efficiency levels in terms of the proportion
of newsstand magazines that are actually sold to customers.
Recommendations to magazine publishers include:
* Use high-quality recycled papers (both coated and uncoated) that now are widely available. In the past, publishers have expressed concerns about the quality and price of recycled papers. However, today's recycled paper is available from top paper manufacturers and satisfies all printing requirements. Coated magazine-grade papers with 10 percent post-consumer content and uncoated papers with 30 percent post-consumer content are readily available. Recycled paper now:
* Meets the same technical specifications
as virgin paper.
* Successfully runs on even the
most demanding printing presses, office machines and copiers.
* Offers competitive brightness
levels - from moderate to high, with pleasing light reflection and excellent
print and color reproduction.
* Is available in virtually every
grade and through the majority of printers, paper distributors and retail
outlets.
* Is often priced equivalently
with virgin papers, or price differentials are quite small.
* Follow the lead of magazines
successfully printing on recycled papers. A number of magazines already
are successfully using paper that contains post-consumer recycled content.
Magazines including Blue, Discover and Outside have adopted these environmentally
friendly papers, and even smaller magazines with limited budgets are successfully
using them, too. A survey by the Independent Press Association identified
more than a dozen IPA members that print on recycled-content paper, including
Sierra, Earth Island Journal, Amicus Journal, E Magazine, Terrain, Orion,
Orion Afield,
California Wild, Wild Earth, World Watch and YES! In addition,
several magazines - including National Geographic, Mother Jones and Utne
Reader - have pledged to eliminate old-growth fiber from their papers.
This PAPER Project report provides profiles of several magazines that have
a history of successfully printing on recycled paper.
* Reform newsstand inefficiencies.
To increase newsstand efficiency, associations such as the Magazine Publishers
of America and the Audit Bureau of Circulation must work with publishers,
retailers and distributors to establish more environmentally responsible
management practices. These practices would include:
* Better management of newsstand
sales, aiming to achieve a 60 percent sell-through rate.
* Improved ratebase calculation
protocols that provide financial incentives for greater efficiency.
* More efficient inventory systems
that provide up-to-date information to publishers on where magazines are
sold and in what quantities.
* Take advantage of resources available
to ease the switch to recycled paper. Key PAPER Project resources
available to publishers include:
* An extensive resource list of
recycled-content papers appropriate for a wide range of publications is
available at www.EcoPaperAction.org <http://www.EcoPaperAction.org>.
* Advice on alternative paper purchasing
arrangements, such as cooperatives and long-term contracts, to increase
availability and reduce costs.
* Technical assistance for publishers
switching to recycled papers.
ABOUT THE PAPER PROJECT
Members of the PAPER Project are the Independent Press Association,
Conservatree and Co-op America. The mission of this partnership is to reduce
the magazine industry's impact on the environment by helping magazine publishers
adopt environmentally preferable printing and distribution practices. All
three members print their publications on papers that are
excellent environmental choices. The Project's web site
is www.EcoPaperAction.org <http://www.EcoPaperAction.org>.
Co-op America is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing far-reaching
economic strategies for achieving environmental sustainability and social
justice. The WoodWise Program helps consumers and businesses make
more forest-friendly purchasing and lifestyle decisions. It regularly
publishes the WoodWise Consumer Guide, which contains practical tips and
a list of resources to help individuals protect forests.
The Independent Press Association is an international membership-based organization that represents more than 350 magazines and community newspapers committed to social justice. The IPA provides technical assistance to members and advocates on behalf of the independent press.
The non-profit Conservatree provides information, tools and technical
assistance to help purchasers switch to environmentally sustainable paper
options. It grew out of Conservatree Paper Company, which introduced
the
first recycled papers in most printing and writing grades and developed
the recycled paper markets in North America from 1976-1997.
* * * * *
CONTACT: Stephanie Kendall, The Hastings Group, 703/276-1116, ext. 257, or Todd Larsen, for the PAPER Project, 202/872-5310 or toddlarsen@coopamerica.org <mailto:toddlarsen@coopamerica.org>.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: The text of the PAPER Project's study can
be found in its entirety at www.EcoPaperAction.org <http://www.EcoPaperAction.org>.
Here are some suggestions for quality recycled paper. Try the
Eureka! 100 copier paper. It is 20#, 84 brightness
and 100% post-consumer. You can buy this paper at Real Earth (http://www.treeco.com)
and some major paper
retailers such as Xpedx and Staples.
For another resource on finding papers and identifying their environmental
qualities, check out ConservaTree at http://www.conservatree.com.
By going to their "Paper Listings" and choosing the type of paper you need
(e.g.,
copy or writing script), you will receive a listing of every major
recycled paper on the U.S. market along with information about content,
acidity, chlorine free process, certification, brightness, finishes, colors
and basis weights. A great basic resource.
Co-op America's WoodWise
There is a glossary of terms on Co-op America's WoodWise Web site:
http://www.woodwise.org/pdf/04_glossary.pdf
See the website for Seattle’s PaperCuts program, an effort to reduce the amount of paper used in the city’s government. The website contains some useful information: http://www.seattle.gov/papercuts/default.htm (Extracted from Tom Watson’s Waste Prevention Forum, sent 6/1/05)
"Renourish"
renourish features:
• case studies on sustainable graphic design (more on the way,
feel free to submit yours)
• definitions of sustainability and why it is important to graphic
design
• preferred printers
• the truth about paper and sustainable options
• the truth about ink and non=toxic options
• sustainable living tips (since designers just don't design)
• links to blogs and current sustainable news
• a blog format where guests can register post their reviews and contribute
to the community
• downloadable sustainable checklists for design jobs
• downloadable "safe" Pantone coated swatchbooks for Illustrator files
(Pantones with heavy metals removed)
More content will come as the sustainable community grows! Feel free to contact me through the AIGA message board and also through benzo@re-nourish.com for your thoughts on the site, what you could contribute and how you feel it could be improved in the future! Thanks. Spread the word, seed new conversations, renourish the graphic design community.
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