ALSIP, IL,
Feb. 3, 2012
(Business Wire) -
Two FutureMark Paper Company customers were among the three magazine publishers honored in the 2012 Aveda Environmental Award competition for their "environmental leadership and achievement in the magazine industry through use of environmentally responsible paper and production practices."
Dirt Rag, a top magazine for mountain biking enthusiasts, won this year's prestigious Aveda Environmental Award. GRIT, a 130-year-old publication celebrating rural American lifestyles, earned the Finalist honor. Both magazines print on FutureMark's Future Connection® coated mechanical paper containing 90+ percent recycled fiber-the highest recycled content for paper of its type made in North America.
"We congratulate our customers, Dirt Rag and GRIT magazines, on being recognized for their outstanding environmental publishing practices," says Steve Silver, the president and CEO of FutureMark Paper. "FutureMark is proud to serve sustainable publishing leaders with our high-recycled paper, which delivers superior environmental benefits with quality and costs comparable to conventional, non-recycled paper."
Paper choices factor heavily into judging criteria for the Aveda Environmental Award, because paper-making outweighs all other factors combined in assessing the environmental impact of producing and distributing magazines. A report from the American Forest & Paper Association found that paper production accounts for more than 66 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in a typical magazine's life cycle.
"Magazine publishers can make dramatic improvements in environmental sustainability by simply choosing ‘greener' paper," says Frank Locantore, director of Green America's Better Paper Project, which partners with Aveda in organizing the annual publishing award. "Green America and other environmental organizations believe maximizing paper's recycled content is the most sustainable option for publishers. It simply takes far less energy, water, chemicals and trees to make new paper from old paper than to make new paper from trees."
