Is it environmentally friendly to print on paper?

The Christmas gift of 2018 was to wrap packages with recycled clothes. "Flight shame" and "climate-smart" are concepts that we all know of nowadays. Are these bananas sprayed with chemicals, and does the country of origin for these shoes uphold democracy? Every person wants to take responsibility for the future today. And that should be considered a success, shouldn't it? 

The digital world cannot replace everything
Unlike plastic, paper is one of the most recycled products in the world. Moreover, it is increasingly common to see paper replacing plastic because it is easier to compost and recycle. Paper recycling in Europe stands at around 70%. Of course, unnecessary printing should be avoided. However, as new insights emerge, the trend often shifts in the opposite direction instead of balancing and considering long-term sustainability. Many of us have already noticed that our mailboxes are full, which is also an undesirable development.

Forestry, paper mills, and printing houses are highly advanced in their environmental thinking
In 2017, 219,640 tons of recycled paper were collected for material recycling. All collected paper is recycled at Swedish paper mills and nowhere else in the world. The environmental efforts of the forestry industry today encompass the entire value chain from forestry itself, through transportation, production in the factory, product use, to product recycling. Additionally, newly planted forests actually "absorb" more carbon dioxide than older forests, which is why logging is not necessarily bad as long as new forests are planted at the same rate. And while individual paper mills may strive to have as closed systems as possible to minimize emissions, completely closed systems without any emissions at all do not yet exist. 

One way to reduce industrial pollution is through environmental certification and labeling, such as the Swan label. For an industry or company to become certified or labeled, they must meet a number of environmental goals and criteria. Companies want to be environmentally certified to demonstrate that they sell products that have been manufactured in a more environmentally friendly manner, as consumers increasingly demand such products.

Finally, we can all agree that we should not waste our resources by printing materials that may never be used. One solution to this is "Print on Demand." Recurring materials such as marketing or sales support materials are uploaded to a portal where you can easily order when the need arises. We ensure that it is the current version and produce exactly the quantity you need here and now. This way, you avoid unnecessary stockpiles of printed materials that become outdated and then must be discarded. An easy way to contribute to a better environment!