Package designers have to start realizing that these symbols and seals have real meaning that consumers may connect with. Sustainable practices fall into many categories, and the right message in the right place will be important.

E-Commerce with a Vision: The Paper Mill Store Goes Green

by Carrie Chase

The Paper Mill Store strives to maintain its status as the leading paper and envelope resource for graphics professionals. For this and other reasons, we define environmental stewardship as an important core value for our company and are currently among the leaders in the industry in two important environmental practices: renewable energy usage and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. These commitments provide our customers a way to make a positive impact on the environment and society by doing business with us.

Renewable Energy - 100% Wind Power

When we saw the opportunity to reduce our carbon dioxide output, we seized it. By purchasing Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) for nationwide new wind sources to power one-hundred percent of our operations, we avoid the generation of approximately 1,024,331 pounds of carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas. The environmental benefit of this compares to 138 acres of trees planted and 803,351 miles not driven. In addition, this commitment helps to build a market for renewable energy, reduce dependence on foreign energy sources, and support domestic economies.

We currently use 245,290 kilowatt hours of Green-e certified wind power annually to power our warehousing, converting, and distribution center as well as our corporate headquarters, both located in Wisconsin. Green-e is a nationally recognized certification program that helps consumers identify superior, certified renewable energy products that meet strict environmental guidelines.

With this purchase, The Paper Mill Store joins two of our leading manufacturing partners, Mohawk Fine Papers and National Envelope, in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Green Power Partnership and Green Power Leadership Club. To become a Partner, organizations replace a portion of their annual electricity consumption with green power. The Green Power Leadership Club further honors Green Power Partners that have made an exemplary green power purchase that significantly exceeds minimum Green Power Partnership purchase requirements.

Forest Stewardship Council

The Paper Mill Store is the only online multi-mill paper supplier to achieve Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain of Custody (CoC) certification and offers the largest selection of FSC-certified paper and envelopes available online. This certification benefits our business tremendously. As the number of manufacturers with FSC certification continues to increase, we are in the unique position to offer their FSC-certified products to our customers.

Unlike most online paper and envelope suppliers, The Paper Mill Store is a bricks-and-mortar company, with the sophisticated infrastructure to support this environmental initiative. The systems we have in place at our Neenah, WI, warehouse and distribution facility make it possible for us to track the FSC Chain of Custody, which allowed us to get FSC CoC certification.

This means that when we sell FSC-certified paper or envelopes, the customer can be certain the claim is credible and that the fiber used to manufacture the products came from well-managed forests, where people, wildlife and the environment benefit from the forestry practices, and/or the product is 100% post consumer recycled paper. By buying products with the FSC label, graphics professionals support the growth of responsible forest management worldwide.

We are proud to say we recently added all FSC-certified envelopes manufactured by National Envelope to our product offering. This includes envelopes manufactured with FSC-certified paper from Domtar, Finch Paper, Fox River Paper, Mohawk Fine Paper, Monadnock Paper Mills, Neenah Paper, Smart Papers, and Strathmore.

The decision to "go green" has benefited our company in several ways. It's given us the opportunity to offer our customers FSC-certified paper and envelopes that may have otherwise been unavailable to us. It's been a morale booster for our employees. And it's given our customers another reason to maintain loyalty to our company and feel good about doing business with us, as many unsolicited comments have proven.

Graphics professionals will increase their demand for environmentally-friendly products, creating an incentive for paper and envelope manufactures to increase their offerings. In keeping our leadership position, The Paper Mill Store will continue to find ways to be more an environmentally conscious company and expand our environmentally friendly product offering.

Carrie Chase is marketing coordinator at The Paper Mill Store, a leading online paper and envelope resource, providing graphics professionals with thousands of leading mill-branded items at minimal quantities — thepapermillstore.com.