It's Easy Being Green: Recycled Paper Revisited
Ten years ago, only staunch environmentalists were using recycled paper. There were few choices among papers if you wanted high recycled content, and there was definitely a quality and price tradeoff. Most organizations felt they couldn't afford to present themselves solely on poorly finished paper that wasn't convincingly white, and the market languished.
Today, demand for recycled paper is climbing, which is great news for both the environment and for paper consumers. Even better, recycled paper has entered the mainstream. Demand is being fueled by purchases from companies like Timberland, Patagonia, Dell Computer and Home Depot, which means there are more kinds of recycled paper easily available at lower prices than at any other time.
There is now a high quality recycled paper available to meet every need whether you are printing a newsletter or an annual report, a brochure or a book. New Leaf Paper, a distributor, manufactures its own line of recycled papers, as do manufacturers such as Mohawk and Neenah. Domtar just launched a new line of environmentally friendly papers called EarthChoice.
Here is some background to help you in making your own purchases.
Look for a high level of post-consumer waste: Coated stock for covers and postcards is available in both glossy and matte finishes with conventional brightness levels. New Leaf's glossy stock uses 60% de-inked paper (not necessarily post-consumer) and 80% total recycled fiber, while the matte cover stock is 100% recycled and includes 50% post-consumer waste. You can find coated glossy magazine and catalog papers with 20-30% post-consumer waste. When you are searching for No.1 coated paper you will need to "settle" for only 10% post-consumer waste.
Make sure any wood content has FSC certification: Even with perfect recycling, we still need virgin fiber in paper manufacturing. If the paper grade and coating you are considering requires wood fiber, make certain it has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which certifies sustainable forestry practices.
Consider bleaching processes as well: Bleaching accounts for a very significant portion of paper's environmental impact.
Bleaching with chlorine gas, still used by many manufacturers, introduces deadly dioxins into the environment.
Elemental chlorine-free bleaching (ECF) uses chlorine compounds, and while significantly better than gas bleaching, still forms harmful organochlorides.
Totally chlorine-flee bleaching (TCF) uses alternate, safer bleaching processes.
The best environmental choice is processed chlorine-free (PCF) which is recycled paper bleached with a chlorine-free process.
For more information on recycled and chlorine-free paper, check out the following websites:
Forest Stewardship Council,
www.fsc.org
Chlorine Free Paper Consortium,
www.chlorinefreeproducts.org
Conservatree, www.conservatree.com
Rethink Paper, a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to catalyzing a transition to an ecologically sound U.S. pulp and paper industry, www.rethinkpaper.org
Woodwise, Co-op America's Woodwise Consumer guide, www.woodwise.org.