New, Greener Papers from Marcal
Jun 25, 2009
According to the Environmental Paper Network, half of the planet’s forests have already been burned or cleared and 80% of the forests that remain has been seriously degraded. Deforestation is a huge problem on our planet and helps to contribute to a wealth of other issues, including loss of animal habitat and erosion.
Already known for using high amounts of post consumer recycled content in its Sunrise toilet paper line, Marcal is committed to helping to reduce the impact of the 800 pounds of paper the average American uses per year. This reduction of paper could help to sustain better homes around the globe, with less of an impact on the forests our planet so desperately needs.
The new line of Marcal products, known as Small Steps, offer an alternative to papers made from virgin fibers. Instead, these are made from 100% recycled paper. According to the company website, Marcal uses recycled paper gathered from communities in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New England. Old magazines, junk mail, office paper and newspapers are turned into paper towels, toilet paper, tissues, and napkins in the brand new line. Plus the manufacturing process is free of chlorine bleach, dyes, and fragrances – making it safer for our planet and for those with allergies.
The best part: they’re just as strong, soft, and absorbent as other popular brands. No scratching, irritation, or thin construction. Just greener paper goods for you and your family.
Marcal is the biggest air and water polluter in the state of New Jersey. They have been fined almost a billion dollars by the EPA, and do much more harm than good. They filed Chapter 11 to avoid paying for the clean up, and also used it as an opportunity to break their union contract. Nice guys, huh? Then when they emerged from bankruptcy, they painted themselves green. For them to claim to be a green, eco-friendly company is a joke, as well as a lie.
Hi Hank, Thanks for the comment. As far as I know, Marcal was one of the MANY companies responsible for polluting the Passaic river, and have since cleaned up thier act. In comparison to the major corporations that cut down millions upon millions of acres of trees, Marcal is pretty green. Keep the comments coming though, this is definitely something that is worth exploring.
@Hank
You mean to say that they are just the same like any other companies who are claiming that they socially responsible even if it isn’t true? Hopefully, they already changed the way of their operations. They can be a great help in case they continue to go green.
All of us at Marcal welcome valid criticism and open discussion on blogs (and everywhere), but we want you to know that “Hank” leaves comments like the one here anytime he or she sees something written about us…and leaves them anonymously or from a variety of different names, so there is no way we can get in touch and set the facts straight. The phrases used are always very similar, the kind of pattern that almost shouts, ”spam campaign.” This kind of nameless attack isn’t in the open spirit of blogs, and we think it’s a disservice to readers and to our hard-earned reputation. The simple fact is that we make our products in a manufacturing system designed to minimize our environmental impact.
We invite the person making these attacks to come pay us a visit; we have noting to hide! We think our actions speak for themselves; otherwise, why would a group like the NRDC cite our factory in a discussion of companies leading the way environmentally in the New York metro area? (http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/egoldstein/green_apples_and_bad_apples_nr.html).
Marcal didn’t recently “paint itself green.” We’ve been using recycled paper since 1950, long before green was in. As for the lawsuit, it was settled with no admission of wrong doing, enabling the company to emerge from bankruptcy to protect and grow jobs under a new owner and management team that understands that, if you are going to market yourself as green, you better do things right.
Are we perfect? Of course not, but we are always striving to be better. We invite anyone with questions about our practices to contact us at ecofacts@marcal.com
Thanks for clearing everything up Marcal. We love your products!
Our pleasure!