By Harriet Blake

Catalog mailings are nearing full swing now, with mailboxes deluged by hefty full-color enticements to get that Christmas shopping done by phone.

Obviously, online shopping is more prudent, ecologically speaking. However, at the recent Business of Green Media Conference in Boston, the printing industry showed signs of taking green issues seriously.

Consumers can “take solace” in the fact that many catalogs are recycled and others are certified as coming from sustainable forests, said Beth Reardon, a corporate accounts manager with Appleton Coated, one of more than 30 companies represented at the conference’s Expo.

Appleton Coated, a paper company that sells under the Utopia brand, uses virgin fiber but does not use any fiber bleaching, said Reardon. None of their pulp comes from old-growth timber or rainforests. It’s all 100 percent certified by one or all of the following: the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) or the Canadian Standards Association (CSA).

These certification groups were created as a result of concern for the planet’s forests. They review companies’ practices to assure that they do not use old growth or rainforest timber, or engage in disreputable forestry practices that can lead to habitat loss or the displacement of human residents.

In addition to having the paper forestry certified, companies also can apply for an even higher sustainability stamp of approval by seeking a Chain-of-Custody certification, which means that the process of getting the paper to the consumer also is certified.

A COC certification, for example, might state that the company used a certified pulp producer (who uses proper harvesting practices for the wood); a certified paper manufacturer, a certified merchant and a certified printer (who uses soy-based ink).

Finch Paper, another company represented at the Green Media Expo, makes uncoated papers that come from forests they manage near the Adirondacks in upstate New York. For years, the company purchased forestland in the Adirondacks but in 2007 they sold it (160,000 acres) to The Nature Conservancy, said Finch’s business development manager, Mary Masterson.

The conservancy then hired Finch back to manage it for them.

“Our collaboration with the Nature Conservancy is grounded in our common belief that environmentally sound forest management is good for society and good for the forest,” Masteron says.

At Presstek Digital Offset Printing, a New Hampshire company showcased at the Expo, spokeswoman Betty LaBaugh talked about the printing firm’s environmental efforts. “We use chemistry-free imaging,” she says. Instead of plate chemistry, Presstek uses thermal laser digital imaging. They also use waterless or soy-based waterless ink. And all their printing is done on recycled paper.

The printing industry, at least that portion of it represented at the Green Media Expo, seems to be getting the green message. Looking through our own mail today, we see that the Crate & Barrel catalog has an FSC logo stamped on the back alongwith the message: Please recycle.

Of course there is still that other “R” to consider, and now, before the holiday avalanche might be a good time to reduce one’s catalog load. You can call merchants directly to get off their list or use one of the many services, such as Catalog Choice.

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media