April 18, 2019 (Chicago, IL) – Two Sides North America has released an engaging new infographic that illustrates why 118 North American companies and over 360 companies globally have removed ‘go green – go paperless’ and similar environmental claims.

Greenwashing is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as, “to make people believe that your company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is.”  The new infographic counters greenwashing claims and provides fact-based information to bust myths about misleading sustainability claims around paper use and production. More companies, including many of the Fortune 500, are thinking twice about their environmental marketing claims to promote electronic communications over paper.

The infographic highlights some of the key reasons corporations are making the change:

• Paperless “green’ claims must follow marketing rules in the U.S. and Canada. Claims need to be accurate, truthful and supported by reliable scientific evidence based on accepted standards.
• The use of forest products from responsibly managed forests provides an important incentive for landowners to retain and manage forest lands sustainably.  As a result, there has been a net increase in the area and volume of U.S. forests between 2005 and 2015.
• Papermaking is not a cause of forest loss in North America. The main causes are urbanization, agriculture, hydro and other developments.
• Corporate marketing lacks transparency about the environmental impacts of going digital. Electronic communications have a significant and growing environmental footprint and use non-renewable raw materials for manufacturing.
• Consumers are not switching to digital due to green claims. Paper is still preferred by many and a recent study has shown that paperless green claims do not convince consumers to switch to online services.

“Two Sides will continue to work with companies to remove misleading environmental claims promoting the switch from paper to digital in order to save costs,” states Phil Riebel, president of Two Sides North America. “Our materials, like this latest infographic, educate and provide fact-based information to dispel myths about paper use and the forest products industry.”

Download the new Two Sides’ infographic and share! It is also available for co-branding by Two Sides members.

Click here to access all Two Sides Infographics.

About Two Sides 

Two Sides is an independent, nonprofit organization created to promote the responsible production, use, and sustainability of print and paper.  Two Sides is active globally in North America, Europe, Australia, South Africa and Brazil. Our members span the entire print and paper value chain, including forestry, pulp, paper, inks and chemicals, pre-press, press, finishing, publishing, printing, envelopes, and postal operators.  For more information about Two Sides North America, please contact us at 1-855-896-7433 or [email protected]. Visit the Two Sides website at www.twosidesna.org and follow Two Sides on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.