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tree free invitations

Tree-Free paper is exactly what it sounds like, paper that is made without ANY cuttings from trees, directly or indirectly.

Tree-free production technology is better than ever. In developing countries, a third of the paper produced is already tree-free, according to U.N. estimates, and there is now a budding, if small, tree-free paper industry emerging in the West. The materials used are:

CROPS, including kenaf, an African plant which makes an excellent paper pulp; hemp, a versatile plant and a component in the first papers ever made; flax, the plant used to make linen; and cotton.

AGRICULTURAL RESIDUES, or crop leftovers, such as rice and wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse, banana stalk fiber and grass clippings.

COTTON RAGS, as in the days just before wood became the raw material of choice.

The benefits of using non-wood sources extend beyond saving trees and forest habitat. The production process is itself more environmentally sound, requiring fewer chemicals and less energy.

Many tree-free papers are actually blends of non-wood fibers and post-consumer waste (recycled) paper. This is a good thing. Using recycled paper to create new paper saves both water and energy, and helps keep pollution down. So, next time you shop, seek out the tree-free blends marked PCF—they're the best paper products you can buy. Don't forget to encourage your office supply store to carry these papers if they don't yet. Let the publishers of the magazines you subscribe to know you care, too. That's how to be a real engine of change.

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