Papers can be made from a wide variety of fibers other than the four billion trees presently cut each year to supply world paper demand. By carefully choosing paper materials and manufacturing processes, consumers can significantly influence the fate of the world's disappearing native forests.
Tree-free fibers include crops such kenaf, a relative of the hibiscus plant, industrial hemps that are grown for fiber, as well as the waste byproducts of agricultural production such as cereal straw, corn stalks, sugar cane pulp and cotton. In addition, there are 100 percent postconsumer papers, chlorine-free pulping methods, as well as an emerging trend toward sustainably harvested virgin wood fibers according to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) guidelines.
The SimpleLife Guide to Tree-Free, Recycled and Certified Papers is full of easy-to-read information and features a reference to dozens of paper suppliers and products. The California-based publisher distributed 8,000 copies free-of-charge to a selected list of graphic designers around the United States since the average graphic designer specifies hundreds of thousands of dollars in printing and paper each year on behalf of their clients. The publisher wanted to make it easy and appealing to them to at least consider tree-free and other environmentally-oriented paper choices each time they have a job to print.