Environmentally Preferable Purchasing

Copy/Office Paper
Janitorial/Lawn Care
Office Supplies
Alternative Pool Sanitizers
Recycling / Reuse Services
Energy Efficient Products
Renewable Energy Resources

Office and Copy Paper

Paper - it's manufacture, its use, and its ultimate disposal - all pose environmental challenges. Environmentally preferable paper can be tree-free; it can be made of recycled coming from pre-consumer waste - or better yet, post-consumer waste; and it can be chlorine-free. Until recently, many paper mills were making paper using chlorine gas as a brightener. The use of chlorine causes the formation of dioxins and other highly toxic waste materials. So, understanding chlorine-related terms is essential to EPP for paper. There are four main chlorine options in the paper-making process:

	Elemental Chlorine (EC) is the traditional method for paper bleaching uses chlorine gas (elemental chlorine) to whiten paper. This process produces large amounts of dioxins. EC paper can contain either virgin or recycled fibers.
	Elemental Chlorine-Free (ECF) uses chlorine derivatives, such as chlorine-dioxide, and achieves reductions in dioxins. ECF paper can contain either virgin or recycled fibers.
	Totally Chlorine-Free (TCF) uses a combination of oxygen delignification with hydrogen peroxide or ozone as the bleaching agent. Paper that is made from TCF pulp is made with 100% virgin fibers, including wood and alternative fibers such as kenaf. The TCF label should not be used on recycled paper because the content of the original paper is unknown.
	Processed Chlorine-Free (PCF) contains up to 100% recycled content which has been re-bleached with a process that does not use chlorine compounds. Any virgin fiber in these papers is TCF. Since it is impossible to tell whether their recycled content has been bleached with chlorine in the past, PCF papers cannot be labeled totally chlorine-free.

For a more detailed discussion of the environmental consequences of chlorine in the manufacture of paper, please visit the Association of Vermont Recyclers (AVR) website.

	The Chlorine Free Products Association (CFPA) is a not-for-profit organization whose primary purpose is to promote Total Chlorine Free policies, programs, and technologies throughout the world. Their web site contains a list of paper products endorsed by CFPA.
	Badger Paper's Envirographic® 100 is produced from 100% post-consumer mixed office waste, which is also 100% processed chlorine free.
	GreenLine Paper Company carries a selection of high recycled content, chlorine-free paper products from a variety of paper manufacturers.
Purchase Environmentally Preferrable Paper Products Online:
	Dolphin Blue offers the highest quality Recycled-Content, Processed Chlorine Free and Tree Free Papers and Envelopes and various other recycled and Remanufactured Office Products.
	New Leaf Paper has developed a wide variety of environmentally sound papers including white stationery, white commodity offset, film coated, matte coated, and gloss coated papers.