Greener paper at a glance:

• What goes in must come out
• Re-nourish recommendations for greener paper
• Playing with paper: Additional design tips

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Every designer secretly loves the smell of a freshly printed page. Some companies are beginning to make these pages a little greener, but the paper industry still takes a serious toll on the environment (and, ultimately, on those who live in it). In the year 2000 alone, the U.S. pulp and paper industry pumped "263 million pounds of toxic chemicals" into our country's water, air, and land (source: US EPA). Have you ever breathed the air surrounding a pulp plant? We don't recommend it.

What goes in must come out

But that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice great design to make an impact. The first step is easy: understand how paper gets made, so you can evaluate your options when it comes time to specify a sheet. The diagram below describes the far-reaching impact of paper making, including the use of natural resources and toxic chemicals, and the release of contaminated air and water.

Impacts of the Pulp and Paper Industry

While the process varies from company to company, it generally starts by harvesting wood from forests; these range from sustainably managed plantations or tree farms to illegally-harvested natural forests. Harvested trees are converted to pulp using both physical and chemical processes, which is then bleached with (often toxic) chemicals. Finally, the bleached pulp is turned into paper sheets, which themselves are treated according to the final paper specs. The entire process has traditionally had a devastating impact on both biological health, as well as human health and workers' safety.

The good news is that many paper companies are slowly breaking this cycle by implementing more sustainable practices, making it much easier to specify a greener sheet for your next print project.

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Re-nourish recommendations for greener paper

Once you know what goes into making paper, you can start looking for better options—and there are plenty to choose from. You'll find an expanded list of definitions in our glossary, but in general, greener paper should be:

• Made from non-wood sources when feasible (see our eco-fiber list for options).
• A minimum of 30% post-consumer waste (PCW) content.
• Processed chlorine free (PCF).
• Uncoated.
• Certified Ancient Forest Friendly (See Canopy's Ancient Forest Friendly database).
• Certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
• Manufactured using renewable energy, or be offset by legitimate renewable energy credit programs (such as Green-E; see glossary).
• Sourced and manufactured as close to the printing facility as possible.

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Playing with paper: Additional design tips

One of the best ways to reduce the environmental impact of a project is to redesign the format to use fewer materials. Here a few additional ways to reduce your paper impact:

• Go digital instead: Sometimes a webpage, email campaign or PDF can give your client's campaign a greater reach. See our tips for digital design.
• Size does matter: Use our paper calculator to discover ways to reduce the size of your project, thereby using less paper. This is a great way to save your client some money, too.
• Stop the bleeding: Projects with bleed edges are printed on large parent sheets, then trimmed down to final size. Design without bleeds to reduce this trim waste.
• Respect your parent: Talk to your printer about maximizing the press sheet, or parent sheet. By grouping as many pieces onto a single parent sheet as possible, you can reduce trim waste (again, saving your client money on total paper costs).
• Consolidate components: Replace an envelope or insert with a tear-off reply card, design a self-mailer instead of an envelope/insert combo, use self-folding tabs instead of die cut, and so on.

In other words, get creative with the design process!

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