Posted on 11th August 2025
by Jacqui Vear
It’s a simple question – but the answer can shape how you communicate, package products, and connect with your market. Paper isn’t just a material; it’s a topic that sparks strong opinions, especially when it comes to sustainability and preferred formats for receiving information and deliveries.
With one of the highest recycling rates in Europe and a commitment to sustainable forestry, the paper industry’s achievements are significant. However, a major consumer survey in 2025 confirmed that a disconnect persists between these efforts and consumer beliefs. The same survey reports that:
In other words, the demand for sustainable, tangible, and trusted communication channels is alive and well – but many brands aren’t capitalising on it.
By understanding the real facts about paper’s sustainability and aligning with consumer preferences, businesses can differentiate themselves, boost engagement, and build trust.
Fresh from the 2025 Trend Tracker Survey – commissioned by the not-for-profit Two Sides – come new insights into consumer thinking. Conducted in January 2025 by an independent research company, this global study surveyed 12,400 people online. Carried out every two years, it tracks how preferences, perceptions, and attitudes toward print, paper, and paper-based packaging are evolving.
Action: When you’re investing in a paper product you need to reassure your contacts that you have committed to a sustainable means of communication. FSC® certification is key. Endorsement by the Forest Stewardship Council ensures that the raw material of wood fibre is sourced from forests where land is responsibly managed, natural habitats of plants and animals are conserved, and the rights of forestry workers and local communities are respected. Worldwide its agriculture that is the leading cause of deforestation, primarily in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. (1) The European forests that supply wood for paper making are, in contrast, increasing in net area at a rate equivalent to 1,500 football pitches every day. (2)
A picture paints a thousand words! There are several logos that can reflect sustainable paper and print products. Love Paper® branding is one example, and its being used by a growing list of leading brands. We’re eligible to help you use this logo within your artwork, when we certify that your paper project meets certain sustainability criteria. We’ve got more information about Love Paper® on this link.
Use our expertise to ensure you communicate clearly and accurately, green-washing, that is ‘attempting to make people believe that your company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is’, needs to be avoided at all costs!
Action: So, there is lots of kudos for recycled stock, which is an option for many of your print specifications. However, your projects can still be thoughtfully produced without the use of recycled paper. It’s recycling rate is 79% in Europe, making paper one of the most recycled materials in our everyday lives. (2) Yet paper fibres cannot endure ongoing processing, they were re-used an average of 3.5 times in 2022. (3) Paper from virgin fibre remains a positive choice as paper’s core component of wood fibre is a natural and renewable resource and the cycle must be constantly topped-up with new fibres.
Action: The packaging of an item is often the first physical interaction that the recipient has with your brand, and it sets the tone for the relationship moving forward. Its long been a requirement that your packaging is eye catching, you must now add sustainability to the list of considerations. Beyond material choice, packaging should be minimised and end of life considerations made. As with earlier references, messaging and logos applied to your packaging should reassure and guide your contacts as they interact with your packaging. Here’s a link to some more guidance. Think beyond the box too, ensure that inserts and packaging tape do not hamper the good intentions of your audience when it comes to recycling!
Action: Make your interactions effective by giving your customers a choice in how you communicate with them. Ensure that your marketing comms are free from unintentional greenwashing – it’s a common trap that many brands still fall into, even as consumers become savvier about the environmental impact of all forms of communication. Two Sides global anti-greenwash campaign has led to over 1,320 organisations removed misleading anti-paper statements, such as “Go Green – Go Paperless” or “Choose e-billing and help save a tree.” This trap, often driven by economic pressures, will have a huge impact on authority and trust and could lead to action from the Advertising Standards Association (ASA) for misleading environmental claims.
In short: know your audience, harness the strengths of paper, and put sustainability front and centre in your brand story. If you’d like clear insights into the facts – or data on how this survey indicated that consumers really feel about paper – we’d be delighted to talk.
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