—Andrea, Founder & Co-Chair

Butler  worked with RPP Project Manager, Lauren Peresada to produce the calendar using RPP’s pioneering sustainable printing practices — post-consumer waste content recycled paper, soy based ink, and 100% certified wind energy credits.  It took some planning to find the right combination of size and other printing specifications to produce the calendar in a cost-effective manner.  “But that’s why we’re here,” said Peresada.  “We work with designers and clients all the time to help them minimize paper waste and maximize the efficiencies on different presses.  It’s all about creating effective marketing pieces that meet clients’ budgets.” 

The end result?  A very happy publisher: “The whole RPP team was helpful and friendly.
They were all generous and accommodating, and they did a great job; this is excellent printing” said Butler.

Contact Recycled Paper Printing today if you have a printing project that you would like to produce in an environmentally responsible manner.  Mention this post and we’ll give you $100 off your first order of $1,000 or more.

Todd at Green Fire Premier

Why did we sponsor this movie?  Quite simply, we wanted to do our part in making more people aware of Leopold’s contributions to wilderness conservation and of the “land ethic” philosophy he developed.

What a happy coincidence that Jeannine Richards from the Aldo Leopold Foundation would call me to ask me to sponsor this Boston movie premier.  She couldn’t possibly have known that somewhere back in the late 1970s, while strolling through the hallways of my high school at the end of the school year, I found a then-old copy of A Sand County Almanac discarded in a locker.  I took the book home for summer reading.  Leopold entranced me with his graceful rendering of nature observations in rural Wisconsin.  More importantly, he strengthened in me a growing determination to protect the environment.  How could a teenager, with what my Uncle John called an “overdeveloped sense of justice” not be profoundly moved by a statement like:

“Cease being intimidated by the argument that a right action is impossible because it does not yield maximum profits, or that a wrong action is to be condoned because it pays.” — Aldo Leopold (A Sand County Almanac)

Leopold was a pioneer and leader in the development of conservation management techniques – including the reintroduction of predators, such as wolves and mountain lions, into wilderness areas.  He continued to study and write about ecology throughout the 1920s and 1930s – co-founding the Wilderness Society in 1935.  You can read more about him at The Aldo Leopold Foundation’s website.

Perhaps one of Leopold’s most far-reaching contributions was the development of the “land ethic” philosophy:

“The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land.” — Aldo Leopold

This seemingly simple postulate would become the philosophical foundation of the conservation and ecological movements that gained ground in the 1950s and, one could argue, of the sustainability movement of this century.

It is also a call to each of us to find a way to live on this planet in a way that recognizes the interconnected nature of life and the environment.  In essence, he posited that unsustainable exploitation is unethical:

“That land is a community is the basic concept of ecology, but that land is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics…..A land ethic, then, reflects the existence of an ecological conscience, and this in turn reflects a conviction of individual responsibility for the health of land.” — Aldo Leopold

This concept continues to inspire our company every day!

Visit the SBLP blog for more insights to how Boston-area, independently owned business are improving are improving their business practices and reducing their carbon footprint:

http://www.sustainablebusinessleader.org/tips-green-design-printing

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Tips for Green Design & Printing

Twenty nine years ago, when we founded the country’s first printing company focused on creating and implementing environmentally responsible printing practices, being green was not easy!  We literally had to beg mills to make papers with recycled fibers, help write procurement guidelines establishing government preferences for recycled papers, and even show some of the oldest, most-respected environmental groups in America that it really didn’t make sense for them to encourage recycling and environmental stewardship while using non-recycled papers.

Fortunately, a lot has changed for the better.

Now, there are independently certified recycled papers, process chlorine-free papers, paper made with pulp from sustainably managed forests, papers made with renewable energy, even carbon neutral papers.  Vegetable-based inks are readily available.  And, renewable energy sources are available for printers to buy for production.

There’s really no excuse for not printing green.

There are lots of ways to reduce your environmental footprint in addition to using recycled papers. Here’s a brief list:

Guidelines for environmentally responsible design and printing:

1. Consider whether the piece needs to be printed.
2. Can a printed piece serve multiple purposes? For example, an Annual Report that is also a calendar; or a mailing envelope that is also a return device (Netflix).
3. Use the lightest weight possible for your printed piece.
4. Clean up your mailing list BEFORE the project starts to get an accurate assessment of the quantity needed. This is an inexpensive (sometimes free) service.
5. Reduce the size of what you print – a reduction of as little as a quarter of an inch can reduce paper consumption by 15%.
6. Reduce ink coverage when you can. Use vegetable-based or soy inks – avoid metallic inks.
7. Utilize new technologies such as QR codes to reduce the amount of copy on your printed piece and drive readers to your website (see image below).
   
8. Plan ahead and coordinate purchasing for multiple projects, departments or offices. Less paper will be wasted with fewer production cycles – and you will probably save a great deal of money.
9. Use corn or cellulose-based laminates if you must laminate.
10. Avoid foil-stamping (emboss instead) and UV coatings that are difficult to recycle – use aqueous coatings instead.

Consider these and other strategies when planning your next printed piece.

I have been reporting these printers to FSC – and you should too! FSC has a simple procedure for reporting trademark misuse.

Greenwashing like this needs to be stopped if we are going to support FSC in its mission to “promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests.” Urge formerly certified printers to remove outdated claims. Send a note to FSC to help them identify trademark violators. Better yet, tell these printers to get re-certified, resume independent certification, and promote sustainable forestry!

If you have any questions, contact us by phone or email.

—Your friends at Recycled Paper Printing, Inc.