Sustainability is not just a word for us at ZOEWIE, it is an integral part of our corporate philosophy. For us, the focus is not on maximising short-term profits, but on long-term value creation. As a family business, this relates to our responsibility for the environment, for our fellow human beings and for our employees.
The wood used as the base material for our products comes at least from managed forests where responsible forestry ensures that at least as much wood grows back as is felled. German pulp mills even use predominantly polluting and waste wood. In addition, our share of recovered paper is continuously increasing and already amounts to one third today.
Grass is a rapidly renewable resource and is grown on compensation areas. The compensation areas are legally defined and agriculturally previously unused areas that have neither been fertilised nor chemically treated. Our upcycled paper is made from waste from sugar production. Both types of paper are also fully recyclable.
Learn more about our grass paper or our upcycled paper.
More and more, chlorine bleaching is being replaced by other, environmentally friendly processes in the production of cellulose. We already use mainly oxygen-bleached raw materials for our wrapping papers. However, consumers must learn to accept products that are not quite as bright white for the sake of the environment.
The production of paper requires large amounts of water. In the past, the paper mills let the water run into the rivers at the end of the production process, thus placing a very heavy burden on aquatic life. Now all the factories from which we obtain our raw materials work with a largely closed water cycle and biological wastewater treatment.
In the packaging of our products, we limit ourselves to the use of materials necessary for production and distribution. Shipping cartons and sleeves are made from recycled paper as far as possible. In 2021, we were the first company in the world to launch the roll without film.
Products made of paper, if collected separately as waste, can be returned to the production process as raw material. This is of course the best form of disposal. Our products bear the "Grüner Punkt" label, which guarantees proper disposal and recycling. Paper packaging is raw material - not waste.
It is not only our products that contribute to sustainability: our buildings are equipped with solar power systems and actively contribute to improving our ecological footprint every day. We at ZOEWIE are convinced that only a sustainably operating company is viable for the future, which is why we are working on climate-positive production. In the summer months, we even feed surplus energy into the electricity grid.