Catalogs in the mail ARE going FSC

Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Bed and Bath, Pottery Barn Kids, PBteen, west elm and Williams-Sonoma Home, decided that they would be using FSC certified paper for all 7 catalogs. (see full press release here) I just looked through a stash of Victoria Secrets catalogs from probably the last 2 years and what I found was in spring 2008 they had a recycle logo with 10% post consumer recycled paper.Other than that all the rest of the catalogs of Victoria Secret did not have any recycle logo or FSC certification. However, the most recent catalog is FSC certified with mixed sources. What I am wondering is were they just using FSC certified paper and not using a printer that was certified? Either way I am happy to see the FSC logo.

Check out this video on FSC and Pottery Barn Kids.

What is your favorite FSC paper?

Please comment below and let me know what your favorite FSC paper is, if you a need a list of which papers are available just check out the FSC. I will be compiling the results and letting you all know which paper you have chosen to be the favorite.

Thanks

FSC Certified Furniture

You have heard me talk a lot about FSC certification in the printing and paper industries, today I am going to share some great links for FSC certified furniture. It is really nice to see that companies are starting to make FSC certified furniture available and not just you eco friendly stores either. Target and Crate and Barrel are amongst the popular stores to have added assorted accessories and furniture to their lines. Eco-terrific has some amazing designs and are more than just FSC certified they use all organic products such as wool and other environmental things to provide you with an eco-friendly way of designing in the home. Naturally Durable has a great line of outdoor furniture, so if you are interested in helping out the environment there are more ways then just usining cloth bags for grocery shopping.

FSC-Info on Papers I like

When I first started hearing about FSC certified paper there wasn't much of a choice for paper, it was nearly impossible to find a coated sheet that was FSC but now there is choice. Yesterday it was announced that Domtar have 4 additional paper mills that have received the FSC Certification. See article here. Since this is one of the largest manufacturers of paper in the US it is nice to see them taking the initiative more then 10 years ago and it has recognized them as leaders in sustainable growth. In fact they have earned the support of WWF-Canada and Rainforest Alliance.

This isn't the only paper company that is taking steps environmentally, almost all the other paper companies have been striving to be better in harmony with the earth in some way or another. For instance Mohawk joined the EPA's Climate Leaders program in 2007, they partnered up to develop greenhouse gas emission goals which offer customers a product that is carbon neutral throughout the paper making process. They were among one of the first to make paper from post consumer recycled fiber which has allowed them to provide customers with more choice in recycled papers and have found ways to make the paper brighter and whiter without the use of chlorine (a hazardous byproduct). Among the first paper mills to be FSC certified in 2002 and have operated using windpower since 2003 Mohawk is the leader in environmental friendly paper mills.

For coated papers we need to look at Sappi and Utopia. Both have various FSC certified coated papers which range from 10%-30% post consumer waste. Sappi belongs to American Forests and Paper Association, Confederation of European Paper Industries and Paper Manufacturers Association of South African making sure that are involved in industry associations within each major region they operate in. Utopia has a whole line dedicated to FSC-certified coated papers that have varying degrees of post consumer waste.

Monadnock has created A Field Guide: Eco-Friendly, Efficient and Effective Print that I think everyone who is buying print should have on their desk for reference. This handbook is to help us design eco friendly and has the definitions of anything you can imagine regarding the environment issues around printing. It covers such subjects as the chemicals used in the paper process to the inks and what is the best layout to produce the least amount of waste. This is a must have-download it here.

There are more paper companies not mentioned here that have working towards the same goals of keeping the environment sustainable.

More FSC information

Be careful when choosing the FSC logo to go with there projects because there are guidelines here as well.

FSC 100% Label- states that this product, or paper in this case comes from forests that are certified as being compliant with the environmental and social stands of the FSC.

FSC Mixed Sources Label- this label states that it supports the development of responsible forest management worldwide and that the wood comes from well managed forests, company controlled sources and/or recycled material. When adding the recycled symbol this identifies the product as being a post-consumer recycled paper.

FSC Recycled label- this states that the products support re-use of forest resources and in accordance with FSC standards only use post-consumer recycled wood or fiber.

Make sure that when you are designing an FSC piece that you pick the right logo, there is a logo guideline available on their website for downloading. However, printers usually have their own logo with a specific code that acts as their own special code used in the approval process before printing.

Shout out

Last week I had talked about FSC certification (there will be more) and I added the link to my twitter and just for my own curiosity I did a search for FSC and I found that Barry Harley over at http://persuasionpartner.com/blog/ was giving away a free book to the first person who tweated twitted or whatever they are calling it these days what FSC meant. Guess what I won so go check out the blog as there is a give away every friday and the site is all about sustainable graphic design and marketing. Thanks

What is FSC Certification? 1 of Many

I don't know about you but lately clients have been asking for us to use FSC papers and printers and I am not quite sure they really even know what this process is about, it's just something their competitors are using and then of course they want to use it too. My first run in with this was a few years ago when I attended a paper seminar and they had a speaker directly from the FSC who explained why and what they are all about. To start off FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council and they promote responsible management of forests all around the world. After this seminar I immediately started seeing this logo everywhere, for instance check out your mailbox I am sure there is something in there that is FSC certified and the number of companies keep on growing. The first company that I noticed who was FSC certified was Aveda, they have always been very good about their environmental efforts and using natural ingredients, they even have the eyeliner wood FSC certified. Almost every catalogue I get has the certification but there is one that doesn't which blows my mind and that is LL Bean, I will not give them my business, hell no they are all about the outdoors and camping and canoeing and dressing for hiking and they are too cheap to get there catalog printed on FSC certified papers with certified printers, come on.

The FSC was started in 1993 in response to the over deforestation going on around the world. They recognized that people will continue to need resources from trees for generations to come and they wanted to engage the market to recognize the value of the forests. Forests provide us with a lot of things such as fresh air, clean water, shelter for animals, food, medicine and many other things that we need to survive. Many protected forests have been harvested illegally and the FSC wanted to stop this from happening but also kept in mind that we do need to use these trees but that we can cut them down and use them responsibly.

In order to accomplish this they have developed "The Chain of Custody Certification Process" which insures trees cut from FSC managed forests will go through an all FSC certified process. For example a postcard that you received has gone through 5 different FSC certified processes since it was cut down. The chain goes something like this Pulp Manufacturer -> Paper Manufacturer -> Paper Merchant -> Printer and finally gets approved by the FSC. This process ensures that all environmental and social obligations have been followed.

For a company to start the certification process they need to contact an accredited certifier, submit an application, complete an on-site assessment, receive the certification approval and undergo annual audits. Throughout this process there needs to be someone who is the go to person who is aware of all the policy and procedures, they need to train their staff in these procedures and need to keep records on hand for several years. The company needs to come up with the best way to segregate FSC certified products separate from non-FSC certified products, they need to keep them identified, and document sales, purchases, and delivery documents must be kept.

For printers they need to make sure that they are using the proper inks and disposing of them correctly. This has actually moved printers into using soy inks and other solvents that have almost no chemicals and are safe enough to put down the drain. So not only are they helping the forest but all those pressman out there who have to deal with the hazardous materials.

There is a lot more information that I haven't covered here but intend on continuing to inform you about the FSC.