[GRRN] Fw: ALERT: recycled tp in jeopardy

Larry Karigan-Winter (kariwint@madisoncounty.net)
Thu, 11 Nov 1999 09:46:10 -0600


>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: info@treecycle.com [mailto:info@treecycle.com]
>>Sent: Saturday, November 06, 1999 3:50 PM
>>To: friends of recycling
>>Subject: ALERT: recycled tp in jeopardy
>>
>>if you want, pass this on to you local environmental community, natural
>>foods sotre, and friends...
>>---- ------ ------ ----- ----- --------- ------ ------ ----- -----
>>--------- ------ ------ ----- ----- -----
>>The single easiest way to reduce the demand for cutting timber is to
>>offset the use of the virgin fiber by using high post-consumer recycled
>>paper. A significant portion of the trees cut worldwide go to making
>>paper. As we know, trees come from forests and forests are habitat.
>>
>><?/bigger><?/bigger><?/fontfamily><?bigger><?bigger><?fontfamily><?param
>>Arial><?bigger><?bigger><?bigger>DON'T LET 'EM FLUSH RECYCLED T.P.!
>><?/bigger><?/bigger>High Post-consumer, Unbleached Toilet Tissue
Discontinued
>>
>><?/bigger><?/fontfamily><?fontfamily><?param Times>Fort James, maker of
>>the Envision toilet tissue, will discontinue their unbleached, high
>>post-consumer t.p. very soon. A number of months ago Wisconsin Tissue, the
>>company which produces Second Nature Plus tissue products, discontinued
>>their high post-consumer toilet tissue. If Fort James follows suit, it
>>will mean that the 3 most environmentally sound t.p.'s made will be gone.
>>This from companies that make all kinds of claims about how
>>environmentally sensitive they are. It will be bad both from a recycling
>>perspective as well as from the perspective of clean water.
>>
>>The Fort James website about tissue products
>>(http://www.fortjames.com/fj_abt4.htm/) tells you how committed they are
>>to the environment: "Fort James' commitment to responsible stewardship of
>>the environment is an integral part of its strategy for growth and
>>success. We take pride in aggressive internal environmental standards ..."
>>Yet they are willing to sacrifice the most environmentally sound products
>>first.
>>
>>Part of the blame rests with us, the consumer. People and businesses do
>>have to buy these things to keep them going. This has happened before with
>>other products. Sales drop and the companies quit making them. Recycling
>>is not so popular any more. Thus we are seeing a drop in the use of good
>>recycled paper products.
>>
>>The other half of the scenario in this is the lack of marketing of these
>>products that has occurred lately on the part of the company. Yet they
>>continue to pump the Green Forest label from another division. Green
>>Forest tissue products are pure hype; with only 10% post-consumer waste
>>(pcw) these tissue products do not create demand for the stuff you and I
>>take to the recycling center. The high pcw Envision products do.
>>
>>What you, as a consumer, can do:
>>
>>1) Do not buy Green Forest products. Tell your Friends and neighbors not
>>to buy it. The Green Forest motto is "do the right thing for the
>>environment." Good idea. Don't buy a product that does nothing except pull
>>the wool over consumers' eyes with a green label but no real benefits over
>>what has always been produced. It does not even meet the abysmally low EPA
>>standards for post-consumer waste. Therefore it does not do what it says
>>it does on the package: help close the recycling loop. This kind of
>>product hurts recycling.
>>
>>(2) To convince the company NOT to discontinue making the Envision
>>unbleached t.p. products 100 and 150, it is vital that consumer buy and
>>use these products. The unbleached Envision products have minimum 95% pcw
>>and no bleaching; the standard by which environmentally sound tissue
>>products have been measured. Talk to your natural foods store or recycled
>>paper supplier. Call Fort James at 800-558-7325 and ask them not to
>>discontinue 100 and 150.
>>
>>3) Be aware that the Wisconsin Tissue toilet tissue has dropped to only
>>20-35% post-consumer waste (and thus the privately labeled products that
>>used it). This is a big step backwards.
>>
>>It is important to remember that, despite what some people will tell you
>>when you call, it is only the post-consumer waste that makes a difference
>>in the recycling issue. The claim that it is 100% recycled means nothing.
>>Many tissue products historically have been made from mill wastes and
>>converter scraps from other mills. To reduce the waste stream, it needs to
>>be post-consumer. For more info on these definitions and issues, see the
>>Treecycle website at (http:// www.treecycle.com).
>><?/fontfamily><?fontfamily><?param Arial>Get active or switch back to old
>>catalogs to you-know-what...<?/fontfamily><?/bigger><?/bigger>
>>--
>>your friends at
>>TREECYCLE RECYCLED PAPER
>>* * * * * * * * * P.O. Box 5086 406-586-5287
>>Bozeman, MT 59717
>>"mailto:info@treecycle.com" "http://www.treecycle.com"
>>* * * * * * * * *
>
>__________________________
>Robert B Leflar
>--> Please note: My e-mail address has changed.
>It was rbleflar@mercury.uark.edu.
>It is now rbleflar@law.uark.edu.
>Telephone and fax numbers are the same:
>Tel. (501) 575-2709 or 443-5121
>Fax (501) 575-2053
>