Since its inception, the Two Sides North America Anti-greenwashing Campaign has eliminated literally billions of instances of paper-related greenwashing in the United States and Canada, and its engagement with large utilities, banks, insurers and other organizations during the first half of 2023 has added to this success.
During the first six months of 2023, 21 additional companies representing approximately 90 million customers have removed greenwashing messages such as “Go green, Go paperless” and “Go paperless to help protect the environment” from their marketing communications.
“In addition to misleading consumers, these types of unsubstantiated environmental claims pose a serious threat to the economic security of the more than 7 million people whose livelihoods depend on a healthy North American paper, printing and mailing sector,” says Two Sides North America President Kathi Rowzie. “Our recent research found that 65% of consumers who’ve seen anti-paper greenwashing are influenced to go paperless.”
That same research found that the Two Sides Anti-greenwashing Campaign has preserved more than $300 million in annual revenue for the paper, printing and mailing sector over the last decade.
Two Sides challenges greenwashing companies to remove unsubstantiated environmental claims in a non-confrontational way, educating CEOs and other senior management with facts from credible, third-party sources that clearly demonstrate the unique sustainability characteristics of paper products and the solid and continually improving environmental record of the North American paper industry.
“Paper is one of the few products on earth that already has an environmentally sustainable, circular life cycle,” Rowzie says. “North American paper is made from an infinitely renewable natural resource – trees that are purpose-grown, harvested and regrown in sustainably managed forests. It’s manufactured using mostly renewable, carbon neutral bioenergy in a process that uses water, but in reality consumes very little of it. And paper products are recycled more than any other material in the U.S. municipal solid waste stream. But many consumers believe paper is bad for the environment because corporations and other organizations they trust are telling them so. The Two Sides Anti-greenwashing Campaign is working hard to change that.”
You can help Two Sides in the fight to eliminate anti-paper greenwashing and protect North American jobs. If you see instances of greenwashing, please email them as a PDF, JPG file or link to info@twosidesna.org.
For more facts about the sustainability of print and paper products, please visit www.twosidesna.org/mythsandfacts.
# # #
Media Contact:
Kathi Rowzie, President, Two Sides North America
E: info@twosidesna.org
P: 937-999-7729
DAYTON, Ohio – June 1, 2023 – Print media saw significant disruption during the coronavirus pandemic as many people moved online for news and information, but consumers’ preference for receiving and reading print on paper has rebounded over the past two years. This according to a new survey commissioned by Two Sides North America and conducted by global research firm Toluna.
“Some observers predicted that people who switched from paper to digital media during the pandemic would never return, but this has not been the case,” says Two Sides North America President Kathi Rowzie. “Across every category of media included in the survey, from books and magazines to newspapers and product catalogs, consumers’ preference for paper has increased since 2021.”
The 2023 Two Sides Trend Tracker Survey asked consumers how they prefer to receive and read various types of media – on paper, mobile/tablet, e-reader (e.g., Kindle), laptop/desktop or no preference. Results showed an increase from 2021 in the preference for paper over digital communication in the following categories.
Books: 50% prefer paper, up from 44%
Magazines: 47% prefer paper, up from 38%
Newspapers: 34% prefer paper, up from 29%
Catalogs: 30% prefer paper, up from 22%
As might be expected, the survey showed that younger adults, those age 18 to 24 in particular, prefer to receive and read all types of media online. But even among these younger consumers, more than three in 10 prefer to read books and magazines in print.
The survey also revealed interesting trends over the last two years in consumer attitudes and habits related to how they consume news.
In 2021, 58% of consumers said they intended to read more news online in the future, but this number dropped to 53% in this year’s survey. Nearly six in 10 consumers (58%) said they would be concerned if printed newspapers were to disappear, up from 49% two years ago. More than half of consumers (51%) said they get a better understanding the story when reading news in print versus online, up from 44%. And more than four in 10 (43%) said they trust news stories in print rather than online, up from 34%.
