The importance of recycled paper

At Earmark Invitations, we try very hard to use as much recycled paper as possible, in addition to recycling our own waste paper. For mailers, we use Envirotech 9x12 Envelopes which we get from GreenLine Paper. This is a great site for finding recycled products of all kinds, and I've also learned quite a lot about recycling and the environment from them and their newsletters. Here's some very interesting facts from their most recent newsletter:

Recently elements of the paper industry have been waging a well-funded public relations campaign touting the environmental friendliness of their industry. The ads are stressing their abundant, well-managed forests and logging through the Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) programs. At the same time they also seem to be calling into question the importance of recycled content and the methods used to make recycled paper. This is an unfortunate backtracking from their earlier promises of increased recycling rates and new de-inking mills.

Although sustainability is very important in forest management practices, FSC and SFI certified virgin paper products cannot hope to be as green as post-consumer recycled paper. Recycling is a system that not only conserves natural resources but also reduces municipal solid waste.

In the time of global climate change, a new concern is emerging around the methane (greenhouse) gas that escapes from paper trapped in landfills. Another good reason why the paper industry's emphasis should be on diverting as much paper from disposal as possible, introducing alternative fibers like industrial hemp, bagasse, kenaf and urging public conservation so that the trees can be left standing to help fight global warming and protect wildlife habitats.

Benefits of Recycled Paper
Compared to copy paper made from 100% virgin forest fiber, a copy paper made from 100% recycled content reduces:
total energy consumption by 44%
net greenhouse gas emissions by 38%
particulate emissions by 41%
wastewater by 50%
solid waste by 49%
wood use by 100%
Source: Environmental Defense Paper Calculator.

So everybody out there: RECYCLE and BUY RECYCLED! And support shops like GreenLine Paper. They truly care about this planet and we should too!