Norm Thompson Outfitters Switches Solutions

Norm Thompson Outfitters, in partnership with the Alliance for Environmental Innovation, announced today that it has switched from virgin paper to recycled paper in its Solutions® catalog. The partnership determined that paper with 10% postconsumer recycled content fulfilled the company’s requirements. In contrast to the obstacles perceived by many catalog companies, the company’s findings show that such paper:

- Is widely available from major suppliers;
- Is priced competitively with virgin paper;
- Prints just as well as virgin paper; and
- Had no effect on customer response to the Solutions® catalog.

“Norm Thompson Outfitters is committed to using paper with the highest level of postconsumer recycled content that meets our business needs,” said company president Rebecca L. Jewett. “By using recycled paper, we can reduce our burden on the environment without harming profitability.” Jewett made the announcement while accepting the Direct Marketing Association’s Robert Rodale Environmental Mailer of the Year award for the second consecutive year.

“Switching to recycled paper helps protect forests and wildlife, cuts energy use and environmental releases associated with paper production, and reduces stress on landfills. We applaud Norm Thompson’s increased use of recycled paper and encourage other catalogers to follow suit,” said Victoria Mills, project manager at the Alliance for Environmental Innovation. According to the Alliance, the new paper used in Solutions® will save 1,067 tons of wood, 4.2 billion BTUs of energy, 720 tons of greenhouse gases, 2.4 million gallons of wastewater, and 301 tons of solid waste a year.

“The catalog industry uses a lot of paper, and switching to recycled paper is an important way to reduce our environmental impacts,” said Derek Smith, Norm Thompson Outfitters’ Corporate Sustainability Manager. “Our experience with Solutions® shows that we can do this without adverse impacts on our business, and we’d like to see recycled paper become the new industry standard for catalogs.”

Testing of recycled paper in the company’s Norm Thompson catalog is underway, with results expected later this year. The complete Solutions® findings are available at www.EnvironmentalDefense.org