“Print and digital media are often compared as an either/or proposition to suggest one is better than the other,” Rowzie says, “but our research clearly shows that consumers value both. Rather than adopting a one-size-fits all digital communications strategy, savvy publishers, retailers and other businesses will continue to offer consumers a choice. In doing so, they will not only satisfy consumers who prefer print on paper, but also will assure that those with no or limited access to digital information – older Americans, those with disabilities, low-income individuals and many in rural areas – are not disadvantaged.”
The 2023 Two Sides Trend Tracker Survey queried 1,000 respondents over age 18 across the United States. It is the second of Two Sides’ biennial trend tracker studies designed to explore and better understand consumer perceptions, behaviors and preferences related to the sustainability of paper products.
Download the press release here.
About Two Sides North America
Two Sides North America (www.twosidesna.org) is part of the non-profit Two Sides global network which includes more than 600 member companies across North America, South America, Latin America, Europe, Australia and South Africa. Our mission is to dispel common environmental misconceptions and to inspire and inform businesses and consumers with engaging, factual information about the inherent environmental sustainability and enduring value of print, paper and paper-based packaging.
Media Contact:
Kathi Rowzie, President, Two Sides North America
P: 937-999-7729
E: info@twosidesna.org
DAYTON, Ohio – April 27, 2023 – As U.S. consumers become increasingly aware of the environmental impacts of the products they use every day, there remains a wide gap between perception and reality when it comes to the sustainability of paper products – but the gap has narrowed over the past two years. Overall, 44% of consumers believe paper products are bad for the environment, down from 48% in 2021. This according to a new survey commissioned by Two Sides North America and conducted by global research firm Toluna.
“It’s great to see improvement in consumer attitudes about paper and the environment, but we need to accelerate this trend if paper products are to remain competitive in an ever-changing marketplace,” says Two Sides North America President Kathi Rowzie. “More and more consumers are factoring environmental impacts into their purchasing decisions, but all too often those decisions are based on longstanding myths, pop culture headlines and corporate greenwashing rather than facts,” she explains. “Everyone whose livelihood depends on paper has a role in changing this. As the world moves toward a more sustainable, circular economy, the paper and paper-based packaging industry has a great, fact-based environmental story to tell: The life cycle of paper is already circular.”
What’s happening to the size of U.S. forest area?
Paper use is often blamed for forest loss, and 55% of those surveyed believe U.S. forests are shrinking, an improvement over 2021, when 60% of consumers said they believe U.S. forest area is decreasing. The facts: U.S. forest area grew by 18 million acres between 1990 and 2020, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s most recent Global Forest Resources Assessment. That’s an area equivalent to 1,200 NFL football fields every day. Contrary to the popular belief that manufacturing and using paper destroys forests, the demand for sustainably sourced paper and paper-based packaging creates a powerful financial incentive for millions of private landowners not only to manage and harvest their land responsibly, but also to keep it forested rather than converting it to non-forest use or selling it for development, the leading cause of deforestation in the United States according to the U.S. Forest Service.
What percentage of paper is recycled?
Paper recycling in the United States is a hands down environmental success story, but most consumers don’t know it. According to the survey, only 12% of consumers know the U.S. recycling rate exceeds 60%, up from 11% in 2021. Four in 10 consumers believe the paper recycling rate is less than 30%. The facts: More than two-thirds (68%) of all paper and paper-based packaging in the U.S. is recycled, and more than 91% of corrugated cardboard is recycled according to the American Forest and Paper Association. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that paper is the most recycled material in the country, compared to plastics at 9%, glass at 25% and metals at 34%.
Is electronic communication more environmentally friendly than paper-based communication?
As companies continue to resort to unsubstantiated “go green, go paperless” marketing claims to help them cut costs, 68% of consumers surveyed believe that electronic communication is more environmentally friendly than print on paper, up from 67% in 2021. Clearly, consumers want to do the right things when it comes to the environment, but are often misled by corporate greenwashing that fails to acknowledge the environmental impacts of digital communication.
