UGN articles UGN articles
Giving the same importance to paper as we do to the food we eat or the clothes we buy
NewPage Corporation has plans to launch a 'Story' marketing campaign and new Web site, www.PaperTellsAStory.com, to help educate consumers on the importance of knowing the manufacturing source of the paper used for their companies' business printing.
"Giving the same importance to paper as we do to the food we eat or the clothes we buy, the goal of the 'Story' campaign is to get people thinking about the journey of a single sheet of paper, where the journey begins, and the sustainability and environmental practices of its manufacturer," said Rick Willett, president and chief operating officer for NewPage. "As a leading paper manufacturer in the U.S. and Canada, we feel it's the responsibility of NewPage to dramatically raise awareness of the potential hidden risks associated with some Asian imports. A failure to ask some basic questions of your suppliers can lead to the very real potential that you are unknowingly importing a fair amount of risk along with your paper."
Imports of coated sheet-fed paper continue to make their way to market in the U.S and Canada. In an era of heightened environmental consciousness, NewPage wants its customers to know that some Asian imports also potentially carry a much higher degree of risk-by-association based on questionable sustainability and environmental practices, logistics issues and labor practices. It is equally important to know that the true identity and manufacturing practices of many Asian producers are obscured by the use of private labels, so consumers may not even be aware they are using imported paper.
North American paper manufacturers are required to comply with strict environmental regulations, such as those enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and operate in a manner that is responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable. Additionally, NewPage adheres to a number of third party certifications, including the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Forest Stewardship Council© (FSC). NewPage buys wood fiber from private landowners and other certified, responsible loggers. NewPage does not source wood fiber from old growth forests, rainforests or forests of exceptional conservation value.
On the NewPage Web site, www.PaperTellsAStory.com, visitors are given several ways to interact with the site to learn more about the origin of their paper. The informative campaign and Web site raise questions and explore issues of concern surrounding some imported paper from Asia, and the questionable practices behind some paper manufacturing operations there.
"In today's business environment, your choice of supply is a strong reflection on your company's values, whether it is intended or not. You are who you associate with," says Dave Deger, vice president, marketing for NewPage. "If your company associates with a paper manufacturer potentially engaged in illegal logging, questionable labor practices, or unverifiable sources of fiber, it is at risk of becoming associated with those issues too, potentially damaging the company's reputation for upholding its own sustainability practices."
For more information about NewPage, please visit the company's Web site at www.NewPageCorp.com.
Headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio, NewPage Corporation is the largest coated paper manufacturer in North America, based on production capacity, with $4.7 billion in pro forma net sales for the year ended December 31, 2007. The company's product portfolio is the broadest in North America and includes coated freesheet, coated groundwood, supercalendered, newsprint and specialty papers. These papers are used for corporate collateral, commercial printing, magazines, catalogs, books, coupons, inserts, newspapers, packaging applications and direct mail advertising.
NewPage owns paper mills in Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nova Scotia, and Wisconsin. These mills currently have a total annual production capacity of approximately 5.5 million tons of paper, including approximately 4.3 million tons of coated paper, approximately 920,000 tons of uncoated paper and approximately 300,000 tons of specialty paper, as well as approximately 3.2 million tons of pulp.
Found something really cool?
We'd love to hear about it and pass it along to all of our readers... just contact Lynn or Fred, or post your own review at our : review input forms ...
Get the InfoManager newsletter in your mailbox each Monday morning by subscribing at: mac-pro.net ... 
del.icio.us... 
Return to: the top of this page, or the INDEX for this department
Exit to: The User Group Network front page
Contact: The Editor, Webmaster or Membership Director
* Discuss Photoshop
* Discuss Desktop Publishing
* Critique your Web Site