Are Your Post-It Notes Destroying Forests?

Post-It notes may be tiny, but an area of around 90 football fields of American forests have been cleared to make these small sticky notes. A new report from ForestEthics shows that 3M, the manufacturer of Post-Its, supplies many of its products from endangered forests all across the world.

Apparently, 3M has selected a forest to clear for every product they produce: 3M masking tape destroys boreal forests in Canada, Scotch-Brite sponges are made in a controversial paper mill in Brazil, and Post-Its are the product of unsustainable logging right here in the U.S.A. – how patriotic.

Although Post-Its are certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (an entity funded by the logging industry), ForestEthics reveals that there is very little sustainability about the practices used by 3M. Less than 10 percent of Post-Its contain ANY recycled content and barely qualify as an eco-friendly product. Perhaps this is a case of an unreliable third-party certification system, or a general apathy on the part of 3M, but either way, it is clear that the best way to ensure you aren’t contributing to deforestation is to avoid 3M and Post-Its at all costs.

Image Source: David Perry/ForestEthics