European forest

Paper without deforestation - it is indeed possible!

The massive consumption of paper is a global problem that needs to be addressed at its roots. Learn about alternatives to conventional paper and how you can minimise your own consumption.

Alternatives to paper made from wood fibres

Paper, it is an unfortunate fact, is mainly made from wood fibres from trees. More than 50% of the world's cleared forests are processed into books, newspapers, cardboard and paperboard, or even quite banally: toilet paper. The "tree wear" of individuals can even be converted. In Germany , for example,each person "consumed" about three treesonaverage in 2010 .Each. Even small children! Every few seconds, therefore, an unimaginable area of forest disappears worldwide.

There is too much deforestation!

Admittedly, some of the processed wood comes from the forestry industry, i.e. from areas where so-called commercial forests are raised. "Forests" are artificial-looking forests in which all the trees are the same size and thickness, lined up in regular sections like tin soldiers. But elsewhere, in Canada, Scandinavia and Southeast Asia, for example, natural forests are felled, including trees several hundred years old. Forests that are (still) intact ecosystems and provide a home for endangered species such as grizzlies, lynxes, orangutans and many more. All this for a few sheets of paper that are consumed and often thrown away. 

Trees produce oxygen

However, trees are not only important for wildlife, but also for us. Here again for all city dwellers: Trees are these cool things that not only look nice and green, but give us the air to breathe. Literally. Because trees convert nitrogen into oxygen. Without trees, we run out of breath. With the current global consumption of paper, sooner rather than later.

It also works without paper - at least with much less

However, everyone can and should do something to ensure that this does not happen. One very important step is to simply do without as much paper as possible. This works quite well at home, because you can even type your shopping list into your smartphone, and when you go shopping, you can make sure that there is little or no packaging.

Moreover,not every emailneeds to beprinted out and filed! There are digital information management solutions in the cloud that make work not only paperless, but also easier.

Of course, you can't do without paper altogether. Handwritten letters, greeting cards, but also stylish notepads and notebooks do not go out of fashion, and no one has to do without them. Because there is recycled or tree-free paper.

Turning old into new - recycled paper

Recycled paper is anything that is made (almost) completely from waste paper. This saves a lot of wood and protects the forest, and also consumes much less water and energy in the production process. True, once upon a time, recycled paper was grey and ugly, and you felt quite virtuous using it. Today, on the other hand, reprocessed waste paper is hardly distinguishable from conventional paper and is something to be proud of.

Tree-free paper - how does that work?

Yes, there are quite a few plants whose fibres are suitable for paper production. These include banana plants and hemp, kenafa and cotton, tobacco, bamboo and coffee plant fibres and so-called bagasse, the fibres of sugar cane. Attractive eco-paper can be made from all these raw materials. Of course, it is not quite as cheap as paper from conventional production, but this naturally encourages people to think about consumption. At NIKIN, for example, we only use copy paper made from bamboo as well as bagasse paper for our tree certificates - unbleached and with zero tree inside.

We sponsor trees. Worldwide. With your purchase!

Because the preservation of our planet's forests is extremely important, we are committed to ensuring that they will continue to exist in the future. Theprinciple is very simple: for every NIKINarticle sold, we forward an amount at the end of each month to our partner organisation OneTreePlanted next, a globally active, non-profit, climate protection organisation from the USA. "OTP" carries out professional plantings of regional tree species at more than ten locations worldwide several times a year. The trees are planted by many volunteers from the local community and by "OTP" itself, in places where they have previously disappearedfor various reasons such as agriculture, the timber industry or due to forest fires or droughts.

"Your" tree with us

Where "your" tree will eventually be planted depends on where the next tree planting event takes place. However, you can quickly find out where the next planting is taking place via the OTP website, Instagram or Facebook. You won't know exactly which is "your" tree, or even where it is, but you will know that you have sponsored a young tree for the future of the earth! That's why every time you order from us, you'll receive a tree certificate made out in your name, officially making you a tree sponsor. 

After all, we also work digitally as far as possible, and you will receive your invoice from us by email. If you now want to buy tree-free paper, you will find some links here that provide you with information and also introduce you to the types of paper that are available for purchase!

> http://www.conservatree.org/treefree.html
> http://truegreenpaper.com/tree-free-paper/
> http://techalive.mtu.edu/meec/module17/bleachedpaper2.htm
> https://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/etreefree.htm

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1 comment

On peut tout simplement se passer complètement de papier : www.zeropapier.fr

Ghislain lesse

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