Print Your Email Without the Guilt

Over the years the Print and Paper industry has made tremendous efforts to become one of the most sustainable industries that exists in the world today. Through these efforts we have contributed to the responsible management and sustainable use of our natural resources. Here are just a few reasons why you shouldn't feel so bad when printing that email:



1) Paper is Good for Forests

                   An important point that is often overlooked is the that print and paper producers are extremely dependent on the sustainable management of our forests in order to ensure a reliable supply of wood fiber. Also by creating a market for these sustainable grown materials the printing industry helps to encourage landowners to continue managing their forestland instead of selling it for development.

                   In the United States, we grow more trees than we harvest. The amount of U.S. forestland has remained essentially the same for the last 100 years at about 750 million acres, even though the U.S. population tripled during the same period. 

          - U.S. Forest Service

2) Paper Promotes Renewable Energy

                   Although the process of papermaking can be very energy intensive what many people are unaware of is that the majority of that energy comes directly from renewable sources. According to the U.S. Department of Energy nearly two-thirds of the energy used by U.S. pulp and paper mills is created on site using renewable, carbon-neutral biomass.

                   The U.S. forest products industry far exceeds all other industries in the use of renewable biomass energy and is a leader in co-generating electricity. In 2005, the forest products industry produced more than four-fifths of the total biomass energy generated by all U.S. industrial sectors.



           - Agenda 20/20 Technology Alliance, U.S. Department of Energy, et.al


3) Paper is The Most Recycled Item in the World

                   No only is paper made from a continually renewable resource it has now become the most recycled product on the planet. Since the 1990s the recovery rate for used paper has significantly increased. Also there have been tremendous advances in technology that have increased the efficiency of the recycling processes themselves. So when you add up all the facts about paper, how it encourages sustainable forestry practices, uses renewable, carbon-neutral biofuels, and the advances in technology that have made the whole process more efficient, so it is easy to see how paper has become one of the most sustainable products in the world.

                   In 2011, nearly 53 million tons or 66.8 percent of the paper used in the United States was recovered for recycling, up from 33.5 percent in 1990. That’s about 338 pounds for every adult and child in the country. 



            - American Forest and Paper Association

                   Each percentage point of paper recovery represents roughly 800,000 tons of fiber, enough to fill more than 7,500 railroad cars.

            - Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries

                   In the United States, more paper products are recovered for recycling than any other material, including plastics (8.2%), glass (27.1%) and metals (35.1%).

            - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

                   Because forest products [including paper] can require little or no fossil fuels for production and store carbon throughout their useful life, they can have inherent climate change advantages over all other materials with which they compete, provided they are produced in a sustainable manner.

            - World Resources Institute

4) Recycling Can’t Do it All

                   We all know that when we recycle used paper into new products it is good for both the environment and our economy, but there’s a catch. The wood fibers in these paper produces can only be recycled up to five times before they get too weak to use. This is why we need to continue harvesting fresh fibers from sustainably managed forests too. Also this continual use of these trees discourages landowners to sell their property to less environmentally conscious industries.

                   Where profitable, timber management and the revenues it generates can serve as a hedge against the conversion of forest land to other uses such as real estate development, although the extent to which it can actually do so in the face of rapid increases in land values close to urban areas will vary.

            - U.S. Forest Service 


                   The US mailing industry provides 8.7 million jobs and $1.1 trillion in sales revenue. The production, distribution and handling of mail (including paper and printing) accounts for over 2 million jobs and over $260 million in sales revenue.



            - Direct Communications Group (The Mailing Industry Job Study)