The Guide
> Office Supplies
> Paper, Pads & Envelopes
> Printer Paper
Choosing recycled paper products reduces the demand for virgin pulp, uses less water and energy, and creates a market for paper collected through recycling programs. Each ton of post-consumer-waste recycled paper saves 17 trees, 4,100kwh of energy and a whopping 26,000 litres of water. Presently there isn't a 100% post-consumer-waste recycled content white copy paper that is manufactured in Australia, so it's a trade off between paper imported from Europe, or buying a locally made product with a lower recycled content. Avoid imported, non-labelled, paper products. These are often from Asia and connected with illegal logging.
- Look for products with: a high percentage of post- consumer-waste recycled content; a high percentage of fibre sourced from sustainably managed plantations (i.e. FSC ' Forest Stewardship Council ' certification); and/or alternative fibres such as hemp, kenaf and bagasse.
- See the Wilderness Society's guide to ethical paper. link
- See Manna Gum's article which explores the collapse of the domestic paper industry in Australia and the complexities around certification claims. Papering Over the Cracks
We all do our bit to save water. Shorter showers, half-flush toilets, using a bucket to wash the car. Yet logging wastes up to 1,000 litres every second, reduces water flow into our dams by 50% and causes erosion and pollution that affects water quality. Many of our ancient forests in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales are presently being logged, clear felled, burnt, and turned into millions of tonnes of woodchips for paper and cardboard every year.
- Choose copy paper with recycled content Ethical Paper Campaign
- Find out more about protecting our forests Wilderness Society

Try out this month's free assessment search to see companies assessed for "FSC certification"
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