Recycled Paper 101 - Terms and Definitions
*Fish Lips Paper Designs' products are made from 100% recycled* paper. The paper is "Processed Chlorine Free" and manufactured using Green-e® certified wind power.
*Recycled Paper is made from waste paper pulp instead of virgin wood pulp. There are several kinds of "waste" used: Post-Consumer and Post-Industrial are two.
*Post-Consumer Waste is the paper that has been manufactured or printed on for a specific purpose and is eventually returned to recycling centers. From an environmentally friendly point of view, the higher the percentage of Post-Consumer Waste, the better. This is the paper that would otherwise go to landfills and incinerators.
*Post-Industrial Waste is made up of scraps from the paper manufacturing process. This paper never actually meets its end use.
*NOT ALL RECYCLED PAPERS ARE CREATED EQUAL. It is important to check out the actual recycled content of papers calling themselves "recycled". For example, a label that says "50% recycled 20% PCW", means 50% virgin wood cut down from our forests, 30% Post-Industrial Waste and 20% Post-Consumer Waste.
*In the initial manufacturing process, paper is whitened using a chlorine or chlorine derivative bleach. Bleaching paper with chlorine or chlorine derivatives is harmful to our environment - Period. Paper mills using chlorine for bleaching produce hundreds of chlorinated organic compounds (organochlorides - that even SOUNDS bad) including dioxins, which are considered the most potent chemical toxins known. Studies have shown that dioxins are highly carcinogenic, lead to reduced reproductivity, cause genetic damage, and are persistent and accumulate in the environment, becoming concentrated as it moves up the food chain.
*Paper that is "Processed Chlorine Free", like Fish Lips', has been processed back into paper using no chlorine or chlorine derivatives. This means none of the harmful toxins of the typical bleaching process are emitted back into the air or water. Woohoo! Go Us!
*Recycled Paper is made from waste paper pulp instead of virgin wood pulp. There are several kinds of "waste" used: Post-Consumer and Post-Industrial are two.
*Post-Consumer Waste is the paper that has been manufactured or printed on for a specific purpose and is eventually returned to recycling centers. From an environmentally friendly point of view, the higher the percentage of Post-Consumer Waste, the better. This is the paper that would otherwise go to landfills and incinerators.
*Post-Industrial Waste is made up of scraps from the paper manufacturing process. This paper never actually meets its end use.
*NOT ALL RECYCLED PAPERS ARE CREATED EQUAL. It is important to check out the actual recycled content of papers calling themselves "recycled". For example, a label that says "50% recycled 20% PCW", means 50% virgin wood cut down from our forests, 30% Post-Industrial Waste and 20% Post-Consumer Waste.
*In the initial manufacturing process, paper is whitened using a chlorine or chlorine derivative bleach. Bleaching paper with chlorine or chlorine derivatives is harmful to our environment - Period. Paper mills using chlorine for bleaching produce hundreds of chlorinated organic compounds (organochlorides - that even SOUNDS bad) including dioxins, which are considered the most potent chemical toxins known. Studies have shown that dioxins are highly carcinogenic, lead to reduced reproductivity, cause genetic damage, and are persistent and accumulate in the environment, becoming concentrated as it moves up the food chain.
*Paper that is "Processed Chlorine Free", like Fish Lips', has been processed back into paper using no chlorine or chlorine derivatives. This means none of the harmful toxins of the typical bleaching process are emitted back into the air or water. Woohoo! Go Us!
*Our gift wrap meets ISO Standards for 100% PCW and US EPA Standards for 50% PCW.