The facts: The EPA reports that the pulp and paper industry accounts for only 0.6% of total U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – which isn’t surprising since 64% of the energy needs at U.S. pulp and paper mills are met using renewable, carbon neutral biofuels, mostly biomass. In contrast, the rapidly expanding information communication technology (ICT) industry has a growing carbon footprint arising from GHGs released during all stages of the electronics life cycle. A recent meta-analysis (Freitag, Berners-Lee, et al, 2022) estimates the ICT industry is responsible for up to 3.9% of global GHG emissions and that those emissions will continue to increase without both regulatory and industrial intervention. Unlike the recycling success story of paper products, only 15% of the approximately 7 million metric tons of e-waste generated in the United States each year gets recycled, according to the 2020 Global E-waste Monitor. The rest is landfilled, burned or dumped, causing harm to both the environment and human health.
“The life cycle of paper products is circular by nature,” Rowzie explains. “The raw material used to make them is perpetually regrown, the energy used to manufacture them is generated using mostly renewable, carbon-neutral biofuel, and the circle is completed as used paper is recycled into new products at a higher rate than any other material. Even so, our survey shows that misconceptions about the sustainability of paper products are commonplace. It’s just these types of misconceptions that Two Sides is working to correct. We believe consumers have the right to make purchasing choices based on data and hard facts, free from pop mythology and greenwashing.”
The 2023 Two Sides Trend Tracker Survey queried 1,000 respondents over age 18 across the United States. It is the second of Two Sides’ biennial trend tracker studies designed to explore and better understand consumer perceptions, behaviors and preferences related to the sustainability of paper products.
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Download the press release here.
About Two Sides North America
Two Sides North America (www.twosidesna.org) is part of the non-profit Two Sides global network which includes more than 600 member companies across North America, South America, Latin America, Europe, Australia and South Africa. Our mission is to dispel common environmental misconceptions and to inspire and inform businesses and consumers with engaging, factual information about the inherent environmental sustainability and enduring value of print, paper and paper-based packaging.
Media Contact:
Kathi Rowzie, President
Two Sides North America
P: 937-999-7729
E: info@twosidesna.org
In its many forms, paper is an ever-present and vital part of our everyday lives. Because paper products are so ubiquitous, it’s not surprising that their environmental impacts are under increasing scrutiny as public awareness of sustainability grows and calls for a more sustainable, circular economy gain momentum. The good news is, the life cycle of paper and paper-based packaging is already circular.
CHICAGO – July 27, 2022 – For years, major corporations, service providers and government agencies have surrendered to the temptation to cloak their cost saving efforts in a veneer of environmental virtue by claiming – without evidence – that going paperless is better for the environment. Two Sides North America (TSNA), the only industry organization to directly challenge this greenwashing, has been highly effective in stemming the tide of misleading declarations, persuading 170 major organizations to remove anti-paper environmental claims.
However, as rising inflationary pressures drive cost cutting, greenwashing is once again on the rise. To help reverse this trend, TSNA has doubled down on its anti-greenwashing efforts, and with unprecedented success. So far this year, TSNA has already broken its full-year record for the number of corporations and other organizations it has persuaded to eliminate anti-paper greenwashing claims.
“Since its inception, the Two Sides Anti-greenwashing Campaign has eliminated literally billions of instances of greenwashing in the United States and Canada, and the 24 large organizations that removed misleading claims from January through July represent millions more,” says Two Sides North America President Kathi Rowzie. “These type of claims pose a serious threat to the economic security of the more than 7 million people whose livelihoods depend on a healthy North American paper, printing and mailing sector. Our recent research found that 65% of consumers who’ve seen anti-paper greenwashing are influenced to go paperless.”
That same research found that the Two Sides Anti-greenwashing Campaign has annually preserved more than $300 million in revenue for the paper, printing and mailing sector over the last decade.
