At the moment a lot of attention is on the South American rainforests considered the lungs of the world, where huge forest fires currently rage. The destruction of these rainforests is often laid at the door of the paper industry, but that fair? In fact it is not fair because most of the wood that grows in tropical rainforests is not suitable for papermaking. It is clearing land for human habitation and farming that does most of the damage to these huge expanses of rainforest. 

   

The fact is that almost 100% of woods that are used the papermaking originate in Europe. Paper mills rarely own actual forests but are very well aware of the environmental impact of cutting down woods and forests. After all, they need the raw material to make their paper so have nothing to gain by seeing this raw commodity disappear. To put back what they take out of woods and forests, paper makers will contribute to the planting of new areas of woodland and forest that are then ‘farmed’ in strict rotation. In actual fact European woodlands and forests have been so successfully managed that they increase in size every year, and have done so consistently over the past decade. You could say therefore, that the papermaking industry operates in an eminently sustainable manner.

We are all well aware of the use of paper in everything from loo paper to paper plates and straws but it is the printing industry’s use of paper that seems to attract the most criticism. And under the ‘printing’ umbrella printing leaflets come in for a lot of stick probably due to the fact that they are often seen to be a waste of paper, either ignored on the doormat, or dumped before deliveries even attempted. At JogPost we take our environmental responsibilities seriously and that is a big influence on us as we strive to help our customers achieve more effective leaflet drops with minimal wastage. A lot of paper used in printing will have been recycled, and many printers will also members of The Forest Stewardship Council that promotes the responsible use of resources from woodlands and forests.

The fact is that under 15% of the worlds wood is used by the paper industry with the rest being used for fuel, in construction and in other industries. The paper industry therefore maybe getting a bad rep, where it is not warranted. We certainly think so. When you look at the facts then paper, which is degradable, is better for the environment than a lot of the electronics we use, which aren’t!