EMERYVILLE, CA — 07/17/09 — Holiday cards and Christmas cards retailer Cardstore.com has made the switch to 100% post-consumer waste paper.
“Green is one of our favorite colors,” says Cardstore.com’s Marketing Director Tiffany Chan. “We have worked hard to ensure our photo cards are not only stylish, but also eco-conscious.”
This switch adds to Cardstore.com’s already strong commitment to the environment since the company has already been using eco-friendly digital printing, maintaining Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certified printing facilities and partnering with Carbonfund.org to offset their carbon footprint.
“It’s important to us that we do our part to protect the environment and make sure we minimize our impact to the earth in as many ways as possible,” says Cardstore.com CEO Marty Reed.
A lot of recycled paper is pre-consumer, meaning it was never actually used and was simply reprocessed in the factory. In contrast, post-consumer waste paper was used beforehand, kept out of a landfill and brought back to life to be used again. This distinction is important because using post-consumer waste paper reduces waste and carbon emissions, ultimately saving trees.
This is why Cardstore.com switched to Mohawk paper, which is made up of 100% post-consumer waste paper, processed chlorine free and Green Seal Certified(1). This paper is also manufactured entirely with wind-generated electricity.
Waste reduction fits right in with Cardstore.com’s business model. By its very nature, the print-on-demand process is responsible production: Cardstore.com makes what it sells, nothing more. Pre-manufactured greeting cards can be overproduced, resulting in a large portion of unsold cards ending up in landfills. With digital printing, waste is minimal.
Cardstore.com also works to minimize the use of hazardous chemicals associated with printing ink. Conventional offset printing methods create “plate waste” and harmful Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), but Cardstore.com’s modern digital presses reduce VOCs. In addition, Cardstore.com ensures that its printing facilities maintain FSC certification. The FSC’s standards represent the world’s strongest system for sustainable resource management and economic, social and environmental concerns.
Rounding out their go-green initiative, Cardstore.com has made a donation to Carbonfund.org. With this effort the company has offset all of its remaining carbon emissions from its presses, corporate offices and even all shipping and packaging for an entire year. These funds are used to support third-party verified carbon offset projects like renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation.
By shopping at Cardstore.com, customers can feel like they are doing their part to help the earth too. So whatever color card they buy, it’s still guaranteed to be green.
About Cardstore.com
Cardstore.com is an Emeryville, California-based photo cards, holiday cards, Christmas cards and stationery retailer that combines online customization with designs from over 60 independent artists. Since 1999, the company has printed over 15 million personalized cards, and uses only FSC-certified cardstock. Cardstore provides custom greeting cards and personalized stationery for all occasions including photo cards, birth announcements, party invitations, holiday photo cards, thank you cards, personal cards, and wedding invitations.
(1) Cardstore.com postcards and satin finish greeting cards are printed on eco-friendly, FSC-certified cardstock rather than Mohawk’s 100% post-consumer waste paper.