Paper and the Artist's Footprint

Here in Australia, paper is a contentious issue, with the government and industry at loggerheads with green groups over the proposed Tasmanian paper mill. Paper mills are notorious sources of pollution: according to Wikipedia, "Pulp and paper is the third largest industrial polluter to air, water, and land in both Canada and the United States, and releases well over 100 million kg of toxic pollution each year (National Pollutant Release Inventory, 1996)." Not what you want in a fragile, precious forested zone in a country parched by years of drought.

At least, as far as the rest of the Australian paper industry is concerned, we have controls on pollution and land use, so choosing a locally-made product is still the best option. The USA has similarly stringent regulations; in contrast, the World Rainforest Movement reports on many parts of the world where land-grabs take arable land from subsistence farmers, mills are mismanaged and economic disasters, land is degraded and pollution unchecked. This makes it all the more important that we make sure we use only locally sourced paper, and choose companies who not only comply with environmental regulations, but go the extra mile to minimize environmental impact.

Sometimes the symbols used on paper can be misleading, if you aren't familiar with them. This article from Greenpeace explains the meaning of the various paper packaging symbols, as well as the chlorine bleach abbreviations - well worth a read if you want to be 'Ancient Forest Friendly'.

So what to do, when you're keen to reduce your environmental footprint, but use paper as an integral part of your artwork? In short, choose the lowest-impact papers appropriate for your artwork, and use paper wisely. It's worth keeping in mind that the paper that you use to make art probably represents a very small proportion of your total paper use. How much cardboard packaging is in your weekly shopping basket? How many newspapers, magazines and books do you buy? How much paper does your office use? Here are a few more paper and art-related green ideas:

• use up your paper stash before buying more
• re-use office paper for rough sketches before recycling
• don't print emails - store them on a disk.
• use digital photos, and only print the best ones
• use handkerchiefs instead of paper tissues
• look for minimally-packaged products
• lobby manufacturers to use less packaging
• buy secondhand books, and use the library
• donate a environmental cartoon to the local newspaper
• design a logo or graphic for a green group
• donate artwork for a local environmental fundraiser

Related Links: Earlier blog entry - Going Green
Eco - Friendly Pencils
Low-Impact Paper

Image: Alan and Sandy Carey / Getty Images