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This autumn during the critical Back to School sales period, eco-

cious consumers will notice new eco-label vying for pride of place with the established – but still little understood – PEFC, FSC, NAPM Recycled, Nordic Swan and EU Flower logos.

Called Paper by Nature, has been introduced for verted paper products, such as envelopes, exercise books, pads, drawing paper sheets, drawing pads, albums, diaries, binders, folders, manila products, suspension ﬁles and lever arch ﬁles.

At the time of going to press about 10 companies’ product lines were being audited by Bureau Veritas as part of the accreditation process. The pan-European standard is the brainchild of the European Envelope Manufacturers Association (FEPE) and the Manufacturers of Educational and Commercial Stationery European Association (MECSEA) and is supported by paper manufacturers Stora Enso,

Arjowiggins and UPM and paper converters Bong, Ljungdahl AB, La Couronne, Groupe GPV and Hamelin. The Paper by Nature Association told Sustainable Times that a pan-European scheme for converted paper products was necessary because existing labels were either country-speciﬁc, e.g. NF, Blue Angel and Nordic Swan; only concerned with certain paper products, such as the EU Flower, which currently covers copying paper, graphic paper and tissue paper; or limited in scope, such as FSC and PEFC, which deal with forests, wood and substrate (paper or paperboard) only. In contrast, Paper by Nature addresses all aspects of converted paper products, including substrates, printing and conversion.

In order to be certiﬁed, products must contain at least 30% of either post consumer recycled ﬁbre or virgin ﬁbre from sustainably managed forests certiﬁed by independent, third party forest certiﬁcation schemes (e.g. PEFC and FSC), rising to 40% in 2010 and 50% in 2011.

The other virgin wood ﬁbres must be audited by an independent third party to ensure they are not derived from controversial sources. In addition, any paper substrate

used must meet mandatory requirements relating to emissions to air and water (COD, sulphur, Nox, AOX and CO 2 0); use of hazardous chemicals (chlorine, APEOs, surfactant in de-inking formulations for recycled ﬁbres and biocides); and waste management. There are also mandatory requirements for the converting and printing processes used for manufacturing the ﬁnal product. These cover chemicals, emissions to water and waste management. On top of these are a number of voluntary criteria, for which scores are given. In order to qualify for the standard, a product must achieve a minimum score. Certiﬁcation lasts for three years, subject to compliance with escalating substrate requirements, after which a product must be re-evaluated. Any producer-derived eco-label is likely to attract charges of greenwash. Perhaps mindful of this The Paper by Nature Association stressed that products would be audited by accredited certiﬁcation bodies; that criteria would be upgraded as the eco-label evolved; and that there would be a process to ensure that members were appraised of feedback from NGOs and consumer organisations.

Despite concerns about carbon neutrality, offsetting is still a popular strategy in the stationery market. Sinclairs is considering it for its recycled range, giving buyers a Royal Flush of green credentials (100% recycled, FSC-certiﬁed and Carbon Neutral). Others use carbon neutrality as a way of meeting the environmental concerns of buyers for whom a recycled grade is unsuitable or too expensive.

The latter includes The Aims Group, which has followed the lead of ArjoWiggins by launching a carbon neutral paper. Report Carbon Neutral

is a multipurpose, FSC-certiﬁed virgin ofﬁce paper made by Suzano at an integrated paper mill in Brazil. Under a process audited by Brazilian NGO The Green Initiative, all carbon emissions

associated with the paper’s production and shipping to Europe have been offset through the reforestation of a river valley with trees native to Brazil’s Atlantic Coastal Rain Forests.

Report Carbon Neutral, which also incorporates Colorlok technology for improved colour reproduction and faster drying times, is available in 80gsm. Portucel Soporcel, which like Suzano makes paper from eucalyptus pulp, also argues that recycled paper is not the only ‘sustainable’ option. At the end of last year the Portuguese manufacturer stopped selling

Explorer Premium Recycled made from 50% post consumer waste and 50% mill offcuts and decided to focus on the supply of premium white paper. It now offers two ‘sustainable’ options for customers that want to reduce their carbon footprint whilst continuing to use the best quality ofﬁce paper. These are Navigator Hybrid made from 30% post consumer recycled ﬁbre and 70% virgin ﬁbre, which has the whiteness and strength demanded by ofﬁce users; and lighter 75gsm grades that use fewer resources than 80gsm papers but thanks to the properties of eucalyptus pulp feel and perform just like an 80gsm paper stock. The approach taken by Portucel Soporcel and Suzano means that there are now sustainable options even for those who require the very best quality, giving businesses even less reason not to consider the environmental impact of stationery purchases.