Sugar Paper, a sweet idea for tree lovers

Posted on October 9, 2009 by itees

In reading about alternatives to paper made from trees, I’ve come across paper made from sugar fibrous residue which remains after sugarcane or sorghum stalks are crushed to extract their juice, known as Bagasse pulp. It is currently used as a renewable resource in the manufacture of pulp and paper products and building materials.

Sugar paper is susceptible to humidity for paper, and heat for cups and utensils (heat can cause them to stick together).

From Wikipedia:

“Around 5%-10% of paper production worldwide is produced from agricultural crops, valuing agricultural paper production at between $5 billion and $10 billion. The most notable of these agricultural crops are wheat straw and bagasse. Paper production is the second largest revenue stream from bagasse after electricity cogeneration; higher than ethanol. Using agriculatural crops rather than wood has the advantage of reducing deforestation. Bagasse has the added advantage in that it requires fewer greenhouse gases to collect, compared to harvesting of wood chips, as the fibre has already been transported to the factory for extracting the sugar. Due to the ease with which bagasse can be chemically pulped, bagasse requires less bleaching chemicals than wood pulp to achieve a bright, white sheet of paper. The fibers vary in length depending on the country and cane variety but are typically about 1.3mm to 1.7 mm long. Bagasse fibers are well suited for tissue, corrugating medium, newsprint, and writing paper.

Bagasse pulp and paper mills tend to be smaller than wood based mills although many world-scale factories exist, notably TNPL (Tamil Nadu, India) Century Pulp and Paper (India) and Ledesma Paper (Argentina).

From the site, WorldCentric.org:
(http://worldcentric.org/sustainability/manufacturing/bagasse)

From this site: Propal, S.A.(www.propal.com.co) If you need the text of this site translated into English, google has a great translation tool. (google translator)

Paper made from sugar cane fiber is listed internationally as “Friends of Nature” as its raw material, sugar cane bagasse, a byproduct of the sugar industry, rolling over short periods of time. Through the process of developing this fiber paper reduces solid waste and produces a fine paper, biodegradable and recyclable. For the quality of the papers and the environmental benefits obtained, the sugarcane fiber alternative source is the increased demand in the world.

PROPAL corporate policy involves the preservation of the environment, meeting at its plants 1 and 2 with the control parameters set by the Ministry of Environment, the Regional Autonomous Corporations and other relevant administrative bodies, making good use and reuse of natural resources.

“Paper made from sugar cane fiber is listed internationally as “Friends of Nature” as its raw material, sugar cane bagasse, a byproduct of the sugar industry, rolling over short periods of time. Through the process of developing this fiber paper reduces solid waste and produces a fine paper, biodegradable and recyclable. For the quality of the papers and the environmental benefits obtained, the sugarcane fiber alternative source is the increased demand in the world.”

Sample product using Bagasse:

Green, Eco-Friendly Paper Manufacturers

Posted on September 27, 2009 by itees

Here’s the latest on a few paper manufacturers that have some of the best post-consumer fiber, environmentally responsible products

Appleton Coated – Green Zone – (Wonderfully designed and informative website.)

From their site: “A well-managed forest” means:
• Trees do not come from rain forests or ancient timbers
• Forestry practices do not contribute to habitat loss
• Indigenous people are not displaced as a result of forestry practices

Utopia Green
FSC-Certification – Appleton Coated secured the Forest Stewardship Council certification in 2007. They were the first coated paper mill to secure this certification.
Post-Consumer Recycled Fiber – From 10% to 30% PCW

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Cougar (Making Paper Fun) - Domtar EarthChoice®
EarthChoice family of products, FSC-certified and endorse by Rainforest Alliance.
(Fun design and informative website)

Domtar marks milestone with sale of millionth ton of FSC-certified paper

MONTREAL, Sept 23, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ — Domtar Corporation (NYSE/TSX: UFS) announced today that it has marked a significant milestone with the sale of its millionth ton of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper. This achievement is a direct result of the commitment Domtar made nearly a decade ago to pursue FSC certification for all of its forests and facilities.

