A Good Company
A Good Company produces notebooks made of stone paper: paper made from crushed stone rather than from wood-pulp, in a process that is vastly better for the environment than the production of traditional paper. Stone Paper has a number of other benefits compared with traditional wood-pulp paper: it’s durable and tear-resistant, it has no grain (resulting in a smooth writing experience), and it can withstand water, grease and dirt.
Making paper out of stone is a fascinating process. At A Good Company, they produce their Stone Paper in a family-owned factory in Taiwan, that has improved and refined its production processes for several years. The factory uses recycled leftovers that it gets from a neighbouring construction industry — mainly limestone and marble — which it crushes into a fine calcium carbonate powder. Calcium carbonate is a completely natural product, that is abundant on the earth and used in many industries, such as construction, traditional paper making, and can be found in a range of everyday products such as toothpaste, medicine and baby powder. The calcium carbonate powder (80%) is then mixed with recycled non-toxic high-density polyethylene (HDPE) — a material that can be recycled almost indefinitely — to create small white pellets the size of candy. In a 100% dry process that applies zero acids, bleach or water, the pellets are squeezed into a material that resembles traditional paper.
Traditional paper is made from wood pulp, mainly made from trees such as spruce or pine. Some of the top wood-pulp producing countries globally are the U.S., Canada, Brazil, China, Sweden and Finland. Many people mistakenly think paper is a natural product that isn’t very harmful to produce, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, the production of traditional paper consumes vast quantities of raw material and energy, in addition to lots of chemicals and water. The first step in producing traditional pulp-paper is to cut down large quantities of timber, which is a big contributor to global deforestation. These tree logs are then passed through a debarker, where the bark is taken away, and through chippers, where the wood is cut into pieces. The resulting wood chips are then pressure-cooked with a mixture of water and chemicals in a digester, to create basic wood-pulp. The pulp is then washed, refined, and bleached and turned into to slush in a beater, after which dyes, coatings and other additives are added to the mix.
Once the pulp is ready, the cellulose fibers in the pulp need to be separated from the water. In fact, 90% of wood-pulp is water, so the separation results in large quantities of waste-water. The dry pulp is then sprayed upon moving mesh screens to make a layered mat of paper, which goes through several energy-consuming processes to dry.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), an estimated 7.3 million hectares of forest are lost to deforestation each year. That’s one and a half hectare of forest disappearing from the earth, every single second. And according to some estimates, deforestation is the cause behind around 10% of the total global release of heat-trapping climate pollution. That’s the same as the annual pollution from 600 million cars. Some 1.6 billion humans depend on forests, and the results from deforestation are devastating. Not only are we actively speeding up the pace of global warming, but we’re also destroying a vital part of the earth’s biological diversity, with deforestation causing an estimated 28,000 species to become extinct by the next quarter of the century. What’s more, deforestation is disrupting our water cycles, leading to increased drought and ever more intense forest fires. One of the largest contributors of deforestation is the global paper and pulp industry, which also is one of the most energy-intensive industries on earth. And contrary to popular belief, the arrival of the internet doesn't mean that we have stopped consuming paper. In fact, it’s estimated that pulp and paper consumption will increase by more than 100 percent by 2060. Not only does the production of wood pulp paper requires lots of trees, huge amounts of water are also needed. A metric ton of Stone Paper requires exactly zero water usage, as production of Stone Paper is completely dry. In comparison, a metric ton of new wood-pulp paper requires 15.7 X water usage (equivalent to 434 showers), whereas a metric ton of recycled pulp paper requires 5.84 X water usage.
Recycled paper is better than virgin paper, but it still requires a long process. When paper is recycled, it’s taken from our recycling bins to a recycling plant, where different types of paper and packaging is separated into types and grades. The paper is then washed with soapy water to remove inks, plastic film, staples and glue. The paper is put into a large holder where it is mixed with water to create recycled pulp. The recycled pulp is then mixed with virgin wood-pulp to create different grades of recycled paper, that can be used for things like newspapers, toilet paper or packaging material. Paper can only be recycled between five to seven times in total.
To take it a step further, A Good Company compensates every purchase with the planting of one tree, contributing to a positive environmental impact. Beyond having all the similar characteristics and usages as standard paper, A Good Company’s Stone Paper has some clear benefits:
It is water resistant.
It is resistant to tearing.
It is made with solar power.
It is produced using only recycled materials
It is produced without any added chemicals.
It is produced without the usage of water.
Online commerce has snowballed in the past years and offers a convenient way for many people to access a range of products. However, it’s not sustainable for the environment to continue package in tree-based materials that at best can be partly recycled and often ends up in the bin. A Good Company believes in sharing best practice. They spent years developing their environmentally friendly Stone Paper shipping material, and they think it would be great if other companies used it too. That's why they're offering any e-commerce company to buy it from them, at cost.
A Good Company is transparent about their practices and is dedicated to the following:
Regardless of what it costs, we will always pick production materials that have the least environmental impact.
We only work with suppliers that we know inside out, to ensure we share the same values and get an intimate understanding of their production techniques.
We never ever use harmful industrial chemicals in our production, such as acidic bleach or Bisphenol A plastics.
We meticulously identify the potential environmental impact of all our operations and make sure to always compensate for emissions resulting from shipping & travel.
Stating that we strive towards sustainability isn’t enough. We believe being completely transparent with our customers will spur us to push even harder, and we encourage you to take part in and understand exactly how our products are made. We detail the environmental footprint of each and every one of our products. We account for the materials used, total water consumption, the source of energy used in the production, and the carbon emission footprint of both production and shipping. We also benchmark our products against competing products in the same category. What’s more, we list all of our suppliers, detailing their ownership structure, their certificates and their work environment.
At this moment, A Good Company sells notebooks but they are planning on coming with a lot more other products:
Early stage ideas
Mobile cases: We are dreaming of a plastic-free mobile case
Bamboo paper: Bamboo paper can replace pulp paper
A Good Cutlery: No more plastic
Cotton swabs
Gift Paper: Time to wrap presents in a eco-friendly paper
In trial phase & test production
Humanium Pen: A Pen made from Humanium-metal
Bottles: We need to end the plastic pollution crisis
A Good Silky Crayon: Just like lipstick
In Production and to be launched within three months
A Good Glue: Toxin-free adhesive stick
A Good Crayon: Crayons for the 2020s
A Good Toothbrush for Adults & Kids: Say no to plastic
A Good Straw: Plastic straws are a menace to our oceans
A Good Clay: Everyone loves pure clay
A Good Paint: Edible with zero toxic ingredients
Based: Stockholm, Sweden.
Ships to: Worldwide.
Products: Notebooks. Other products will follow soon.
Mission: Changing e-commerce together.
Vision: From mindless consumption into conscious decisions
This article contains affiliate links, so I may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