Two Sides challenges greenwashing companies and other organizations to remove unsubstantiated environmental claims in a non-confrontational way, educating CEOs and other senior management with facts from credible, third-party sources that clearly demonstrate the unique sustainability characteristics of paper products and the solid and continually improving environmental record of the North American paper industry.
“Paper is one of the few products on earth that already has an environmentally sustainable, circular life cycle,” Rowzie says. “North American paper is made from an infinitely renewable natural resource – trees that are purpose-grown, harvested and regrown in sustainably managed forests. It’s manufactured using mostly renewable, carbon neutral bioenergy in a process that uses water, but in reality consumes very little of it. And paper products are recycled more than any other material. But many consumers believe paper is bad for the environment because corporations and other organizations they trust are telling them so. Two Sides is working hard to change that.”
You can help Two Sides in the fight to eliminate greenwashing and protect North American jobs. If you see instances of anti-paper greenwashing, please send them in a PDF, JPG file or link to info@twosidesna.org.
Media Contact:
Kathi Rowzie, President
Two Sides North America
937-999-7729
About Two Sides
Two Sides is a global, member-funded non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the uniquely sustainable attributes of print, paper and paper-based packaging. Two Sides’ members span the entire print, paper and paper-based packaging value chain, including forestry, pulp, paper, packaging, inks and chemicals, finishing, publishing, printing, envelopes and mail operators. For more information, visit www.twosidesna.org.
CHICAGO – May 18, 2022 – Anti-paper greenwashing works, unfairly costing the U.S. paper, printing and mailing sector huge sums in lost revenue each year. But Two Sides North America’s (TSNA) Anti-greenwashing Campaign is succeeding in eliminating many of these misleading claims, clawing back hundreds of millions for these businesses, according to the results of the latest TSNA study.
In their efforts to cut costs, many leading U.S. financial institutions, utilities, telecom companies and other service providers are using unsubstantiated environmental marketing claims – greenwashing – to persuade consumers to switch from paper to digital bills and statements, suggesting that going paperless is “green,” “saves trees” or is “better for the environment.”
The new TSNA research results illustrate the damaging effects these greenwashing claims have on the U.S. paper, printing and mailing sector, finding that 65% of those who have seen anti-paper greenwashing claims are influenced to switch from paper to electronic bills and statements. The study, conducted in partnership with global research firm Censuswide, also showed that the Two Sides North America Anti-greenwashing Campaign is having a powerful impact, preserving more than $308 million in annual revenue for the sector.
The Two Sides study surveyed 2000 U.S. consumers and evaluated data on major U.S. companies that have eliminated unsubstantiated and misleading environmental claims as a result of the TSNA Anti-greenwashing Campaign. These companies represent approximately 9.5 billion annual bills and statements.
“This study not only confirms the remarkable success of Two Sides’ Anti-greenwashing Campaign, but also drives home the serious financial risk that greenwashing among service providers poses to the paper, printing and mailing sector, threatening the economic security of more than 7 million Americans whose livelihoods depend on paper,” says Two Sides North America President Kathi Rowzie.
In its most recent report (2020) on transactional mail, the U.S. Postal Service reported that U.S. households annually receive more than 15 billion bills and statements in the mail, representing 41% of total First Class mail. Bills are primarily from credit card companies, utilities, telephone/cable companies and insurance companies, while statements are predominantly sent from the financial/banking sector.
“The Two Sides Anti-greenwashing Campaign has been highly successful, but there’s much more work to do as service providers continue to distort the paper industry’s great environmental record and threaten paper, print and mail volumes with opportunistic greenwashing claims,” Rowzie says.
“And it’s important to note that banks, utilities and telecoms are not the only ones using unsubstantiated environmental claims to promote going paperless,” she adds. “Two Sides is also challenging entities like government agencies and large digital document management firms that are greenwashing to encourage both individual consumers and businesses to switch all paper communication to digital versions in the cloud, at the same time failing to recognize the vast and growing environmental footprint of electronic communication.”
