:: One Tree Per Card ::

Sustainable Design

Environmentally-preferable Paper

Ecolabels such as the EU eco-label are a sign of printing paper that meets strict environmental criteria set by experts in the field based on the whole life cycle of the papermaking process, from forest management to recycling.

The EU eco-label standards include restrictions on emission to air and water and limitations on waste and energy use. Wood fiber must come from sustainably managed forests (independently certified). The label is also verified independently, giving it environmental credibility. Only 10-15% of pulp and paper mills worldwide are able to meet the stringent environmental criteria of the EU flower.

Read more about the (EU Eco-label).

Sustainably Managed Forests

Wood from trees is a renewable, recyclable and biodegradable material that is a vital resource for all of us. Not only do forests help the earth cope with global warming, they also provide the wood for basic human needs like heating, cooking, construction, as well as many other industrial applications like making paper. In addition, forests maintain soil quality, reduce erosion, protect waterways and groundwater, and finally they provide habitat for two-thirds of all earth's species. The key to using wood responsibly is to ensure it comes from well managed or sustainable forests. Forest certification is a good way to demonstrate this.

The paper we use comes from forests that are certified to one of three standards, either SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative), PEFC (Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), or FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). We support all credible and recognized third party forest certification systems. Our objective is to continuously promote sustainable forest management and purchase certified paper based on third party verified chain-of-custody requirements.

The envelopes used for the cards are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and are made of alternative fiber. The alternative fiber designation means that 50% of the fiber comes from sugar cane bagasse pulp and 50% from recycled paper fiber, including 30% from post-consumer fiber. The envelope paper was also manufactured without the use of chlorine. Read more about FSC.

We support all credible and recognized third party forest certification systems such as PEFC and FSC. Our objective is to continuously promote sustainable forest management and increase the amount of certified fiber in our products. We also require that our paper suppliers have in place a third party verified chain-of-custody system for fiber tracking.

Printing Process

To date cards have been printed using a sheet-fed offset process and the carbon footprint was minimized by using printers that use renewable energy as a power source, and allow us to reduce transportation distances for shipping. We work closely with our printers to select card size to optimize paper, and ink type to reduce impacts and waste. Our printers are also selected based on environmental performance, including recycling and good housekeeping.

Go back to our sustainable design page.

Wood is good!

"A common perception is that the adverse environmental impact of paper use is the consumption of trees. In fact since trees are a renewable resource, their use in paper is not as detrimental to ecological balance as the damage incurred in the process of converting wood to paper. Paper manufacturing alone is the 3rd largest user of fossil fuels worldwide and the single largest industrial user of water per pound of finished product" (AIGA 2003, Print design and environmental responsibility). In other words, it is important to look at the "life-cycle" of our products to lower their environmental footprint. We cannot ignore key elements such as production facilities, purchased power, transportation.