renourish has put together a quick recipe of ingredients that make up the framework to choosing the most sustainable paper for the job. We've also included in the right navigation a list of vendors that we find best meet these requirements.

The best solution for paper selection is:

• 100% Post-Consumer Waste (PCW)
• Processed Chlorine Free (PCF)
• Uncoated
• Ancient Forest Friendly
• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified
• Manufactured by green-e certified renewable energy or by renewable energy sources (wind, geothermal, solar, etc.)
• Treeless paper like bamboo, hemp and kenaf (if readily available locally)

Market Initiatives has some further information on choosing responsible paper.

Graphic designers rely on paper every day, as it is the primary medium used to communicate our work. We develop a special relationship with different brands, weights, smoothness, and textures while most of the time not really knowing where paper comes from or its impact once we choose a particular brand/style. Understanding these key issues will help you as a designer make very important decisions when choosing paper. The average American consumes 700 lbs of paper every year, of that only 51.5% is recycled. Our paper consumption has increased three-fold since 1961 and continues to rise. By 2010 it is expected to raise 50% as the world’s population grows. As our population grows it is imperative that we change our attitudes towards how we use paper. We have plenty of room in our waste stream to recycle more and rethink our design strategies to eliminate print waste and minimize packaging. Refer to the criteria to sustainable design strategies. (Source pg. 2-41, PDF).

Virgin Fiber
Virgin fiber paper is manufactured without the use of any recycled/alternative fibers. Trees are the usual source of the virgin fiber, however, they can also be drawn from fibers such as kenaf and hemp.

Recycled Paper
Recycled paper is paper that contains different grades (10-100%) of recycled paper fibers.

Post-Consumer Waste (PCW)
PCW is paper that is recycled after used by a consumer and thrown away. About 51.5% (USA) of the paper we use today is recycled.

Treeless Paper

Kenaf
Kenaf is a 4,000 year old new crop with roots in ancient Africa. A member of the hibiscus family (Hibiscus, cannibus L) it is related to cotton and okra, and grows well in many parts of the U.S. It offers a way to make paper without cutting down trees. Kenaf grows quickly, rising to heights of twelve-fourteen feet in as little as four to five months.

Cotton
Cotton papers are superior in both strength and durability to wood pulp-based papers, which often contain high concentrations of destructive acids.

Others
Bamboo, banana, hemp are mainly used in specialty papers.

Chlorine is an ideal chemical to remove lingin from paper pulp to increase its strength and also make the paper a brilliant white. However Chlorine also releases deadly organochlorines, PCBs, and dioxin into our water supply (from releases at paper mills.) Animals exposed to these releases have been known to experience a weakened immune system, heart and respitory problems. (Source: Seventh Generation).

The best choice, when choosing paper, is to select a paper that is Processed Chlorine Free (PCF). Below is a list, in order of environmental preference, of Chlorine free paper types and explanations.

• Processed Chlorine Free (PCF): Paper is made from fiber recycled from post-consumer waste (PCW) and unbleached or bleached without Chlorine compounds. PCF paper is the most environmentally friendly type.
• Totally Chlorine Free (TCF): Paper made from 100% virgin fiber (including alternative fiber from sources other than trees) that is unbleached or bleached with non-Chlorine compounds. TCF cannot apply to recycled papers, because the source fiber cannot be determined.
• Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF): Paper made from virgin or recycled fiber that is bleached using alternative Chlorine compounds as a substitute for elemental Chlorine.

It is important to know how paper gets from the forest to your desk, since it greatly impacts your world. These links provide a very general concept of how wood pulp is made into paper.

• Tappi.org
• International Paper

Friends of the Earth provides a fairly in-depth full cycle analysis of paper manufacturing from the UK. Give it a read, you'll be glad you did.