Two Sides challenges greenwashing companies and other organizations in a non-confrontational way, educating CEOs and other senior management with facts from credible, third-party sources that clearly demonstrate the unique sustainability characteristics of paper products and the solid and continually improving environmental record of the North American paper industry.
“Paper is one of the few products on earth that already has an environmentally sustainable, circular life cycle,” Rowzie says. “North American paper is made from an infinitely renewable natural resource – trees grown, harvested and regrown in sustainably managed forests. It’s manufactured using mostly renewable, carbon neutral bioenergy in a process that uses water, but in reality consumes very little of it. And paper products are recycled more than any other material. But many consumers believe paper is bad for the environment because organizations seeking to cut costs or promote their own digital business objectives are telling them so. Two Sides is working hard to change that.”
For more information about the Two Sides North America Anti-greenwashing Campaign, visit www.twosidesna.org/anti-greenwash-campaign/.
###
DOWNLOAD THE PRESS RELEASE HERE.
About Two Sides
Two Sides is a global, member-funded non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the uniquely sustainable attributes of print, paper and paper-based packaging. Two Sides’ members span the entire print, paper and paper-based packaging value chain, including forestry, pulp, paper, packaging, inks and chemicals, finishing, publishing, printing, envelopes and mail operators. For more information, visit www.twosidesna.org.
Media Contact:
Kathi Rowzie, President
Two Sides North America
info@twosidesna.org
937-999-7729
Since 2010, Two Sides’ fact-driven campaign has persuaded more than 880 organizations globally, including 159 in North America, to remove unsubstantiated environmental claims about paper from their marketing communications.
CHICAGO – May 4, 2022 – As banks, utilities, telecom companies and government agencies face mounting economic uncertainties, many of these services providers are looking to cut costs by encouraging their customers to switch from paper to digital communications. But all too often, these cost-cutting appeals are cloaked in unsubstantiated and misleading environmental marketing claims that suggest going paperless is “green,” “saves trees” or “is better for the environment.”
“These greenwashing claims not only fail to comply with established environmental marketing standards, but they also damage consumer perceptions of paper’s environmental sustainability,” says Two Sides North America President Kathi Rowzie. “And that’s a threat to the economic security of millions of people in the United States and Canada whose livelihoods depend on the paper, print and mailing sector.”
North America’s leading corporations and other service providers influence millions of consumers every day with their anti-paper greenwashing claims, leading many to believe that the use of paper is destroying forests and is bad for the environment. For example, a 2021 Two Sides survey of U.S. consumers showed that 60% believe that U.S. forests are shrinking, when in fact, U.S. net forest area increased by 18 million acres over the past 30 years – the equivalent of 1,200 NFL football fields every day – according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Global Forest Resources Assessment. The UN FAO reports that Canada’s net forest area remained stable at around 857 million acres during the same period.
“Paper is one of the few products on earth that already has an environmentally sustainable, circular life cycle,” Rowzie says. “North American paper is made from an infinitely renewable natural resource – trees grown, harvested and regrown in sustainably managed forests. It’s manufactured using mostly renewable, carbon neutral bioenergy in a process that uses water, but in reality consumes very little of it. And paper products are recycled more than any other material. But many consumers believe paper is bad for the environment because their service providers are telling them so. Two Sides is working hard to change that.”
Two Sides challenges greenwashing companies and other organizations in a non-confrontational way, educating CEOs and other senior management with facts from credible, third-party sources that clearly demonstrate the unique sustainability characteristics of paper products and the solid and continually improving environmental record of the North American paper industry. Because North America’s leading corporations and other service providers have such an expansive reach, Two Sides anti-greenwashing efforts to date have had an enormous impact, with unsubstantiated “go paperless” environmental messages removed from literally billions of customer communications.
