Wood

According to Two Sides, paper “is a material whose industry grows and regrows its own feedstock (wood fiber), derives most of the power to drive its processes from carbon neutral biofuel and recycles more than 95% of the chemicals it uses to turn trees into pulp. This is a description of some of the world’s most sustainable products.”

They go on to describe the bioeconomy of this supply chain: “The paper and wood products industry is inherently circular, from the regeneration of renewable resources (trees) that supply fiber to recycling packaging and paper that’s recovered and turned into new products. The forest products sector is central to the ongoing transition to a low-carbon and circular future rooted in renewable, natural resources.”

Water

Something else to consider in the paper production process? Water. Debunking the myth that going paperless saves forests, Two Sides once again spells it out:

“Paper production is dependent on water, yet relatively little is consumed. Water use by pulp and paper mills does not equal water consumption. Most water drawn from the environment is recycled multiple times, cleaned and returned to the source.

“While pulp and paper manufacturing requires a lot of water, 90% of it is returned to the environment in a manner that conforms with water quality criteria in North America. Water is used efficiently within mills, with each gallon of water being used more than 10 times before being returned to the receiving environment.”

There’s an economic motivation in all this, too. Two Sides explains: “The demand for sustainably sourced paper and paper-based packaging creates a powerful financial incentive for landowners, not only to manage and harvest their land responsibly, but also keep it forested rather than converting it to non-forest uses, one of the real documented causes of forest loss.”

Office paper manufacturer Boise Paper says that with “over 91% of wood harvested in the U.S. from privately owned lands (10 million people in the U.S. own family forests),” what happens is “many of these landowners rely on sustainably harvesting a portion of their forest to earn an income. If these families cannot earn a living from their forests, there’s a good chance they’ll cut them down for farmland or real estate development.”

Two Sides puts it simply: “The income landowners receive for trees grown on their land encourages them to maintain, sustainably manage and renew this valuable resource.”

According to AgHires, the by-products of that renewal are two-fold: “Tree farms don’t only provide wood for construction, paper and other wood products, [but also] a valuable habitat for wildlife and birds, as well as oxygen and help improve the environment and clean the air from pollution.” Plus, “forests provide over 900,000 jobs in the U.S.”

Just like any ecosystem, forests need the right environment to thrive. No matter how much experience you have, creating and maintaining that can be a challenge for any landowner, which is why the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) is a green game-changer.

Administered by the American Forest Foundation (AFF), “the program is specifically geared toward supporting and assisting private landowners with the long-term sustainable management of their land,” says Barnard.

“This program helps ensure sustainable timber supply to local mills, quality wildlife habitat and biodiversity, clean water through the application of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to protect soil and water quality and quantity and much, much more.”

She affirms “the commitment to sustainable forestry is strong throughout all of North America. This culture of conservation and responsible multiple-use is strongly ingrained in landowners, managers, loggers, foresters, biologists, companies and the general public. Our forests are well-managed and here to stay.”

Wood products council WoodWorks backs up Barnard, saying, “Responsible forest management in North America has resulted in more than 50 consecutive years of net forest growth that exceeds annual forest removals.

“This track record of annually growing more wood than is harvested has continued despite increasing demands and growing populations. It is a testament to North America’s leadership in forestry practices and sustainability.”

Hemp products producer Evo Hemp explains just how sustainable hemp really is: “Hemp paper can be recycled seven to eight times [and] the plants themselves grow much more quickly and densely than trees: one acre of hemp can produce the same amount of paper as four to 20 acres of trees in a 20-year period.”

They also note that “hemp paper is more durable and holds its color and texture much longer than tree-based paper,” which is a huge win for your marketing postcards, custom cards and personalized invitations.

Get Green Now dives a little deeper into the benefits of hemp: “Industrial hemp fiber can be grown in smaller spaces and less expensively than the wood fiber used to make paper. Even better, hemp paper is recyclable for far longer than paper created from the wood of trees – wood pulp paper can typically [only] be recycled up to three times.”

They also note another impactful difference: “The use of chemicals, pesticides and fungicides have a disastrous effect on the environment, including soil, water and air contamination, reduction of biodiversity and resulting illnesses. Planting and harvesting industrial hemp eliminates the use of chemical controllers [since it] is highly resilient and naturally resistant to fungi, insects and diseases. Thus, farmers do not have to use chemicals to manage their crops when they grow hemp.”

We know green printing options are essential, so we make it easy for you to make eco-friendly choices with other paper that’s completely or partially certified by the FSC, from felt weave to linen and more. (Hint: Compare all of our paper stocks with this handy chart.)

Specialty papers manufacturer BPM breaks down the gains of going green, saying a recycled stock is “an eco-friendly choice because it’s re-made from used paper (post-consumer waste, or PCW) that has been re-purposed at a recycling facility. This can include someone’s copy paper, direct mail, envelopes, statements, shredded materials and other recycled papers.

“The benefits of using 100% recycled copy paper is the ‘closing the loop’ process, which diverts used paper waste from landfills and returns it to the paper manufacturing stream. This process saves greenhouse gas emissions, wastewater, net energy and trees.”