Seasons Green-ings: 9 Eco-Friendly Holiday Card Companies
By Amy Carniol | November 18, 2011 at 9:54 am
With mobile communication and online social networking reigning supreme, environmentally conscious consumers have plenty of electronic options for wishing their loved ones a happy holiday season. Sure, e-cards create less waste and use less energy, but the thrill that comes from receiving an actual, tangible holiday card in the mail can’t be matched on screen. This year, sending out your greetings doesn’t have to take a toll on the environment. Several paper companies offer eco-friendly, out-of-the-box ways to spread your holiday cheer, including:
Night Owl Paper Goods makes holiday cards out of an unexpected material: wood. The company uses logs from suppliers that employ sustainable-yield harvesting procedures, and one single log can produce thousands of products. Plus, the wooden greetings are 100 percent natural, so they are fully biodegradable, recyclable and compostable. nightowlpapergoods.com
A picture is worth a thousand words, so send a snapshot greeting to the ones you love. With Tiny Prints, you can customize your holiday card with a photo printed on various options of eco-friendly recycled materials, including Forest Stewardship Council-certified matte paper. tinyprints.com
Twisted Limb Paperworks makes and sells unique cards and stationery embellished with actual ferns, flowers and raffia flecks, all organically grown and ethically harvested. The company is also carbon neutral, offsetting 100 percent of the carbon dioxide created not only from running its facility, but also from shipping its orders, business travel, and employee commutes. Plus, Twisted Limb donates 22 percent of its annual profits to environmental and community groups, including Habitat for Humanity and The Nature Conservancy. twistedlimbpaper.com
Send your friends a note that blooms. Of the Earth produces cards embedded with seeds and flower petals. Once the card has served its primary purpose, it can be planted in soil, and wildflowers will soon grow to welcome the new year. custompaper.com
As part of Green Field Paper Company’s zero-waste policy, all paper scraps created during the manufacturing process are either sold, converted to new paper, or donated to low-income schools. Green Field even created a product line that repurposes its junk mail and used envelopes into a line of paper products available for purchase. greenfieldpaper.com
Elum Designs makes artistic holiday cards using tree-free, 100 percent post-industrial waste cotton rag papers and soy-based inks, all of which are much more eco-friendly than traditional printing methods.elumdesigns.com
Sustainability is the name of the game at Greenerprinter.com The San Francisco Bay Area-based company uses non-toxic chemicals in the plate-making process and purchases Renewable Energy Credits to offset its carbon footprint. In addition, Greenerprinter.com complies with the Forest Stewardship Council’s “Chain of Custody”, meaning its finished products can be traced all the way back to the growing process in sustainably managed forests. greenerprinter.com
One-woman operation Tasha Rae Designs places a strong emphasis on reusing and recycling materials. Shipping supplies and packing materials are reused, and paper scraps are saved for family craft projects. The company also supports American Forests by planting trees each month. tasharaedesigns.com
Aside from using eco-friendly paper and 100 percent vegetable-based ink, boutique design and letterpress print shop Tweedle Press uses natural vegetable oil as part of its cleanup materials. The company also reuses incoming shipping materials and sends invoices electronically to limit waste. tweedlepress.com
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