Industry News

Sustainability: New Goals to Meet New Challenges

12 Aug 2020 Sustainability: New Goals to Meet New Challenges

Will the pandemic affect fluff pulp?

01 Jul 2020 Will the pandemic affect fluff pulp?

Tissue paper sensors show promise for health care, entertainment, robotics

21 Feb 2018 University of Washington engineers have turned tissue paper—similar to toilet tissue—into a new kind of wearable sensor that can detect a pulse, a blink of an eye and other human movement. The sensor is light, flexible, and inexpensive, with potential applications in health care, entertainment, and robotics.

Why Sustainability Professionals Should Drive Green Consumerism

22 Apr 2020 Why Sustainability Professionals Should Drive Green Consumerism

Open Access Brings Industry Research to All

01 Apr 2020 Open Access Brings Industry Research to All

Can we Make Greener Electronics from Pine Bark?

29 Jan 2020 Can we Make Greener Electronics from Pine Bark?

Environmental Affairs: Everyone Has a Part to Play

19 Sep 2018 (Editor's note: the following article previews the forthcoming September/October issue of Paper360°, which includes a cover focus on air and water quality. This "sneak peek" is offered exclusively for AOTC readers.)

Manufacturing Day Can Help Tell Our Industry Story

03 Oct 2018 The forest products industry doesn't just play a role in American manufacturing—it gives a lead performance. According to the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), the forest products industry manufactures more than US$200 billion in products every year, and employs about 950,000 men and women, and forest products holds a spot among the "Top 10" manufacturing sector employers in 45 out of 50 states. In fact, the forest products industry accounts for approximately four percent of the total US manufacturing GDP. It also relies on a vital array of related manufacturers—of machinery, equipment, component parts, transport, and many other products—to keep its thousands of manufacturing sites humming.

And the survey says…

10 Oct 2018 The benefits of print, paper, and packaging (especially when made from renewable forest products) seems obvious to AOTC readers and other industry professionals, but what about to consumers?

5 Trends Changing the Future of Corrugated Packaging

27 Feb 2019 The global corrugated packaging market is growing faster than expected, confounding some predictions that forecast a slowdown in corrugated consumption, although recently grounded expectations are not as bullish as some fringe predictions circa mid-2018. A downturn in demand in China and the banning of contaminated recycled paper stocks has not fully materialized yet, either.

Paper Cups: A Responsible Consumer Choice

31 Jul 2019 Enjoying a cup of coffee or tea on the go can help make our busy lifestyles a little more tolerable. It affords busy parents a moment of nirvana as they rush to deliver kids to school and get to work on time, and provides everyone the option to enjoy their beverage of choice even if they don't have time to finish it in store. The facts support a compelling case that the makers of paper cups—the paper and wood products industry—have a long commitment to sustainable business practices that protect the environment, spur innovation and advance recycling.

Everyone’s Talking About #ForestProductsWeek!

23 Oct 2019 This week (Oct. 20 – 26, 2019) has been officially designated National Forest Products Week with a White House proclamation. It is the 59th anniversary of the first such proclamation, and recognizes the important role that forest products play in the US economy and in our national identity.

World Bioeconomy Forum Declaration 2021

17 Nov 2021 This Declaration was originally published by The World Bioeconomy Forum, a global platform for circular bioeconomy stakeholders to share ideas and promote bio-based solutions, at https://wcbef.com. The following is Part 2 of a two-part series offered to share this important work with Ahead of the Curve readers.

Paper shortage hits American retailers when they need it most

08 Dec 2021 [This article was originally published September 24, 2021, in the Pittsburg Post-Gazette. It is publicly available at the Post-Gazette website, and is offered here for Ahead of the Curve readers who may have missed it.]

A Papermakers’ Last-Minute Gift Guide

22 Dec 2021 Each year through the month of December, we are inundated with articles touting “the perfect gift for…” every type of person on your shopping list. This year, why not give them the perfect gift FROM… a papermaker!

Nanotechnology + Renewable Materials = Opportunity

22 Jan 2014 The combination of nanotechnology and renewable materials offers a potentially significant commercial opportunity for the forest products industry.

Greener Packaging for Boston

16 Apr 2014 Demonstrating that recyclable packaging can survive one of NAFCO’s [the largest regional seafood distributor in the Mid-Atlantic] longest shipping routes, Global Green USA coordinated a pilot in which water-resistant packaging that is 100% recyclable with regular cardboard could be used to bring Chesapeake Bay seafood five hundred miles to a Boston location of a major grocery chain.

Four technologies poised to disrupt the specialty paper market

27 Sep 2017 In its latest research, Smithers Pira has identified four novel technologies that are set to increase capacity and enable new product opportunities for manufacturers of specialty papers across the next five years. The new report—The Future of Speciality Papers to 2022—provides a comprehensive overview of this important sector of the paper industry. It incorporates both higher volume applications, like flexible packaging and label stocks, and more niche segments like electrical insulation, filtration, and security papers.

Scientists Share Genetic Data of Poplar Trees

30 Aug 2017 This largest-ever SNP dataset may be useful to scientists studying biofuels and lignin. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have released the largest-ever single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) dataset of genetic variations in poplar trees, information useful to plant scientists as well as researchers in the fields of biofuels, materials science, and secondary plant metabolism.

Silver Fir Has Edge Under Changing Climate Conditions

16 Aug 2017 As reported this month by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) in Switzerland, as well as in other European countries, Norway spruce and European beech trees are struggling to keep pace with the rapidly changing climate. This poses risks for the country’s forestry sector, which relies on spruce wood. A study by the WSL shows that these risks could be mitigated by relying more on silver fir and using Norway spruce from warmer growth locations.