Alternative Paper Sources
Corn
Bagasse
Beets
Cotton
Plan It Green has promoted the use of alternative paper stocks since 2001. The industry continues to evolve, producing a wider variety of stocks in more sustainable ways. Still, the business of manufacturing paper is highly water- and energy-intensive. The manner in which the paper is made is as important as the paper stock itself.
Labels and Stickers
Compostable
Our compostable labels cost more upfront than those plastic labels, but in the long run our plant labels are far, far less expensive than plastic stickers. Nothing lasts forever, but plastic labels come very close and that’s the problem. When a plastic labels falls off your car window, or cosmetic bottle, food package, auto or sports product and hits the trashcan, road or floats into the sewer and ends up in your local river, ocean or landfill that’s just the beginning of the story. As plastic biodegrades it leaks toxic microscopic polymers (citation) which, when it rains, wind up in streams, rivers and eventually the ocean. These microscopic polymer are eaten by plankton which are eaten by larger fish and so on and so on. The polymers do not flush out of the animals system and continue to leak their toxic chemicals (citation) into the animal. These polymers are endocrine disruptors causing their progeny to grow both female and male sexual organs.
The true cost of using plastic isn’t built into the price you pay for those labels. It doesn’t include the cost of killing sea life, poisoning the ground for thousands of year. Our plant labels are made from plants, not plastic. Our plant labels are compostable labels which can compost in as quickly as 16 weeks in a professional composter (ASTM-D6400) and of course, longer depending on the conditions.
Dissolvable
The New York City Department of Transportation had Plan It Green Printing print dissolvable label stickers for their parking citation bureau. The labels are applied to parking signs and then written on to alert the parking citation crew if they should or should not be issuing tickets. Instead of having to remove the labels, the weather does the work. The dissolvable labels dissolve when it rains or snows leaving no residues or buildup. The label are made of plant starch and cause no harm to the environment. A perfect option for cities looking for environmental print solutions.
Tree-Free
Made from bamboo, bagasse and cotton-linters this uncoated stock lends itself to a ‘natural’ look.
Recycled paper
30% recycled semi-gloss paper and printed with soy or vegetable-based inks. Gloss or Matte coating.
Fiberstone
Very interesting stock but we don’t really think of it as a ‘green’ stock. It’s impermeable to water, fantastic for freezer packaging, paper that needs to withstand the elements. It’s got this soft, ‘buttery’ feel to it. No water is used manufacturing it (or trees, for that matter). No water, that’s a huge deal if you consider the paper industry is one of the largest polluters of water in the world.
Printing on Paper
Books, brochures, curriculums, programs printed on high-content recycled stocks – for example, 100% post-consumer waste, sustainably manufactured using wind, solar, bio-fuel or low-impact hydro and Green-E Certified, Forest Stewardship Council (‘FSC’) or Sustainable Forestry Institute (‘SFI’) Certifed that the wood is coming from socially/responsibly managed forests and Made Carbon Neutral via buying carbon credits as offsets on the Chicago Energy Exchange.
Hang-tags high-content recycled paper, hole punched and strung
Tear-Pad Coupons
Coupons and tear-pad coupons with chipboard backing, 50 – 100 sheets to a pad or redeemable coupons. Printed on coated stock with 50% recycled and 25% pcw or uncoated 100% pcw stock using soy-based inks.
