Something I heard recently made me stop and gasp in amazement.
Thankfully I was sitting down when I heard Sam Neal, managing director at Geoff Neal printers, say some customers ask for FSC accredited paper but then do not follow through and ask for the relevant accreditation logo to go on the product. He was speaking a recent Printing World roundtable event and he was not alone in his comments… other printers round the table agreed with him.
To go to the effort of securing FSC accredited paper, to pay the costs involved in getting an environmentally friendly piece of print to product stage and then not include the relevant environmental accrediting logo is to me like making the most glorious Victoria sponge, boiling up the jam, shifting a gentle mist of icing sugar on top and then not eating it.
Why is this happening I wonder? Do let me know – why not go that one last step to acknowledge your buying efforts… after all you have done the hard work... reap the rewards and promote your environmental prowess.
The public still do not understand the environmental impact of paper according to results from a recent survey from the National Association of Paper Merchants (NAPM). From the survey 27% of respondents believe that paper production is a major cause of deforestation and 55% felt that recycled paper is better than virgin fibre grades. There clearly needs to be a concentrated effort to educate so if can get the logos out there on products and visible it will help start to spread the news that paper is not all bad when it comes to the environment.