“But there’s much more work to do as companies continue to distort the paper industry’s great environmental record and threaten paper, print and mail volumes with opportunistic greenwashing claims,” Rowzie says. “This is why the Anti-Greenwashing Campaign continues to be a top priority for Two Sides.”
Across North and South America, Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, Two Sides has challenged more than 1,900 organizations that have made unsubstantiated environmental claims about paper and continues to pursue those whose use greenwashing claims to mask their cost-cutting efforts.
“We are grateful for the cooperation of the hundreds of organizations that have changed or eliminated greenwashing claims from their messaging, and we are also thankful for the many industry stakeholders and members of the public who send Two Sides examples of greenwashing,” Rowzie concludes.
To learn more about Two Sides North America and its Anti-Greenwashing Campaign, please visit www.twosidesna.org.
About Two Sides
Two Sides is a global, member-funded non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the uniquely sustainable attributes of print, paper and paper-based packaging. Two Sides’ members span the entire print, paper and paper-based packaging value chain, including forestry, pulp, paper, packaging, inks and chemicals, finishing, publishing, printing, envelopes and mail operators. For more information, visit www.twosidesna.org.
Download the press release here.
Media Contact:
Kathi Rowzie, President
Two Sides North America
info@twosidesna.org
937-999-7729
CHICAGO – January 5, 2022 – Two Sides North America is pleased to welcome the Pharmaceutical Printed Literature Association (PPLA) as its newest member. PPLA is a coalition representing printers, equipment manufacturers, raw material suppliers and distributors of regulated printed pharmaceutical information used by both medical professionals and patients, including package inserts, medication guides, and other label packaging such as folding cartons and pressure-sensitive labels. PPLA’s 25 member companies employ thousands of individuals across manufacturing operations in 15 states.
“As Two Sides continues to grow our membership across all sectors of the print, paper and paper-based packaging industry, we are delighted to have PPLA join us and look forward to working with them to help promote the sustainability of our industry and our products, and printed pharmaceutical information in particular,” said Two Sides North America President Kathi Rowzie.
Chartered in 2001, PPLA is the leader in advancing patient safety through the use of printed medical information. PPLA has long advocated for federal and regulatory policies to uphold the continued and broad utilization of printed pharmaceutical literature, including patient medication information and package inserts for professional use. PPLA is committed to supporting provider preference and empowering patients by ensuring medication information is accessible in a reliable, printed format.
“Printed medication information is critical for patients, caregivers, and health care providers to understand prescription drug dosage, administration, side effects, adverse reactions and interactions with other drugs,” says PPLA Chairman Dave Joesten. “Two Sides does a great job of telling the sustainability story of paper communication, and we are excited to work with them to amplify PPLA’s message that printed medication information is not only essential, but also environmentally responsible.”
For more information on PPLA, visit www.pplaonline.org
About Two Sides North America, Inc.
Two Sides North America is an independent, non-profit organization that promotes the sustainability of print, paper and paper-based packaging, and dispels common environmental misconceptions about paper products. We are part of the Two Sides global network which includes more than 600 members across North America, South America, Europe, Australia and South Africa.
Media Contact:
Kathi Rowzie, President
Two Sides North America, Inc.
P: 937-999-7729
E: info@twosidesna.org
CHICAGO – November, 17, 2021 – The Two Sides North America (TSNA) Board of Directors is pleased to announce the election of four new Board members to serve two-year terms beginning January 1, 2022:
Vanecia Carr, Domtar Corporation
Edward Jansen, Canon Solutions America, Inc.
Jim Montague, Sylvamo Corporation
Lindsay Murphy, American Forest and Paper Association
“We are pleased to have these four outstanding professionals join the Two Sides Board,” said TSNA Board Chairman Jeffrey Hester of International Paper. “Their extensive industry experience and leadership combined with their passion for sustainability will be invaluable as we take Two Sides’ efforts to the next level.
