The paper and forest products industry has always talked big about being a good environmental citizen, but lately the industry has really started to market its "going green" actions.

by John O'Brien, Managing Editor

Maybe it's just me, but doesn't it seem like there is a rising awareness on the part of consumers (especially the big ones) and pulp and paper producers over the origins of the wood chips they use and the amount of recycled content that ends-up in the final product?

There has always been the latent demand for paper products with recycled fiber by both every-day consumers and the big industrial users. And there has always been industry's reassuring pat-on-the-head response of 'there, there, don't worry, we're seeing to it.' But now, I really think something is actually beginning to happen.

Consider the December news from Ohio-based Limited Brands, who operates more than 3500 retail stores and owns seven retail brands-the most visible brand being Victoria's Secret-who said that by the end of 2007, the more than 350 million catalogues the lingerie retailer sends out each year will contain at least 10 per cent recycled paper, or paper from forest operations certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Naturally, the green movement, namely ForestEthics, is basking in the glory after its two-year smear campaign against Limited Brands, which it called “Victoria's Dirty Secret.” But I have to give them credit. They picked a high-profile target that would grab the public's interest and sustained their lobbying efforts until Limited eventually said 'enough.'

Granted, Limited's “commitment” leaves the retail-giant some wiggle-room in the recycled paper usage department. But the deal has certainly turned heads, including some of the more prominent media publications.

Fortune magazine senior writer Mark Gunther in a December 13 article, titled “Retailers clean up their paper trails,” begins his story with, “Retailers mailed out about 19 billion catalogs last year, according to the Direct Marketing Association. Most of the paper in those catalogs—as much as 95%—comes from trees, and not recycled sources. And most catalogs quickly wind up as trash. What a waste.” The article was the direct result of Limited Brands' Dec. 6 environmentally-friendly news.

But Limited isn't the only big corporate name letting customers know it's doing its part. In November, and doing a lot more in the area of recycling paper, computer-maker Dell announced it has already hit a 2009 target of 50 per cent recycled content in its marketing publications. And “the place for cooks” retailer Williams-Sonoma has pledged that 95% of the paper it uses in its catalogs will be manufactured with wood sourced from FSC-certified forestlands.

Others will surely feel the pressure to follow suit. “We're looking at L.L. Bean, Sears, Lands End, J.C. Penney, J. Crew-they're at the top of our list,” says Todd Paglia, the executive director of ForestEthics.

Is this the tip of the iceberg, as ForestEthics forecasts? It certainly could be.

Just for the environmental record.
For years we had been storing boxes filled with extra copies of PaperAge in a room in our office. Last September it finally reached its storage capacity—you could no longer close the door or get to the other side of the room.

We literally had about 4,000 lbs. of old magazines and wanted to do the right thing; recycle. You'd think it would be easy to find a local outfit that would come by and take it, you know, with the recycled fiber shortage and all. Not a chance. After an Act of Congress, a recycling company finally caved in to my pleas and for a few hundred bucks sent a truck over to claim the load. My conscience is now clear, but my back will never be the same from carrying all those boxes out to the parking lot!