POC Member, The Eco-friendly Card Co., marks the 20th anniversary of its own FSC chain-of-custody certification this autumn, with celebrations kicking off at the NEC Autumn Fair.
The Eco-friendly Card Co. became the first direct-to-independent-retail greetings card publisher in the UK to become FSC-certified in 2006.
Then known as Glebe Cottage, the publisher was searching for ways to reduce its environmental footprint and had already switched to the exclusive use of 100% recycled envelopes in the mid-1990s. Unhappy with the vague claims about “sustainable forestry” on the back of cards, The Eco-friendly Card Co. wanted to find meaningful and verifiable ways to communicate the environmental credentials of its cards to both retailers and consumers.
“Obtaining our own FSC Chain of Custody certification back in 2006 was incredibly exciting and opened up many opportunities for us,” said co-founder, Susanna Morrish. “At the time, it was difficult to find recycled-content board. By becoming FSC-certified, we could commission our own FSC-certified board for greeting cards – for example, our “Coffee” board back in 2015 used 50% coffee-cup manufacturing waste and 50% FSC Mix fibre (another first). Now, all the board we use for cards is FSC Recycled.”
Paper used in FSC-certified products fulfils verifiable environmental standards, which include conserving the biodiversity of fragile ecosystems and promoting the restoration and conservation of natural forests. The FSC Recycled label indicates that paper has been made from 100% recycled pulp.
Above: Eco-friendly Card Co. founder, Sue Morrish, with the FSC Certification 20 years ago and today. Credit: The Eco-friendly Card Company.
Rosie Teasdale, executive director of FSC UK, said: “Greeting cards are one of the products on which consumers most commonly recall seeing the FSC label, providing a really visible way of getting the FSC logo, and hopefully also the sustainable forestry message behind it, in front of mainstream consumers. The Eco-friendly Card Co. is a leading light in its industry, as one of the first card publishers in the UK to obtain FSC certification, and we would like to congratulate it on an impressive two decades of commitment to FSC, helping to support responsible management of the world’s forests.”
The Eco-friendly Card Co. will be marking its anniversary at the Autumn Fair this week, where the publisher will be exhibiting in Hall 8 on stand F37. The publisher has a long-standing licensing relationship with The Wildlife Trusts and will be launching a new collection of 30 greeting-card designs on a textured FSC Recycled board at the show. The range showcases the very best of British wildlife, with every product featuring interesting text about the species depicted.
The Eco-friendly Card Co. has teamed up with FSC-certified bird and insect manufacturer, The Nestbox Company, to give away 20 FSC-certified bug hotels to the first five customers to place orders on each of the four days. There will also be resources about FSC at the show for people who are interested in finding out more about how they can support responsible forestry.
You can also read more about the Eco-friendly Card Co. and its sustainability efforts in POC’s Paper Chapter here.
