Greening Graphic Design - The Graphic Design: Reference and Specification - page 153

s u s ta i n a b l e m at e r i a l s a n d p ro d u c t i o n f o r p r i n t d e s i g n
Specifying environmentally preferable printing processes and materials can greatly reduce
the negative impact that graphic designers have on environment and social systems.
Paper production and printing are both resource intensive processes. They use a tremen-
dous amount of energy, potentially harmful chemicals, and can negatively affect local air
and water quality. Since 75 percent of communications pieces end up in landfills within
one year, using the most environmentally responsible paper products and working with a
printer that is concerned about energy use and water and air quality is essential.
f o r e s t ry
As the first step in the lifecycle of paper, commercial forestry and environmental manage-
ment have an important role to play in designers' abilities to work sustainably. One of
the most common misconceptions about forestry is that planting new trees is equivalent
to saving forests. That is simply not the case. In the United States, millions of new trees
are planted each year, and annual plantings actually exceed the number of trees cut for
industrial purposes. However, these plantations do not have the same benefits as natural
forests.
Old growth forests, which include boreal and rainforests, are forests that have been
allowed to grow naturally for more than one hundred years and that have developed into
complete ecosystems containing every stage of tree life as well as the appropriate bio-
diversity of other plants and animals. Intact forests have not been significantly disturbed
by fire, logging, clear cutting, road building, or other human activity. The difference in
the environmental and societal benefits of plantation tracts versus old growth forests
are enormous, and around the world community groups, nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs), and governmental organizations are working to minimize the destruction to the
remaining intact forests.
Why Tree Fiber Is Still Needed
It might seem that discontinuing the use of virgin fiber (fiber that comes directly from its
organic source) in paper production would be the best way to combat deforestation and
illegal logging. Unfortunately, there is not enough recycled waste paper to satisfy global
demands nor has any other agricultural crop proved to be a viable alternative to fiber from
wood sources. For the foreseeable future there will continue to be a need for forest prod-
ucts from virgin sources.