Recycled Paper
China is a world leader in recovered paper demand, and recycled paper is readily available in China for some paper types, including newsprint, cardstock, corrugated board and some uncoated papers. The range of paper choices is not as large as you may be accustomed to in your country, however, high quality coated offset paper, is hard to come by. It is possible to import recycled stock from Taiwan, Japan, Europe or North America, lead times and costs may be prohibitive, so please consult with us early. Also remember that domestic recycled paper can be expensive in some cases.
Alternate Papers
Besides recycled paper, you may consider producing your work on paper made of alternate source materials instead of trees. Alternate paper stocks available in China include papers made from Bamboo, Sugar Cane and mineral powders derived from stone.
Sustainable Forestry Certification
Sustainable forestry practice is very important in China, due to the limited natural forestry resources in the country. Most of the paper used by APL INDUSTRIAL has a high or total pulp content originating from sustainable forestry initiatives. However, adoption of forestry certification initiatives like FSC and PEFC is limited due to a fragmented supply chain and a competing certification scheme in the China Forestry Certification Council (CFCC), hence obtaining FSC/PEFC certified paper can be challenging. Here again, it is possible to import FSC or PEFC certified paper, time and cost willing.
Chlorine Free Paper
Chlorine bleaching of pulp used to make paper has been proven to produce cancer causing dioxins in the runoff effluent of paper mills. For the uninitiated, there are three types of “chlorine free” paper:
• Totally Chlorine Free (TFC)—a designation used for paper made from virgin fiber, indicating that no chlorine or chlorine containing compounds were used as bleaching agents in making the paper. TCF paper may be unbleached, or bleached with Oxygen, Ozone or Hydrogen Peroxide, and is the most environmentally friendly chlorine-free paper, but produces pulps which may be weaker, less bright, of lower yield, and more costly than ECF pulps or normally bleached pulps.
• Processed Chlorine Free (PCF)—a designation for recycled papers meaning that, while chlorine may have been used in creating the original paper stock, the recovered feedstock used to make the recycled pulp has not been bleached with Chlorine.
• Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF)—a type of bleaching where chlorine dioxide (CIO2) is used, but not elemental (gaseous) Chlorine (CI), resulting in little or no dioxin, but which may still produce toxic chlorinated organic compounds like chloroform.
All three types of chlorine free bleaching are used in China. Please inquire if you wish to ensure your project to be produced on paper created by a particular type of chlorine free paper.
ISO 14001
The international standard for environmental management systems (EMS), ISO 14001 specifies requirements for establishing and maintaining a supportive environmental policy. Not all, but a high percentage of the production facilities we use have attained ISO 14001 certification.
Inks and Coatings
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s), often present in printing inks and coatings, can evaporate into the atmosphere causing illness, air pollution, and ozone depletion, contributing to global warming. Some inks and coatings are available in low VOC or VOC-free varieties. Please let us know in advance if you prefer to use VOC-free materials.
One well known low-VOC ink is Soy ink, used more and more frequently. Because it is vegetable, not petroleum based, it has a low VOC impact. In addition, soy inks may produce brighter, more vibrant colors and make recycling more convenient. Soy inks do take longer to dry, and are known to produce smears, ghosting or other problems on coated papers, so we recommend only using Soy inks with non-coated papers.
