Forest-Friendly Paper for Baby's First Animal Magazine

RESTON, Virginia, May 24, 2004 (ENS) - The first American magazine to print on paper from forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council will be distributed to 180,000 people who cannot understand what that means. But their parents will.

The June 2004 issue of "Wild Animal Baby," the National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) magazine for children ages one to three years is the first to be printed on paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

An international nonprofit organization encourages responsible management of the world’s forests by supporting certification to sustainable forest managment principles and practices, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) uses independent third party experts to certify forests and businesses.

“We are proud to print Wild Animal Baby on FSC certified paper,” says Laura Hickey, senior director of production for NWF publications. “National Wildlife Federation is one of the largest conservation education organizations in the country, and using FSC certified paper demonstrates our support for wildlife friendly forest management.”

"Wild Animal Baby" will be the first American magazine to publish on paper certified as being from sustainably managed forests. (Photo courtesy NWF)

In 2003, the Tembec Paper Group announced the manufacture of a board stock certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, and QuadGraphics received its chain-of-custody certificate.

Then, in April 2004, NWF’s magazine paper merchant, Central Lewmar South, received its certification, making it possible for the National Wildlife Federation to become the first magazine publisher in the United States to use FSC paper in a consumer publication. All of the chain-of-custody certifications were coordinated by SmartWood, a certification program of the Rainforest Alliance.

Tembec, headquartered in Temiscaming, Quebec, Canada was honored May 19 by the Rainforest Alliance during the organization's 14th Annual Gala at Gotham Hall in New York City.

“Tembec is very proud that its proactive forestry stewardship continues to be applauded by highly credible organizations such as the Rainforest Alliance,” said Tembec President and CEO Frank Dottori.

Tembec President and CEO Frank Dottori, left, receives the Rainforest Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award from Roger Dower, executive director of the Forest Stewardship Council, USA. (Photo courtesy Rainforest Alliance)

For the "Wild Animal Baby" magazine, each step along the paper supply chain, from tree to pulp to press, must have an FSC chain-of-custody certificate. While the number of certified businesses continues to grow, the concept of certification is still relatively new, says Hickey. “We worked hard to find a mill, paper merchant and printer who had each received FSC certification."

“Maintaining healthy forest habitats is very important to us,” says Eric Palola, director of NWF’s Northeast Natural Resource Center. “Careless logging and cut and run forest practices can harm sensitive wildlife habitat for decades. Switching to FSC guarantees us that the wood used to make the paper was harvested in an environmentally responsible way.”

“FSC is proud to be a part of NWF's strong commitment to environmental education,” says Roger Dower, U.S. president of the Forest Stewardship Council. “Their use of FSC certified paper for the magazine is a powerful example to their members of how everyone's purchases of FSC certified paper and wood products can help protect the environment by supporting well managed forestry.”

Initially, the switch to paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council was expected to cost more due to increased costs for additional presswork needed to varnish one side of the paper. But because the Tembec paper has a significantly lower basis weight, the amount of paper used and the costs to mail "Wild Animal Baby" actually decreased, saving NWF about $46,000 per year.

In addition to having the environmental benefit of being FSC certified, the National Wildlife Federation will consume less paper and wood fiber.

NWF now is examining the possibility of using certified paper for its other publications "Your Big Backyard," "Ranger Rick," and "National Wildlife" magazines.

“We are exploring our options with the hope of moving our other publications to FSC certified papers,” says Hickey. In the meantime, other NWF publications continue to use only non-chlorine bleached paper containing 15 percent post-consumer waste.

Boardwalk into a Tembec managed forest (Photo courtesy Tembec)

Most recently, in April 2003, the Forest Stewardship Council certified Ontario's five million acre Gordon Cosens Forest managed by Tembec. Gordon Cosens Forest, near Timmins, Ontario, now is the largest FSC certified forest in Canada, one of the largest in the world, and the first northern boreal forest to be certified in North America.

Tembec meets higher than required standards in the Gordon Cosens Forest. For instance, Tembec retains 10 to 50 percent of trees in a stand after harvest, based on forest type, while the existing Ontario regulatory standard requires the retention of only six trees per hectare

Tembec maintains 20 percent of the forest in large core patches of mature and old forest, but there is no current minimum in Ontario law or policy.

For these reasons and the company's Impact Zero and Forever Green management programs that minimize the environmental impact of its manufacturing and forestry activities, the Rainforest Alliance Wednesday presented Dottori with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

"This has been a watershed year for the emergence of sustainable forestry and sustainability certification for wood, wood products and paper, as major companies ramp up their commitment to make their products more widely available to consumers," said Rainforest Alliance Executive Director Tensie Whelan.

The Tembec forest products company, which operates in Canada, the United States, and France has sales of $4 billion and some 11,000 employees. The company operates 50 market pulp, paper and wood product manufacturing units, and produces chemicals from by-products of its pulping process.