wfn.org | Paper demand will increase production, lower cost

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

May 3, 1999 News media contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York
10-71B{243}

NOTE:  This report can be used as a sidebar to UMNS story #242.

NEW YORK (UMNS) - Unless consumers, organizations and businesses start
asking for chlorine-free paper, production will remain low, speakers said at
a summit sponsored by the Women's Division.

However, when a group such as the million-member United Methodist Women goes
chlorine-free, "it pulls a lot of weight," said Duke Reich, a sales
representative from the French Paper Co. in Niles, Mich., and a member of
Bay Ridge United Methodist Church in Brooklyn, N.Y. 

Reich and other industry representatives were among the speakers at the
April 30 "Chlorine Free Summit" at the Church Center for the United Nations.
The Women's Division, part of the churchwide Board of Global Ministries,
administers the United Methodist Women organization. 

When the division printed the journal for the 1998 United Methodist Women's
Assembly, the processed chlorine-free paper came from French.

At Rolland Inc., production of a totally chlorine-free paper called New Life
Dual Purpose 100 represents only one-tenth of 1 percent of that particular
mill's production, said the company's Gerry Zampini. But, he added, as the
demand rises, prices will decrease.

Beyond the office paper issue is the question of chlorine use for household
products, such as toilet paper, paper towels and facial tissues.

Consumers should consider the actions they can take on a personal level to
improve the environment, said Jeffrey Hollander of Seventh Generation, a
Burlington, Vt.,-based company that sells chlorine-free and non-toxic
household products. "We're trying to communicate to consumers that they
really can make a difference. Their actions can change the marketplace."

More information is available online from Seventh Generation at
www.seventhgen.com or the Chlorine Free Products Association at
www.chlorinefreeproducts.org. Pam Sparr, the summit organizer, can be
contacted by e-mail at psparr@gbgm-umc.org.
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