Allport Editions and its team of 12 thoughtful humans (and 2 sweet doggos!), has always been committed to eco-friendly and sustainable processes in all aspects of its business. When Allport relocated from Northern California to Portland, Oregon - the greenest city in the US - its goals were to refine its printing practices further, be more considerate of environmental factors, and focus on long-term sustainability.
In the 80's, Northwest paper mills made an abundance of recycled papers which we used exclusively. Despite today's emphasis on green products, fewer paper companies currently produce high recycled-content papers. Though it's nearly always less expensive to buy virgin paper stock, we still commit ourselves to papers grown in a sustainable manner, processed chlorine-free, with as much Post Consumer Waste (PCW) content as possible.
We now have paper MADE JUST FOR US with higher PCW than what is readily available in the market - ours is 30% PCW while the same paper available to all is just 10% PCW. Our other main cardstock is a 100% PCW matte-finish paper for our A6-sized cards. Plus, we print using entire print sheets (no waste) and use only non-toxic, soy or veggie-based inks and glues, and water-based inks for our towels!
Not only is our paper made here, ALL of our source AND packaging materials are made in the USA. Additionally, most of our cards are displayed and shipped “naked” or without any extra packaging or plastic bags. Jessi, Marian, and our Production Team package all of our products, by hand, here in our Portland, OR warehouse.
Boss Lady Mackenzie spent over a year streamlining all our production processes to make maximum use of minimal resources (she's savvy!). For example, by reconfiguring our print layout and reducing trim waste, we’re able to print 8% more cards per run than other cards companies using the same amount of paper - success! We also reuse or recycle ALL of our production wastes and we partner with vendors in our industry who do the same - taking every opportunity to improve sustainability - go us!
In our shipping department, Leland and Earl use only 100% recycled cartons and 100% recycled packing paper to pack our orders both snugly and sustainably - so everything arrives quickly and in one piece (fewer damages reduces waste)! We also use recycled pallets and cartons for shipping freight both in and out of our warehouse.
Taking our environmental focus to the next level, Jared in accounting has even gotten many of our accounts to switch to paperless invoicing!
We have always taken these steps, and we always will.
Green marketing is trending these days, but it's nothing new to us. Our commitment to the environment has been part of our Allport Editions story since 1982. It's in our mission, our products, and in our hearts.