Posted on Tue, Apr 20, 2010
By Shannon Murphy, Vice President of Production
It’s the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day! As you know, more and more of today’s mail is our beloved “Dear Friend” letters, so it’s vital that we do the most we can to follow the old adage of the three R’s: reduce, reuse, and … of course … recycle to make direct mail as eco-friendly as possible.
Even kids know the importance of recycling. My 6-year-old often comes to me and asks if she can recycle the newspaper or a magazine. Then she walks with great pride to the recycle bin because she knows that this paper will now get a second life and be used for something new, maybe even one of Mom's direct mail pieces.
Do you ever wonder how in the world they take the paper from my magazine or newspaper and use it again? Well, here's how they do it:
Step 1 You first place your newspapers, magazines and other papers to the curb for the recycling truck to pick up.
Step 2 Paper from your house and other homes is combined and sold to a paper dealer.
Step 3 Once at the paper mill it goes through a chemical process called de-inking, in which ink and sticky materials are removed from the paper and the fibers of the paper are separated and turned into pulp.
Step 4 The pulp is bleached and wood chips are added to give strength to the paper.
Step 5 The pulp is poured onto a belt which drains the moisture. By the time the pulp reaches the end of the belt, it's strong enough to go through the steam-heated rollers to create a flat sheet of paper.
Recycled paper is used more and more in today's direct mail industry. Organizations want their donors or clients to know that they are environmentally friendly. There are different percentages of post-consumer waste in paper. The most available stocks are composed of 10% and 30% recycled materials. The higher the percentage you want to use, the more costly the paper will be. While we want to show the people receiving our mail that we do our part saving the environment, we simply can’t break the bank in the process.
So what type is right for you? Before making any decisions on what paper to use, make sure you ask your production team to research the different options for you.
And it’s not just the paper for your letters! It’s the carriers, address labels, and even your membership cards. Just think of all the paper products that go out to your supporters and members and ask your self could we be greener?
Happy Earth Day! I wish you many years of green trees, warm sun and blue skies.