Environment

Through the years, we have been a leader in managing our business in a way that impacts the environment in a friendly, positive, and thoughtful manner. Long before others were paying attention to environmental issues, we implemented the following Environmental Vision and Management Policy:

• Virtually 100% of our paper purchases are from paper companies that harvest trees from decades old tree farms specifically planted, harvested, and replanted to provide an ongoing source of non-public paper pulp.
• We recycle tons and tons of paper every month. Frankly, it is a lot of work and effort, with a buy-back revenue stream that covers only a small fraction of the cost of our efforts. That's OK, we believe it to be a very valuable effort.
• We use recycled papers whenever possible, and encourage others to do the same.
• We use inks and toners that are recyclable.
• We use chemicals and solvents that are almost 100% water soluble, bio-degradable, and recyclable. They are often more expensive, but we consider these products to be a wise investment.
• We have implemented programs to reduce our electrical consumption and to minimize the usage of all raw materials.
• A very important way that we urge our customers to partner with us in our environment efforts is by using our digital/internet ordering, proofing, and reordering system. Use of our digital ordering system enables all of us to save substantial amounts of gasoline and other raw materials.
• If you have suggestions about how we could further our environmental impact, please call us with your ideas.

Some facts about advertising mail and paper recycling:

• The average US household gets 18.5 pieces of advertising mail per week, a figure that has held steady during the past five years. (US Postal Service, 2005 Household Diary Study)
• Consumers do read their mail. According to the US Postal Service, 85 percent of US households usually read some or all of the advertising mail they receive. (US Postal Service, 2005 Household Diary Study)
• Direct mail accounts for only 2.2 percent (in weight) of the total municipal solid waste generated in the US annually, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. That figure is likely to decline as greater strides are made in paper recovery and recycling.
• As a society, we have made great strides during the past decade in using our resources more efficiently, increasing recycling efforts, and improving forest management. In fact, there is more forestland in America today than there was in 1900.
• According to a recent survey by the American Forest & Paper Association, at least 66 percent of the US population has access to magazine recycling, and at least 61 percent has access to recycling for catalogs and mixed paper.
• In 2006, a record 53.4 percent of the paper consumed in the US (53.5 million tons) was recovered for recycling. Paper recovery now averages nearly 360 pounds for each man, woman, and child in the US. (American Forest & Paper Association)
• Recovered paper accounted for 36.6 percent of the US paper industry’s fiber needs in 2005. However, US mills still do not have enough recycled content to meet current demands. (American Forest & Paper Association)