Anti-Print Bias “Misinforming” the Public, Says Group

Print and paper advocacy group Two Sides has spoken out against anti-print bias in government and local council literature, calling for a new message.

After analysis of a random sample of 100 UK councils, Two Sides revealed findings that 43% used messaging claiming that printed matter and paper was unsustainable or a negative impact on the environment.

Two Sides managing director Jonathan Tame is behind an open letter, signed by organisations representing 14,000 industry employees, calling for discussion of messages that “explicitly contradict with almost all of Defra’s guidelines on making environmental claims and endanger tens of thousands of jobs in an industry that is a significant contributor to the UK economy”.

“There is so much negative campaigning where people want to save money and use environmental impact as an excuse,” commented Chris Goslar, managing director of Conservatree, a co-signatory of Tame’s letter. “Paper is renewable and still one of the best ways to communicate. The public is being misinformed and we want to help Two Sides pioneer the message that it is simply not the case.”

“When government organisations want to appear sustainable, print and paper communications can often be seen as low-hanging fruit,” concluded Two Sides country manager Greg Selfe. “This feeds into a lot of misconceptions that then find their way into the mainstream media and the general public.”