Behind the Chemistry Of Going Green: Ask lots of questions about the makeup of your catalog’s materials

By Kathy Hecht

Next, see if you can reduce the basis weight for your catalog and cover. The lighter the basis weight of the paper, the less fiber used in production. As an added bonus, your postage costs will be lower, as well.

A Sticky Matter
Now that you’ve taken some steps to improve the environmental friendliness of your catalog, there’s one more thing to consider: What happens to your catalog afterward? Any cataloger’s goal should be to have it recycled, of course. But one of the difficulties with processing paper for recycling is the presence of adhesives. Adhesive materials complicate recycling because some adhesives can’t be fully removed. This sticky residue hampers the process and the reusability of the resulting paper pulp. The main culprits are pressure-sensitive adhesives found in address labels and postage stamps.