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More brands are shifting from plastic to paper for their product packaging in order to look “Green”. However, when it comes to REAL pro-environment, there is much more to do. Today, from sustainability perspective, lets dive into different paper types and briefly look at the pros and cons of each one: respectively FSC paper, PEFC paper, non-certified paper, PCW (PCR) paper. In this post, we will cover below contents.
FSC paper could be easily recognized by a FSC tree label. FSC, abbreviation of Forest Stewardship Council, is an international non-governmental organization that was set up to promote responsible management of forests worldwide. Normally there are 3 kinds of FSC labels according to the percentage of virgin pulp, pre-consumer content and post-consumer recycled waste content, which are respectively FSC 100%, FSC Mix and FSC Recycled.
To acquire FSC certification, forests must meet stringent holistic standards from both environmental and social aspects. To put it simple, FSC paper is either harvested from forests that are managed in a responsible way or verified to be truly reclaimed and recycled (the recycled pulps not necessarily coming from sustainable forest management).
PEFC paper is the paper that comes from PEFC managed forests. Maybe lesser known to you, PEFC (short for Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) is actually the world’s largest independent non-governmental forest certification organization. Similar to FSC, PEFC is dedicated in promotion of sustainable forestry management by means of its independent certification programs. There are two kinds of labels: PEFC certified label and PEFC recycled label.
As FSC and PEFC are devoted to the same cause. You may be wondering what’s the difference between FSC and PEFC?
The primary difference lies in their origins. The FSC scheme originated to serve tropical areas, initially excluding Europe and North America. And this led to the establishment of PEFC.
Basically, the two certification systems serve the same purpose – promoting responsible management of global forests while protecting life and habitats of up to 6 million indigenous people and countless species of plants and animals per FSC Asia Pacific.
Contrary to FSC and PEFC paper, non-certified paper is not certified by FSC or PEFC. The paper source (origin) is not traceable. Very likely non-certified paper is not harvested in a sustainable and moderate manner.
PCW (post consumer waste) paper, or post consumer recycled (PCR) paper, are made from used paper that may come from office buidlings, communities’ recycling bins. The recycled paper may include copy paper, receipts, envelopes, magazines, and more.
The Pros:
The positive side of non-certified paper only lies in the cost. Compared to FSC or PEFC certified paper, non-certified paper is relatively inexpensive and easily accessible, which helps reduce packaging cost and save energy. And this is the major reason why lots of of people are still using them.
Cons of Non-certified Paper
1)Deforestation, global warming and social impacts. As the paper is not certified, the origin is not traceable, which means it probably comes from irresponsible deforestation. The increasing use of paper or tree-based packaging has been greatly leading to deforestation. As much as 14% of deforestation is done to satisfy the huge demand for paper goods, as per paperontherocks.
Per CBO, deforestation accounts for as much as 12% of global greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, primarily carbon dioxide (CO2), which contribute to global warming. The CO2 is originally absorbed and stored in leaves, trunks and soil of the forests. However, when trees are cut down in an irresponsible way, forests disappear forever. The originally forested lands fail to house greenhouse gases any more and any longer. CO2 has nowhere to go but escape into into the atmosphere. Worse still, the indigenous people and creatures (animals and plants) hence lose their habitats, home and life.
2)Uncontrollable paper quality. The unknown source could mean you fail to know exactly about the percentage of virgin pulp, paper processing process, etc. If you are looking for food grade paper tubes, unstable paper quality could do real harm to your product quality and brand image alike.
The Pros:
1)Forests protection. FSC or PEFC certified paper is real sustainability thru responsible logging and re-planting. The use of FSC or PEFC paper strikes a balance between economic purpose and environment protection: reducing plastic use, not adding to greenhouse gas emission, not destroying the life, cultures and traditions of indigenous people.
2)Offset carbon footprint. The use of paper leaves carbon footprint, which is nicely balanced out by re-planting in a responsible and sustainable manner.
3)Controllable paper quality. FSC or PEFC paper is clear in source, origin, wood pulp percentage from forests to paper users. The entire supply chain is controllable and traceable.
4)Conservation of culture and biodiversity. Forest protection not only builds up a wooded ecosystem but also reserves the cultures and traditions behind the tress. The indigenous people make a living in the forests for generations. The species diversity is conserved.
The Cons:
1)Discouraging recycling. To some extent, certified paper might discourage the recycling of waste paper. Some people may think they are already practicing sustainability by choosing FSC or PEFC paper and not preferring the post-consumer recycled or post-consumer waste paper due to their lower overall paper quality.
2)Unclear source for FSC recycled paper. As mentioned above, FSC also certifies recycled paper. The issue is that they have no idea whether the recycled contents are from responsible logging. They only focus on the recycle status and authenticity. FSC only proves and certifies these paper are really recycled. So, please go with PEFC recycled, as for PEFC recycled paper, the recycled contents MUST come from PEFC managed forests.
The Pros:
1)Lower carbon footprint. Compared to virgin paper, the production circle is shorter which may reduce carbon footprint a little bit.
2)Reduce pressure on landfills. If not recycled, the waste paper would probably end up in landfills. By organized recycling process, millions of tons of waste paper are taken away from landfills.
3)Save forests. More paper recycled, fewer trees cut. The use of PCW or PCR paper help save trees and life behind the trees.
4)Lower packaging cost. Compared to virgin paper, PCW or PCR paper is relatively cheaper, which may reduce packaging cost.
The Cons:
1)Not food grade. If you customize the paper tubes for food-specific items like spices, tea and coffee packaging or any other health-specific items like capsules, herb packaging, lip balm packaging PCW paper may not be the right paper type for the tubes.
2)Possible water contamination. The removal of leftover ink may cause pollution to water system during the process of blenching, except that manufacturers are advanced enough to apply kind of flotation de-inking – Removing ink from recycled paper by creating a “froth”which can be skim med off.
3)Lower overall quality. Generally speaking, PCW or PCR paper are perceived to be of lower quality due to the use of recycled fibers, despite the percentage of recycled content is unclear. The lower quality may affect the overall printing effect, rigidity, tactile impression, and more. Consequently, if paper tubes are for high value-added or delicate consumer electronics product like hair straightener packaging, Bluetooth speaker, valued headphone packaging, please do NOT go for PCW or PCR paper.
As a custom paper tube packaging supplier and manufacturer, we take pride in not only creating successful product packaging but also practicing sustainability for next generation in our daily work. The more paper tubes made, the less plastic used.
Shifting from plastic packaging to paper-based packaging like paper tube package directly reduce the use of plastic. But that s just the first step to be green. When selecting a paper-based packaging supplier, please pay special attention the paper types used to be TRULY sustainable and eco.
