12 July 2008 - Marketeers have reacted with anger at the possibility of a new environmental standard for direct mail.
According to PrintWeek, a magazine for printing companies, several mail houses have spoken out against a stricter environmental standard for bulk mail. The PAS 2020, which is being proposed by the British Standards Institute (BSi), calls for the eradication of bindings, laminations, non-biodegradable plastic, polystyrene envelope windows and staples from all mailings.
In addition, mail items would need to have a recycled fibre content of at least 75 per cent, use a minimum of 75 per cent vegetable oil-based inks and use at least 75 per cent water-based finishes.
Yesterday, PrintWeek revealed that companies who would be affected by the new standard have questioned the availability of acceptable materials. Tony Nicholson, procurement manager at Nottingham based printing company Howitt, said: "The BSi may want 75 per cent of paper to come from recycled stock, but it’s not feasible. The lack of processing capacity has created a price imbalance between recycled and virgin substrates, which has led to a lack of availability of the former."
Alastair Smith, group sales director at NEMC, also questioned the need for the new standard and told PrintWeek: "ISO 14001 is a recommended industry standard, recognised in the market place. Why are we looking at a standalone standard?"
However, the proposed PAS 2020 standard does have the support of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). The DMA, which represents marketeers in the UK, argues that its member should see the standard as "a tool that is able to improve their environmental performance".
Since the publication of the Waste Strategy White Paper in May 2007, the Government has repeatedly warned that it will consider the introduction of strict environmental measures, such as a central opt-in system for junk mail, should marketeers fail to do more to reduce waste caused by junk mail.