The paper you choose can strengthen your brand, protect forests and support local communities.
Paper choice can say a lot about a brand’s core values—and your own. As a creative professional, you help build strong, distinctive, powerful brands. But you care about more than graphic design and advertising. You also want to do your part to protect the environment, reduce waste, conserve energy and support local communities—and the choices you make in the design process can have an important impact.
Here’s how to choose paper that sends the right message and strengthen your brand:
- Choose a paper that connects with your brand’s image and long-term needs.
Look and feel. Color and brightness. Reliability and performance. These are all important factors in choosing a paper that can affect the way a brand is perceived. For example, a heavier weight may convey luxury, while a lighter weight will be less expensive to mail. It’s also important to choose a paper that is engineered specifically for the print platform you’re using so that you can get the best results whether you’re printing digitally or using an offset method. Look for papers—like Cougar® or Lynx®—that offer a wide range of weights and sizes, with options to accommodate different print platforms, so you can ensure brand consistency from one print job to the next.
- Look for actions, not just words.
It’s not just what you say about sustainability that matters. It’s what you do. Look for paper companies who are actively reducing their environmental footprint. Since 2010, Domtar has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions at pulp and paper mills by 15 percent. The company uses renewable, carbon-neutral biomass sources for 72 percent of its energy; and returns about 90 percent of the water it uses to its sources, often cleaner than when it was removed.
- Look for a company whose values align with your brand.
Before you settle on a paper manufacturer, take some time to learn more about the company’s values. Since 2008, Domtar has worked with World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
to promote responsible forestry and advance forest conservation. This partnership communicates that Domtar understands the values of biodiversity, sustainability and equality. You can feel good about using Domtar paper because it is sourced from forests where endangered species are protected, workers are provided with decent wages and the rights of indigenous people are respected.
- Learn more about paper—and how it can help keep forests as forests.
When sourced responsibly, paper is a practical, sustainable choice. North American paper companies provide economic incentives to forest landowners to manage forests responsibly and provide markets that help keep forests as forests. There are 23 million more acres of forest in the United States today than there were 40 years ago, in part, by growing demand for forest products.
- Select a company that supports sustainable sourcing.
Buying paper from companies that source forest products responsibly ensures forests will be around for generations. Domtar complies with strict third-party certification standards that assure our paper production, forest management and supply chain-of-custody operations are all conducted in a sustainable manner. Cougar® paper and many of our other brands are certified* by the Forestry Stewardship Council® (FSC®), the gold standard for sustainable forest products management. When you choose a paper company that supports sustainable sourcing, you do too.
Find the right paper for your next project.
When you choose Domtar paper, our commitment to social and environmental responsibility can be a reflection of your own values—and the values of the brands your creativity represents.
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