Paper Usage

The environmental impact of the paper products we use is a significant contributor of REI's footprint. The connection between healthy forests, outdoor recreation, and the paper fiber we use in our operations is clear. We believe that forestry products can be a preferred alternative to other materials such as plastics, if sourced and produced in sustainable ways.

REI's paper and paper products purchasing policy helps us align our supply choices with the co-op's core purpose. All of our paper products are evaluated on the percentage of fiber that comes from acceptable or certified sources. We strongly prefer post-consumer waste or virgin fiber harvested from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified forests. We attempt to avoid buying products where the fiber comes from unknown or unwanted sources.

REI has a set of paper goals that have extended from 2006 through 2009. The metrics we track –and our progress– are listed in the charts and tables below.

Highlights

In 2008, we continued to move away from unknown and undesirable fiber sources and toward post-consumer recycled, acceptable (fiber that doesn't come from undesirable sources, but hasn't been certified) and paper from FSC-certified sources. Although difficult in many cases, we attempt to follow the chain of custody from the forest to our point of purchase.

REI made significant progress in its paper purchasing practices in 2008. While the total paper usage (by weight) grew by about 5 percent over 2007, it was less than REI's rate of business growth of 7.3 percent. We came in under our 2008 goal of 15 percent maximum use of unknown and/or undesirable fiber sources at 14.9 percent, and our purchase and use of certified, post-consumer recycled and acceptable paper was 85.1 percent, slightly ahead of our 85 percent goal.

Our best assurance that the chain of custody is transparent is to purchase FSC-certified paper products. In 2008, we significantly increased our use of FSC-certified paper stocks to 25.6 percent, well ahead of the 10 percent goal we set for 2008. This included increased use of FSC-certified paper stock in product hangtags and several product packages. The percentage of post-consumer waste used in many REI-brand packages increased, ranging from 75 to 100 percent in many instances. The same was true for REI shopping bags, as we worked with our vendor to source bags made with 80 to 100 percent post consumer waste. Our vendor also began to seek FSC chain-of-custody certification for their bags, well ahead of the curve in this particular sector.

Our marketing team was especially successful in 2008 when it came to increasing the use of paper from known or certified sources. This shift was achieved with minimal expense, and our marketing team's customer-facing paper products, such as catalogs and direct mail pieces, represented 60 percent of our total paper usage in 2008.

Challenges

While we have significantly increased the percentage of paper products that align with our values, our 2009 goal of purchasing less that 7 percent unknown and undesirable fiber sources will be difficult to meet.

Because we count our total paper footprint, we face challenges in finding financially viable and sustainable choices to operational supplies if the associated paper industries haven't adopted sustainability practices. Most of these challenges are with commodity supply items where the manufacturer buys bulk paper pulp and doesn't have visibility to its original forestry source. These items are necessary to our operations and have few alternatives that are known to come from sustainable sources, highlighting the need for collaborating with industry partners for change.

Also, 2008 saw extreme volatility in the market for recycled paper. The market for recycled paper pulp hit a record high in 2008 before crashing as the economy stalled. This volatility has had significant impacts on the financial viability of recycling paper, and these impacts will continue to impact recycled paper markets for several years.

Looking Forward

Our work towards sourcing sustainable forestry products includes continuing to engage our stakeholders further up the paper supply chain to get closer to the forestry sources of fiber. This will require on-going involvement with a broad range of stakeholders and our entire paper supply chain to create a more sustainable paper supply chain.

We will continue to look beyond the fiber sources in purchased paper products as we seek ways to reduce paper use and become more efficient in our operations. For example, Novara bicycles are shipped to REI in individual cardboard boxes. We are testing a new packaging system where multiple bicycles are shipped together, which will significantly reduce cardboard needed and will also deliver cost savings to REI.

As we pursue our 2009 goals, we need to increase engagement with all vendors and suppliers in our paper supply footprint. Certain areas where REI has a very small stake in enormous markets means we have little financial leverage to apply. Because of this, collaboration with other stakeholders across the industry is especially important. Doing so ensures we can work as an industry to increase the supply of responsibly harvested and processed paper.

In 2009 REI is reassessing the frequency of catalog mailings to ensure the co-op's marketing efforts are reflective of the changes in media and information consumption by customers today. These decisions will ultimately affect the quantity of paper the company purchases annually.