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Chlorine-free paper products (including printer paper, stationery, greeting cards and giftwrap), which are produced without chlorine or chlorine compounds to bleach them white, are preferable because no dioxins or other organochlorides are released into waterways.

Find it! Chlorine-free paper products

Like recycled paper, chlorine-free paper was once difficult to find, although that’s become increasingly less so. The ideal paper choices are those marked "PCF" (processed chlorine-free).

Buying chlorine-free paper products helps you go green because...

• Removing chlorine and chlorine derivatives from the paper-making process helps eliminate such toxic pollutants as dioxins and furans from the environment.[1]
• The process of using alternative methods of bleaching requires less fresh water.[2]

During the paper-making process, in an effort to brighten the wood fibers and guard against yellowing, chlorine or chlorine compounds are often added to act as bleaching agents. This process creates hundreds of chemicals that are released into the environment, including dioxin, a known carcinogen.[3]

Bleaching paper with chlorine also uses more fresh water than non-chlorine methods. To produce one six-and-a-half ounce booklet with chlorine-bleached paper requires 10.15 gallons of fresh water, compared to less than a half gallon needed when using a chlorine-free alternative.[2]

Alternatives to bleaching with chlorine or chlorine derivatives include using oxygen, ozone, and hydrogen peroxide.[4]

Related health issues

Dioxin is a dangerous toxin and bleaching during paper production is its leading industrial source.[5] Dioxin bioaccumulates in the fat of fish, birds and mammals, and has been linked to cancer, birth defects, lymphoma, and other health issues in humans.[5]

Glossary

• processed chlorine-free (PCF): The preferred choice of chlorine-free papers, these products contain 30-100 percent post-consumer waste (PCW), and have not been bleached while being processed back into paper. As the recycled content may have been bleached in its original production, these products cannot be labeled as totally chlorine-free.[6]

Other useful terms

• elemental chlorine-free (ECF): A process that uses chlorine dioxide instead of elemental chlorine. The chlorine dioxide, while reducing the chlorinated compounds produced, does not completely eliminate them.[5]
• totally chlorine-free (TCF): Papers made from 100 percent virgin fiber that has not been bleached with chlorine or chlorine compound.

External links

• Chlorine Free Products Association
• Reach for Unbleached Foundation
• Natural Resources Defense Council - Avoiding Chlorine in the Paper Bleaching Process
• WoodWise Program - Chlorine
• Environmental Paper