Our Green Passion

PAPER: doesn’t have to cost the earth

We are passionate about being green and want to bust through some of the myths and misinformation about paper use.

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Paper is completely renewable

We all know paper is made from wood, hence the guilt so many of us feel when using it. We may imagine magnificent ancient trees falling to the forest floor as we throw that unwanted brochure in the bin. But did you know that paper (made from wood) is one of the only truly renewable materials we have?

Paper made from responsible forests

The paper we use at Absolute Colour is made from wood sourced from responsible forests – that is managed plantations where trees are replanted after felling. It is not made from old growth forests.

Good for the environment

By choosing to use paper made from responsible forests you are helping to promote responsible forestry, conserve biological diversity and protect old growth forests.

In fact, your demand for paper actually leads to the establishment of new forests. Millions of acres of trees are under cultivation for the specific job of producing paper.

The environmental benefits of this are incredible: a young tree, up to about 15 years old, will absorb carbon dioxide quickly during its growth stage. After harvesting, the ground is again replanted with more trees and so the cycle keeps going.

This is good news for our environment as well as the economies of the many countries that produce paper.

If you ‘save a tree’ by not using paper you may well be hindering some carbon dioxide absorption, as well as hindering the prosperity of individuals and countries that benefit from paper consumption.

It’s almost like saying ‘let’s eat less bread / rice / corn today to save a plant’.

What about that landfill?

Paper is biodegradable due to its plant origins. It is one of the fastest materials to degrade. Paper breaks down in landfill relatively quickly – within 1-2 months. Only fresh fruit and vegetables degrade faster. And yet paper can be archived for hundreds of years in the right conditions.

What about recycled paper?

Recycled paper is made from previously used paper that is collected and re-pulped.

Recycled paper is fabulous for making cardboard products, like boxes and packaging, as well as for brown paper products - anything that doesn’t require the paper to be bleached.

Print standard paper can require intensive chemical processes.