Hemp-Flax Paper in More than 1,000 Staples Stores by Earth Day

EUGENE, Oregon, April 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Consumers can celebrate Earth Day 2002 at more than 1,000 Staples™ Superstores across the country by purchasing reams of newly-stocked Vanguard Recycled Plus™, a 90 percent post-consumer waste, 10 percent non- wood paper manufactured by Living Tree Paper Company of Eugene, OR.
Expected to sell at a price point of $6.99, the versatile sheet is guaranteed for use in ink-jet printers, laser printers, and copiers and makes beautiful business stationery.

"No new trees went into this paper!" the bright green and white label announces. Instead, Vanguard Recycled Plus™ is made from recycled office paper and Hemp/Flax, a combination of hemp and flax fibers. The 24-pound premium white bond paper is acid free and process-chlorine free, and the Hemp/Flax portion is totally chlorine free. The paper is distributed through Southworth Paper Company (Agawam, Massachusetts) a 160 year old producer of fine paper. Southworth is the leading distributor of fine papers in all office superstores.

With this move, Staples Inc., a Massachusetts-based, $11-billion retailer of office supplies, joins over 40 Fortune 500 companies who have pledged to phase out virgin-wood papers and introduce environmental alternatives. "We commend Staples for making the effort to provide its customers with a true environmental paper, and we're delighted that Southworth has joined us in this effort," said Carolyn Moran, president of Living Tree Paper Company. A leader in developing nonwood and post-consumer waste papers since 1995, Living Tree Paper Company supplies clients such as Mitsubishi, Nike and Patagonia.

Consumer demand is shifting, and companies are changing their practices to match. Home Depot and Lowe's have not suffered from their environmentally responsible choice to stop selling wood from old growth forests. Staples' decision to sell Living Tree Paper came after nearly three years of intense pressure from environmentalists who decried the company's refusal to sell 100 percent recycled paper.

Hollywood actor and environmental activist Woody Harrelson says, "Over 50 percent of the forests cut in the United States have been used for paper products which mostly end up in landfills. Breaking our dependence on wood-based paper is one of the most important things we can do for Mother Earth. Staples is setting a positive example for the business community by providing paper made from nonwood and post-consumer recycled fibers."

For more information or to arrange interviews with Living Tree Paper Co., contact Carolyn Moran at 800-309-2974 or Adam Eidinger at 202-232-8997.

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