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- Alternative Paper Fibers And Facilities That Embrace Them
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Eighty to 90 percent of the paper towels sold by Solutex are 100-percent recycled, Moody says 鈥� a huge increase from just years ago. He attributes the growth in green products to his geographic location, in the standard-setting Washington D.C. area, as well as his customer base of education and government facilities, which are driving the trend.听鈥淎ny time a cleaning standard hits the area, people are more aware of green products and practices,鈥� Moody says. 鈥淥ver the years, more facility cleaning executives have asked us for paper that meets certain green standards.鈥漇chool environments in particular seem to be a hotbed of green leadership, thanks to progressive environmental attitudes of students, public involvement in the education system, and third party organizations steering the movement.听On the West Coast, hospitality and commercial office sectors are also showing interest in green paper towels, says Keith Schneringer, marketing manager at Waxie Sanitary Supply in San Diego.鈥淚n Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, there is also some demand for green paper in Class-A buildings 鈥� which hasn鈥檛 always considered sustainability as most important,鈥� he says.听
Alternative Fibers
One of the biggest paper towel trends to emerge in the past few years is the exploration and use of alternative fibers. Paper manufacturers are looking to diversify their sources, Schneringer says.鈥淭he recycled paper market has some volatility to it and as digital communication becomes more prevalent, there鈥檚 not as much post-consumer paper stock out there to continue to make recycled paper products,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey are coming up with different ways to make paper from reliable, sustainable sources that allow for a quality product at a competitive price.鈥漈he most common types of alternative fibers being used to make paper towels include bamboo, wheat and grass. Some of these fibers make brown or off-white paper; bamboo seems to produce the whitest paper towel, Schneringer says. These alternative fibers can be broken into subsections of rapidly renewable materials and tree-free fibers. Something like bamboo, because it鈥檚 a grass and can be planted and harvested in a relatively short period of time, qualifies as both.When certifying paper, Green Seal only considers alternative fibers that would otherwise have been waste or agricultural residue, Chipperfield says. Green Seal is considering including virgin fibers from alternative sources in its current standard, but the decision to add that is still in the discovery phase.鈥淲e have to look at life cycle impacts 鈥� how much water it takes to grow it, if shipping is involved, the environmental and health impacts of production and use,鈥� Chipperfield says. 鈥淩ight now, we allow alternative fibers but they need to be from something that would otherwise be a waste product.鈥澨齌he Minneapolis-based Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an organization that sets standards for forest management, also provides independent verification of recycled claims, under the FSC Recycle label.听鈥淪ince recycled fiber is a big trend, we believe demand for independent verification is a key component. It鈥檚 wonderful that people are requesting recycled, but without third party verification, the claims are open to question,鈥� says Brad Kahn, FSC communications director.
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