Eco Statement

You may have noticed that we're on a mission to be the world's most eco-friendly printers. We're not just talking about using some recycled paper here and there, a little soy ink, and a couple of CFLs. We're not talking about greenwashing the hell out of our products just to make our clients feel better about themselves. We want to figure out the real and scientific effects we're having on the environment, identify specific goals for becoming the most sustainable business possible, and educate our clients with the information we discover.

That said, we have to start from the realization that we create products that are not necessary for life. We don't grow food, we don't make clothes, and we certainly don't build houses. We make really stylin' invitations, business cards, announcements, recycled paper, and other goodies. If (when?) the world goes all Road Warrior, we don't think people are going to be fussing about ink colors and paper coordination for invites to their next gasoline raiding party. When you start down the road of trying to be as eco-friendly as possible, you inevitably reach the conclusion that the ULTIMATE solution would be to not make new products at all. We should all stop driving cars, live in huts, eat from our own gardens, and stop our livestock from farting so much.

So sure, if you consider the extreme solution then we should just throw in the towel all together. However, until we all get mowhawks and road bikes, we maintain that art is a necessary part of culture and society. Creating beautiful things is part of what makes our lives interesting, and that doesn't have to mean that we completely disregard our obligations to the health and safety of others and our planet. So starting from the point that art exists and isn't going away anytime soon, we're going to try and do it in the best way possible.

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Paper

• For tree-based papers, we use those that are 100% recycled with a minimum of 30% post consumer waste. If we consider a virgin content paper as a specialty item for a particular project, we prefer it to be FSC certified.
• For non-tree based papers, we use paper that contains only recycled/reclaimed fibers and/or certified organic content.
• Our Artemis paper is custom made just for us out of our recycled junk mail and project trimmings.
• We use recycled papers that are Processed Chlorine Free, and virgin FSC papers that are Totally Chlorine Free.
• We use papers that are 100% recyclable, and are working on making that biodegradable and/or home compostable.
• We prefer papers with source fiber, pulp, and manufacturing/distributing in the US (Midwest is even better!).
• We prefer papers that are manufactured using alternative energy sources.

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Ink & Plates

• We use 100% vegetable based ink that contains no other binders such as petroleum.
• We use only ink that is low/zero VOC and certified non-toxic.
• We recycle all our old plates and plate trimmings.

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Cleanup

• We use vegetable oil mostly, but there is some room for improvement (see Goals).

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Office & Shop

• Our shop is 100% wind powered.
  
• We use only 100% recycled paper in the office, print on both sides of the paper, and reuse scraps for not sheets.
• We recycle all office waste paper, junk mail, project trimmings, and other scraps either by making it into new handmade paper or having it recycled.
• Where possible, we recycle our ink cans and anything else that doesn't need to end up in a landfill.
• We reuse or recycle 100% of inbound shipping materials.

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Electronic

• We send contracts and invoices electronically, and try to use electronic documents as much as possible.