Auto industry executives strongly opposed seat belts and air bags when calls for regulations requiring same were first heard. Decades later, the auto industry has learned how to profitably integrate seat belts and air bags into their products. Some (many) even trumpet their superior safety standards in one area or another as a means to gain consumer favor and market share.
The recycled paper industry is going through a similar adolescence. There was a time, not long ago, when consumer product recycling was but a topic of conversation among progressive thinkers. No municipalities, states, or federal legislation mandated target levels of trash to be recycled. No infrastructure existed for collecting, transporting, storing, sorting, and processing recyclable post-consumer content (no demand, no industry). There were no internationally recognized green recycling logos to affix on all manner of packaged goods.
Just a few decades later, millions of Americans regularly buy paper products with post-consumer recycled (PCR) content. The public’s commitment, plus affordable and high-quality PCR magazine paper, should encourage the magazine industry to participate by switching their publications to PCR papers. This switch would benefit the environment, without affecting the publication’s bottom line, opening the opportunity for publishers to gain market share by tapping into consumer goodwill in a time of increasing consumer environmental awareness.
In tight economic times, I can understand publishers’ fears about trying something new. I agree that true ecological sustainability must include economic viability in addition to environmental and social responsibility.
If a magazine makes a switch to PCR papers and then goes out of business, it would benefit no one except the headline writers, and would discourage other publishers from adopting PCR papers.
Fortunately, the fact is, PCR papers are virtually indistinguishable from their virgin paper counterparts in every way except one: they have a much smaller impact on the environment. Let’s examine some facts.

Cost: Price depends on several circumstances: quantity purchased, timing of purchase, and the client-supplier relationship. Having said that, PCR paper is available at or close to price parity with virgin paper. You just have to shop around. Ask your usual suppliers (your printers, the mills, distributors), and let them know you’ll be asking some new suppliers as well. After all, this is a new initiative for most publishers. It pays to step outside the usual circle of suppliers so as to ensure your publishing organization gets the best deal on recycled. Where differences exist, many purchasers report that negotiations with existing suppliers frequently result in any historical premium for recycled paper being dropped.

Quality: Technological advances in production over the past 10 years have created PCR papers with quality identical—I repeat, identical—to that of virgin paper. You’ll find the same smoothness, strength, brilliance, and opacity. Also, many printers I know tell me that PCR paper performs no differently on their presses than virgin paper. They also say PCR can withstand the stress of modern high-speed presses. If your printers are telling you otherwise, again, have some chats with some new printers. It won’t take many phone calls to find a few who have experience with PCR.
Availability: Magazine grade PCR paper is widely available. It does not require any special effort on behalf of the purchaser, other than requesting PCR paper. More than 500 recycled paper grades (types) are available in the U.S. and Canada. Most major paper suppliers offer at least one recycled product for each specified weight and grade.
The real difference with PCR content paper: it has a much smaller impact on the environment. Yet under 5% of all magazine paper produced today is post- consumer recycled paper. And what PCR paper is being produced is being used by an even smaller percentage of magazine publishers overall.
Why is it that over 95% of all magazine paper is exclusively virgin fiber? Part of the reason might be simply that publishers aren’t fully aware of the environmental consequences of buying virgin papers. Consequences such as 35 million trees felled annually (that’s one tree per second), annual carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to the exhaust of 1.2 million automobiles, and a demand for more water per ton of product manufactured than any other industry.
With over 95% of print buyers at publications ordering virgin papers to keep their magazines rolling, demand for virgin papers is high. The mills, distributors, and printers naturally want to satisfy this demand. We can’t expect virgin paper suppliers to champion the use of recycled alternatives, although growing numbers do.
The small (compared to world population) but influential fraternity of publishers and print buyers, however, can relatively easily drive a seismic change from virgin to recycled papers.
The obstacles to switching magazines over are not as great as many say or believe. Today’s paper market can work to a publisher’s advantage in price negotiations. The only requirement a publisher and print buyer needs is the will to change, the will to be an industry leader.
Recently, the publisher of Ms. magazine made just such a switch. Publishers of other magazines, such as Discover, Outside, Organic Style, Mother Jones, and the Utne Reader are also using PCR paper.
These publishers have the same financial, quality, and availability concerns as the publishers who use 100% virgin fiber paper. None would make irrational decisions that would jeopardize their business. The only difference between these publishers and over 95% of the rest of the industry is in their commitment to PCR papers.
It is the rare individual today who is not, at some level, concerned about the quality and health of our environment. Magazine executives at publications of all sizes, stature, and topics are no different; they tell me they share these concerns.
Some have prioritized a switch to PCR papers; one that fits their unique business circumstances, and supports their market position. Others (most, unfortunately) have yet to move.
The public lauds companies that demonstrate strong environmental and social responsibility. And a switch to PCR paper is an important component of a publisher’s commitment to corporate responsibility.
Promoting such a switch would make the day of any public relations or consumer marketing team; it’s the kind of genuine feel-good story consumers and the media respond to.
The auto industry overcame its reservations about air bags and seat belts (albeit forcibly, through legislation). But then they profitably positioned themselves around safety concerns in the marketplace.
Likewise, magazine publishers can overcome their fears about using PCR papers. In doing so, they can maintain or even increase their brand’s value. That’s a solid business case for making the switch to PCR paper.

The cost of excessive virgin fiber paper production to our health and environment is high. The cost of switching to PCR paper is low. And that’s a cost/benefit analysis that should resonate with any publisher.
Frank Locantore is program director for Green America’s WoodWise/PAPER Project, Washington, D.C. He can be reached at FrankLocantore@greenamericatoday.org.
Printed from the Web site of PrintMedia.

Copryight © 2003 North American Publishing Company. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this material in any manner is strictly prohibited.

Please contact Todd Larsen by email
or by phone at 202-872-5307.

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