Packaging and Southern Forests

The Southern United States remains the world’s largest paper producing region. The mills that produce paper products in this 13-state region have a tremendous impact on our forests. Indeed, every year millions of acres of the South’s forests are clearcut to feed the pulp and paper industry. While these Southern mills produce a wide variety of paper for products ranging from cigarette paper and newsprint to paper cups and swabs, paper packaging accounts for approximately 25% of all of the wood fiber coming from Southern forests. Because the Southern U.S. remains the largest paper producing region in the world, and more than half of all paper production goes to paper packaging, our society’s decisions about packaging directly impact Southern forests. If companies in just the medicine and cosmetics cartons sector switched to 35% post-consumer recycled content, the benefits for our environment and our forests are truly substantial. Working together, we will educate the public and the marketplace about the negative environmental impact on Southern forests caused by “business as usual” packaging. Dogwood Alliance supports the efforts of people, communities, organizations and networks across the region work to practice and promote sustainable forestry. The Southern Forest Network is one of our main partners on this front.

News notes are courtesy of Southern Forests Network News Notes
www.southernsustainableforests.org