Since the company’s first FSC-certified ton was manufactured in 2002, Domtar’s offering has evolved from one product to a full line of environmentally and socially responsible papers, known collectively as Domtar EarthChoice(R). Today, the EarthChoice family includes a wide range of products for a variety of end uses, including copying, printing, mailing, publishing and more.

From PRNewwire-FirstCall via COMTEX:

Domtar marks milestone with sale of millionth ton of FSC-certified paper

MONTREAL, Sept 23, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ — Domtar Corporation (NYSE/TSX: UFS) announced today that it has marked a significant milestone with the sale of its millionth ton of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper. This achievement is a direct result of the commitment Domtar made nearly a decade ago to pursue FSC certification for all of its forests and facilities…”

From their website: “Certifications and Collaborations”
Sharing the responsibility
“Domtar is committed to meeting the highest standards for forest, environmental and quality management. After all, in order to make our pulp and paper products, we rely on the forest. So it’s easy to recognize the importance of managing these precious resources — and protecting the environment…”

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Cascades – Green By Nature TM
(Visit their informative website and read/download their report)

Here are some details from their 2008 Report on Sustainable Development:
• During 2008, Cascades used 2.2 million short tons of recycled fibres.
• The company is the 1st paper collector in Canada.
• These recycled fibres make up 73% of the raw material used to manufacture our products.

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Finch – (Finchpaper.com) – They have earned the responsible forestry certification of both the world’s most respected third-party certification groups—FSC and SFI
Two of their papers and there are many more which can be seen on this page of their site.
Finch Premium Blend – 30% post-consumer recycled fiber
Finch Casa Opaque – 30% post-consumer recycled paper

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Wausau Paper – wausaupaper.com
(Read about these papers in their Consumer Paper & Products section) Exact Eco 100 – Copier, Inkjet & Laser paper – Environmentally responsible paper, made with 100% recycled post-consumer fiber. Acid-free, lignin-free.
From their site:
In paper products using the Forest Stewardship Council certified label; Wausau Paper Corp. is committed to implement its best purchasing efforts to avoid trading and sourcing wood or wood fiber from:
• Illegally harvested wood.
• Wood harvested in violation of traditional and civil rights.
• Wood harvested in forests in which high conservation values are threatened by management activities.
• Wood harvested in forests being converted to plantations or non-forest use.
• Wood from forests in which genetically modified trees are planted.

Green design, printing and vegetable inks

Posted on September 24, 2009 by itees

New “Green Graphic Design” book

A new book has come out that I’m going to get, asap! (amazon link) Green Graphic Design by Brian Dougherty and Celery Design Collaborative.
“This book begins by asking designers to look at the end result of their work – what will happen to it after it’s been used? It then challenges designers to “design backwards”, a process similar in concept to backcasting. In this case, designers would begin by considering where the piece will end up, what the user experience will be, how it will be distributed (including delivery and warehousing) and what the production process will be (including printing and bindery).”

Green printing

It’s important to recycle. As designers for our clients, we need to help them make the right decisions about what needs to be printed, the purpose, and judge the right quantity for less waste. We can also think of creative ways to reuse a piece. A few of my theatrical clients ask the audience to leave the programs on their seats after a show if they don’t need them, that way they can reuse them.

I see a reduction this year in print promotional products, because client’s budgets have been cut. There is a beneficial side to this in that it’s saving trees and producing less waste. However, they still need to promote, so there is an increase in e-mail campaigns.

What are vegetable and soy inks?

I found this very helpful site, GreenPrinter.com, and they explain about the different types of ink:

“Soy and other vegetable-based inks are less harmful to the environment than their petroleum-based counterparts. Soy and vegetable products are used in ink for their oils, which act as the vehicle for the ink pigments. There are several types of vegetable-based printing inks, including linseed (Flax), tung (Chinawood), castor, canola, and safflower.

Soy is popular because it is a very stable material that exhibits excellent “wetting” properties which enhance its ability to carry solid pigments. Most manufacturers of soy and vegetable based inks today actually “blend” ingredients, in order to take advantage of the unique characteristics of each oil.

Some portion of raw materials are emitted into the atmosphere during both the manufacture and printing of ink. The heightened environmental consciousness of recent years has resulted in a campaign to reduce VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) in inks.”