Sanpo-yoshi Communication
Sanpo-yoshi Communication
[Printing Column] We Have Obtained GP Certification.
On September 30, Marushin became a Green Printing (GP) certified facility. Simply put, this is a certification that recognizes us as an environmentally friendly printing company. While we engage in a variety of environmental initiatives, the GP certification program places particular emphasis on worker health, water pollution prevention, and energy conservation efforts. We are encouraged to use machinery and materials that are as environmentally friendly as possible.
Now that we have obtained GP certification, we are able to include the GP mark on our printed materials. In addition to this, we can include various other marks on our products, such as the FSC certification mark, the non-VOC ink mark, Marushin’s proprietary carbon-zero mark, and—depending on the materials used—the thinned timber mark.
What I found interesting this time was the difference in how the West and Japan view the environment. FSC is a movement that originated in the West and is a system that emphasizes forest management. It’s as if paper were produced in a planned manner, much like agricultural crops, and by constantly replanting trees, it prevents environmental destruction and global warming.
On the other hand, the GP is unique to Japan; it focuses on paper recycling, and the recycling rate is considered crucial. The idea is to prevent deforestation. I’ve heard that in Europe, they don’t approve of the large amounts of water, heat, and chemicals used in the recycling process for dissolving and bleaching.
In Japan, forest-certified paper is produced from thinned timber that contains no recycled materials at all, and in Europe, some paper products are made from 100% recycled materials. With this in mind, we are committed to working every day to propose a variety of eco-friendly products and provide support tailored to your product concepts.