The number 1 holiday for greeting cards in the United States is Christmas, with 2.1 billion greeting cards - single and boxed — being sold.
Buy recycled-content cards and envelopes. Recycled paper % includes any paper that's beung reused- even from paper mills and leftover scraps; Post Consumer Waste % means that it comes from paper that was redirected from junk mail, or other consumer waste- you want the highest PCW % you can get. You can also look for alternative ingredients, like cotton (note: cotton paper is made from leftover/recycled cotton, not from new cotton- that would be a disaster- it's a water intensive crop), hemp, or a blend of hibiscus and cotton called kenaf.
You also want to look for totally or processed chlorine free paper (TCF or PCF...NOT elemental chlorine free which is ECF), acid free papers, and lighter weights wherever possible.
We really love the product ideas from Greenfield Paper company, especially cards and bottle tags that are actually plantable- embedded with flower seeds, that you can put in container and water and watch them turn into flowers- sort of greeting you all year long- check out some of their products, like this one:
GROW A NOTE. They are expensive to use as cards for a long list of recipients, so you may need a combination of options.
You could also choose a card from
Good Cause Greetings-- they're all at least 50% recycled, but only guaranteed to be 20% PCW- and the proceeds support various organizations, from Amnesty International to UNICEF.
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