We are often encouraged by the fact that more and
more people seem to be taking environmental stewardship to heart these
days. We are also frequently blown away
by the breadth and depth of information that environmentally-minded folks seem
to be consuming. One just needs to look at some of the comments readers of blogs
like www.treehugger.com frequently make
to know we are dealing with an informed community.
On the other hand, we do get enough off the wall
questions to indicate that there are still plenty of eco myths and misconceptions bouncing around. To
date, the most amusing question came from a guy that wanted to know if the
sugarcane stalks we use were “clear cut.” Try as we might, we were never able
to get the point across that sugarcane is basically a grass that is cut and
grows back in a matter of months and clear cutting isn’t a relevant issue.
One of the most common misconceptions we encounter
is about bleaching. Bleaching is viewed as environmentally problematic across
the board and is reinforced by the fact that many green of the first paper
products were brownish rather than white.
In reality, bleaching is just another word for
cleaning. And when it comes to food service items, clean is good. The real
culprit is the bleaching agent. For many years, elemental chlorine was the most
common bleaching agent used by paper mills. It has been the subject of much
debate and is thought to have wrought significant damage to animals, the ozone
layer, water and air. It is certainly the driving force behind the “bleach is
bad” mantra.
Fortunately, there are a number of other bleaching
agents that are environmentally friendly. For example, StalkMarket uses
hydrogen peroxide which is an excellent choice for our needs. So, when making
green buying decisions, the question should not be “is it bleached?” The question should be “how is it bleached?”
And that is a very good question indeed.
Dean Rodgers
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