International Social Print Paper
Minto Roy and Lee Gieschen started Social Print Paper a decade ago with a bold mission: to create a world that never uses trees to make paper. The pair set out to create an eco-friendly product, but they had broader ambitions, Roy explains. “Our first goal was, we need to make a paper that looks, feels and performs to the same standard as traditional wood-fibre paper.”
Roy and Gieschen decided to make their paper out of bagasse, the waste fibre from sugar cane. Sugar Sheet copy paper reduces agricultural fibre waste in landfills, combats deforestation, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and is recyclable and compostable. Two boxes save one tree and 68 kilograms of carbon dioxide, according to a 2018 assessment by ESG research firm S&P Global Trucost.
Social Print worked with big companies like Canon, Hewlett Packard and Xerox to review paper quality and performance. It then struck deals with office supplies giants such as Grand & Toy, Hamster/novexco and Staples Advantage, plus regional distributors nationwide.
Besides London Drugs, which sells Sugar Sheet paper at all of its stores, local organizations that have made the switch include Telus Corp., Translink and UBC. Every year, Social Print sends those clients eco-savings reports, Roy says. “They can offset their carbon tax payable, which is a real, tangible value beyond just sustainable value.”