COLUMBIA, MD.—The Printing and Graphics Association Mid-Atlantic (PGAMA) in the U.S. has launched Print Grows Trees, a campaign to change the way people think about the environmental effects of using paper.

In a recent webinar, PGAMA president Kerry Stackpole outlined the campaign, which started with posters and a website has now grown to include a book and other promotional materials. More than half of all U.S. forests are owned privately, he says and if owners are not able to make money off that land by selling the trees for paper the land is put to other uses. “The depressing demand for paper makes forest owners want to cut and run,” he said. “It gives them an incentive to sell the forest.”

Mitchell said ideas about the use of paper’s negative effect on the environment need to be renewed, citing the example that the average data centre serving electronic devices consumes the same amount of power as 25,000 homes. These data centres are also run mainly on fossil fuels, which is not saving trees he said. He countered that with the example for paper, 63% of which is recycled in the U.S.

Advertisers are also better off using paper, said Mitchell using the statistic that for every $1 spent on print advertising the business gets $13 back.

For more information on Print Grows trees, visit Printgrowstrees.com.