“As their second Board terms end, we also wish to express our sincere thanks to John Milazo of Domtar and Mark Pitts of the American Forest and Paper Association for their many contributions and leadership to the TSNA Board and to Two Sides continuing success,” Hester added. According to TSNA’s bylaws, Directors may serve only two consecutive two-year terms.
In other business, The TSNA Board elected William Rojack, MIDLAND, to succeed Hester as Board Chairman effective January 1.
“Two Sides has accomplished a great deal in its first 10 years, but there is much more to do as the print, paper and paper-based packaging industry continues to confront unsubstantiated claims about the sustainability of our industry and our products,” Rojack says. “I look forward to leading TSNA’s talented Board as we look for new ways to share our industry’s great sustainability story and as we directly respond to misleading environmental claims in ways that individual companies and other organizations cannot.”
For more information about Two Sides, please visit www.twosidesna.org
Media Contact: Kathi Rowzie, 937-999-7729, info@twosidesna.org
About Two Sides North America, Inc.
Two Sides North America (www.twosidesna.org) is an independent, non-profit organization that promotes the sustainability of print, paper and paper-based packaging, and dispels common environmental misconceptions about paper products. We are part of the Two Sides global network which operates across North America, South America, Europe, Australia and South Africa.
DOWNLOAD THE PRESS RELEASE HERE
CHICAGO – October 5, 2021 – As economic pressures around the globe continue to mount, banks, telecom providers, utility companies and even governmental organizations are increasingly focused on switching their customers from paper to digital services to cut costs. All too often, their customer communications attempt to mask these cost-saving efforts, justifying the switch with unsubstantiated environmental marketing appeals such as “Go Green – Go Paperless” and “Choose e-billing and save a tree.”
“Not only do these greenwashing claims breach established environmental marketing standards like the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Green Guides and the ISO 14021 standard, they also are extremely damaging to an industry that has a solid and continually improving environmental record,” says Two Sides North America President Kathi Rowzie. “Far from ‘saving trees,’ strong market demand for sustainably sourced paper encourages responsible forest management and supports the long-term health of forest resources. Many of the organizations we engage are surprised to learn that over the last 30 years, U.S. forests have expanded by some 18 million acres, while net forest area in Canada has remained the same at around 857 million acres during the same period.1”
Two Sides has engaged nearly 1,700 organizations around the globe – in North and South America, Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand – urging them to remove misleading environmental claims about paper from their customer communications. To date, more than 810 of them have complied, 149 of them in the United States and Canada, bringing the North American success rate to 68%.
“We know that consumers are increasingly aware of the impact their choices have on the environment, and that environmental claims made by companies they trust can influence their decision making,” says Rowzie. “All too often, these claims are not based in fact. Because these organizations have such an expansive reach, their greenwashing claims have a damaging effect on consumer perceptions of paper – perceptions that threaten the livelihoods of more than 7 million people in the U.S. and Canadian printing, paper and mail sector.”
The damage caused by misleading claims is why the Anti-greenwash Campaign continues to be a priority for Two Sides, and why the organization continues to urge companies to reject the use of unsubstantiated environmental claims to promote paperless communications to their customers.
“We are grateful for the cooperation of the hundreds of organizations that have changed or eliminated greenwashing claims from their messaging, and we are also thankful for the many industry stakeholders and members of the public who send Two Sides examples of greenwashing,” Rowzie says.
For more information about the Two Sides Anti-greenwash Campaign or to submit examples of greenwashing claims in the United States and Canada, email Two Sides North America at info@twosidesna.org
1UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Global Forest Resources Assessment, 2020
About Two Sides North America, Inc.
Two Side North America (www.twosidesna.org) is an independent, non-profit organization that promotes the unique sustainable attributes of print, paper and paper-based packaging, and dispels common environmental misconceptions about the paper industry and its products. We are part of the Two Sides global network which operates across North America, South America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Media Contact:
Kathi Rowzie, President
Two Sides North America
937-999-7729
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