BREATHE EASY
How Paper Promotes a Healthy Planet
It’s common knowledge that paper is derived from trees, but many don’t realize that the paper industry in the United States actually promotes vibrant forests. Through meticulous planting, cultivation and harvesting techniques, manufacturing processes, recycling, and so much more, sustainability practices and innovations in the paper and packaging industry help to maintain a healthy planet.
Sustainable Forestry Practices Have Been at the Heart of the Paper Industry for Decades
The forests on which we rely for paper-based goods are also the key to our planet’s survival, providing oxygen, absorbing carbon dioxide, supplying water, and producing essential food and medicine—and they provide a habitat to 80 percent of our plants and animals, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Privately owned forests are huge contributors to this story in the United States. More than half of U.S. forestlands are owned and managed by about 11 million private individuals and many are small, family-owned tracts. The owners spend years carefully stewarding the land, strategically harvesting and then planting to ensure continued growth.
These efforts have resulted in strong, healthy forests with nearly twice as much timber being grown each year than as harvested in the United States. The stats are striking. More than one billion new trees are planted each year. In the last 30 years, forested areas have increased by nearly 33 million acres. That’s the size of 2,275 football fields of new forest growth each day.
A Healthy Demand for Forest Products Means Healthy, Thriving, Growing Forests
Demand for forest products in turn encourages forest owners to maintain, manage and renew this treasured resource. Without the income from sustainably grown wood, many landowners would be forced to develop their land for use in another way, such as for farmland or commercial real estate.
A Renewable Resource Gives Life to Innovative and Recyclable Products
Through sustainable sourcing, manufacturing processes, packaging solutions, and recycling programs, the paper industry is continuously innovating ways to make the most of this natural, renewable resource and help reduce waste. The companies that provide the paper products we rely on every day have longstanding practices in place to sustainably source the natural fibers and balance the use of recycled materials with new fiber to minimize waste.
The sustainable packaging produced goes a long way in creating a healthier planet for the future—and we have a lot to look forward to. Paper can be recycled up to seven times. Currently in the United States, the average annual recycling rate for cardboard boxes is over 92 percent, and paper and paper-based packaging account for more than two-thirds of materials recycled each year. In addition, forwardthinking companies around the world are creating innovative new products that will benefit both people and the environment, from paper bottles and paper beverage rings, to shelfstable cartons and stronger, custom-engineered corrugated packaging that protects products with less materials.
Investing in a Healthier Planet
Sustainability and economic success can go hand in hand, and the paper and packaging industry is dedicated to the continued development of a more circular and sustainable future not only in practice, but also in ongoing investment. To continue the best use of recycled fiber, $5 billion in manufacturing infrastructure investments have been announced or planned between 2019 and 2023.
Paper products and packaging solutions offer benefits to both our planet and our lives. Consumers can breathe easy knowing that choosing sustainably sourced paper is one way to practice good environmental stewardship and to be a part of the solution.
To learn more visit PaperForNature.com