Where is your paper from?
I recently heard this clip on NPR about Adam Gardner going to Guatemala to see where the wood for his guitars are from and the story was just really appealing to me. It got me excited because: A. We in the printing business buy our paper FSC certified whenever possible, as Adam talked about in the story. B. It was great to hear a story about FSC to be played on the radio at a national level. C. I love guitars! (almost as much as Walt Jr.) It’s starts with education. So here it goes!
Not Just Guitars, but Paper Too
It’s common for people to question where there food comes from and how it was made, but you don’t hear folks asking where was the tree chopped down in to make their business cards. Maybe we don’t want to know or I think – we’re so busy that the thought really doesn’t even cross our mind.
What is FSC? Forest Stewardship Council, in short, is healthy deforestation. We need trees for many wood and paper products, but just planting new trees, once cutting others down, is not enough to ensure the sustainability of our forests and the proper care and treatment of the ground level employees.
FSC has 10 principals the forestry businesses must follow. To name a few, FSC foresters must care for the people indigenous to the area, their workers and the forest itself.
FSC regulates through their chain of custody. Whether it is a business card or a guitar, the origin of the wood can be traced back to the location the wood or paper came from, even as it exchanges from business to business along the process. By supporting FSC, it helps prevent non-environmentally friendly forestry businesses.
There are many reasons to become FSC certified and use FSC products.
I don’t believe that people don’t care about the environment. I just think it’s really hard for some people to take time and digest what it really means to consume as much as we do and the effects we have on people globally.
FSC is the best-regulated and most accepted council in the world. It is so respected that even the Rainforest Alliance has partnered with FSC.
“We have been buying recycled paper for years, we just never made our customers aware of it. In fact Swift received the small business award for recycling way back in 1988 from The Center for Environmental Study.” said Walt Gutowski Jr., Owner. “We always buy FSC paper when it is available.”
Sharing the benefits of FSC certification is going to be key for taking care of the long-term health of forests worldwide.
“We are always going to have a need for paper, our most basic instincts want to touch and feel,” said Walt Gutowski III. “Business’ looking to provide a unique leave behind or brochure now have a better, more sustainable way of doing so by printing on FSC paper.”
For more information on FSC, please visit fsc.org or email jes@swiftprinting.com
What are you doing at your office to help promote FSC?
