Recycled Paper Packaging & Stationery

Bleach Method is one of the criteria used in the EcoPaper Database to rank a product against The Paper Steps.  

But what do the bleaching acronyms mean?

Processed Chlorine Free (PCF) applies to recovered paper fibre and means the recycled and deinked paper fibres are whitened without any chlorine. Since we value both forest conservation and reducing unnecessary chemical use, we advocate PCF as the most environmentally preferable bleach option.

Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) paper is also whitened without any chlorine bleaching, but only applies to virgin fibre paper and not to recycled paper.

Enhanced ECF bleaching substitutes ozone or hydrogen peroxide for chlorine or chlorine dioxides as a brightening agent in the initial stages of the bleaching process. This process is inferior to PCF and TCF because it uses chlorine dioxide in the final stages of bleaching. However, compared to the ECF process outlined below, this process is preferable because it further improves the quality of the wastewater and enables the recovery of most mill wastewater. Enhanced ECF with extended or oxygen delignification removes more lignin from the wood before bleaching than the traditional ECF method. Therefore, fewer bleaching chemicals are required.

Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) is a bleaching process that substitutes chlorine dioxide for elemental chlorine. Compared to elemental chlorine bleaching processes, ECF bleaching reduces the formation of many chlorinated organic compounds. However, it does not completely eliminate them.

Where possible we scanned food-grade packaging for coating and PFAS.  Where information was available we captured it here.

The Ancient Forest Friendly™ designation from Canopy represents the highest ecological qualities in the paper industry. Ancient Forest Friendly pulp, paper and packaging is free of Ancient or Endangered Forest fibre, made with 100% recycled or Next Gen content, and is whitened without chlorine.

To be Ancient Forest Friendly, a product must be manufactured with a high percentage of recycled fibre or agricultural residue. Any virgin fibre used in the paper must be Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified (with no ‘controlled wood’) and not originate from Endangered Forests. Bleaching must be chlorine-free.
 
Ancient Forest Friendly papers reduce pressure on intact forest ecosystems and their functions – such as climate stabilization, water regulation and species habitat. There is a significant body of scientific work that details the ecological benefits of utilizing recycled fibre in lieu of virgin wood fibre, including:

- Conserving water and energy
- Reducing greenhouse gases and volatile compounds
- Preventing the degradation of carbon-rich forest ecosystems; and
- Preventing the loss of forest-dependent biodiversity.

The Paper Steps defines what’s in your paper and helps paper consumers make more environmentally responsible choices by helping you discern which paper qualities are environmentally preferable. Sustainable brands can get expert, independent advice on environmentally superior paper choices using this online tool.

Paper and packaging may have many logos and certifications but they are not all created equally.  The certifications recognized by Canopy are the ones best positioned to provide 3rd party verification of recycled content and/or more robust forest management practices. 

Please specify with your manufacturer that you want your paper and packaging to carry the certification through the supply chain.

Where possible and relevant we worked to verify food-grade pulp, paper or packaging is Food Safe, meaning it is FDA Food Safe compliant or certified Food Safe by another standard.

Where possible we worked to verify food service ware and food-grade packaging as PFAS free, preferably with a 3rd party certification.

If we found products to have PFAS we excluded them from the database.

Where possible we've worked with the manufacturer to track any forest fibre used in this product back to the forest of origin. We then referenced ForestMapper to look for the risk of sourcing from Ancient and Endangered Forests.

‘No’ means we have NOT been able to verify ‘low-risk’ sourcing.

‘Yes’ means we have been able to verify ‘low-risk’ sourcing based on reporting from the manufacturer.

ENGO = Environmental Non-Government Organization

We have seen time and again that including an experienced ENGO on the critical review panel of ISO-compliant life cycle analysis, results in much more robust LCAs.