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Paper purchasers have more choices than ever before these days,
both in the number of environmentally sound papers available and
in the types of decisions they can make about what's in the paper,
how it was made, and even whether they really need it at all. Having
so much choice in papers also brings responsibility. Purchasers
are now very literally in the position of "voting with their dollars"
for the types of production systems used and their paper's impact
on resources and environmental quality, even if all they buy is
virgin paper.
This Green Paper gives an overview of how:
- different production materials (postconsumer recycled content,
agricultural fibers, or trees) affect long-term resource demand,
- printing and writing paper is made,
- bleaching and processing chemicals used in papermaking affect
environmental outcomes,
- purchasers have important environmental decisions to make even
before they think about what paper to buy,
- purchasing, design and printing choices determine the environmental
soundness of a paper project, and
- we can all encourage better environmentally sound choices for
the future.
The goal is to support production of papers that reduce demand
on forests, incorporate pulp from sustainably grown crops (which
may include trees), and dramatically reduce waste by using materials
that were formerly thrown away: recyclable paper and agricultural
residues. Combining these choices with environmentally sound bleaching
processes can produce high quality paper while making the most efficient
use of resources, promoting conservation and preservation of natural
habitat, and minimizing negative impacts on the environment and
human health.
ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND PAPER:
A 21ST CENTURY POINT OF VIEW
Current papermaking methods developed in response to 18th-century
resource shortages. For all the state-of-the-art technology now
incorporated into modern paper mills, the industry's underlying
structure is still based upon a world view that was transformative
in the 19th-century but is out-of-date as the 21st century approaches.
Newspapers had started appearing in the late 1600s and early 1700s.
The increased communication they afforded instigated all kinds of
revolutions, affecting commerce, government, institutions, and even
the Independence of the United States. But the paper industry of
that day, which relied on fiber from recycled cotton and linen,
was stymied by rag shortages and couldn't keep up with the growth
in demand.
For over a hundred years, inventors and entrepreneurs searched
for new ways to make paper. The breakthrough development in the
mid-1800s of reliable methods for pulping trees was one of the factors
that led to the explosion in commerce towards the end of that century.
It helped fuel the transformation of the United States from an agrarian
nation into an industrial culture, which eventually became the corporate
society in which we now live.
As the U.S. ended the nineteenth century, the prevalent world view
beheld a relatively small population and a rich land of what appeared
to be endless resources, much of them in undeveloped and unpopulated
parts of the country. In the midst of enthusiasm to meet seemingly
limitless needs (increasingly manipulated by advertising) for new
products, the federal and state governments enacted laws to spur
industrial development. These laws encouraged resource depletion
through tax credits and below-cost government assistance, favoring
virgin resource industries in many ways, including advantageous
freight rates. For the most part, pollution was not a concern both
because the land seemed vast enough to absorb it and because people
did not understand its long-term danger.
Now, partly because the corporate transformation was so successful,
the U.S. is blessed with a large population and a generally high
standard of living that demands more and more resources. Populations
in the rest of the world are multiplying quickly and those peoples
are striving to duplicate this standard of living as well. No longer
can resources, whether North American or global, be seen as "infinite."
No longer can we expect clean water to be ever-flowing or energy
to be without costs. No longer are we ignorant of the damage pollution
and toxicity cause not only at point of origin but also, in many
cases, half a globe away.
Slowly people are recognizing that the foundation for the continued
health of our economy is shifting. Responsible "economics" can no
longer be limited to finances. Rather, we must increasingly take
into account environmental quality and sustainability for future
generations as well. This changes how we evaluate the appropriate
structure for production and distribution systems, and even whether
some products are needed at all.
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