Our Sleeves Grow Trees
Trees Are Planted When Trees Are Used
Since our beginning in 2010, Sleeve a Message has maintained a commitment to be an environmentally responsible company. We hope this page helps better explain how Sleeve a Message makes an effort to use the most sustainable materials and processes possible. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
At the cornerstone of our efforts is a long standing exclusive partnership between Sleeve a Message and the Forest ReLeaf of Missouri. For every 7,000 sleeves Sleeve a Message sells, a tree is planted in a distressed U.S. community on behalf of our clients. As of March 2019, Sleeve a Message has planted 27,850 trees. In a world where being “sustainable” can be complicated, we felt replacing the trees used to make our product was a simple and logical response.
As of April 2018
How many trees does it take to make a sleeve?
There is a lot of data that breaks down the amount of trees used to make paper. There are also lots of variables: type of sleeve/paper, amount of virgin or post consumer material ext.
A mixture of soft and hardwood trees with a 6 – 8 inch diameter and 40 ft height will produce about 1 ton of paper. Much of the above calculation assumes our paper is virgin, though our product is mostly made with post-consumer material, further reducing the environmental impact. We believe this calculation conservatively replaces the tree crop that is used in our product and puts it back into our communities. Our relationship with the Forest Releaf of MO allows our company to be involved in our community and help plant trees in important higher risk neighborhoods. We particularly appreciate being apart of rebuilding our urban canopy within a 200 mile radius of our headquarters.
Paper Information
Sleeve a Message offers a variety of products with a plethora of decorating options. Below is a summary of our paper stock offerings.***
| Where is it made? | Recyclable | Use of Post Consumer Material | Biodegradeable | Compostable | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Corrugated Paper | USA | 100% | 70% | Yes | Yes |
| White Corrugated Paper | USA | 100% | 70% | Yes | Yes |
| Kraft Embossed Paper | USA | 100% | 100% | Yes | Yes |
| White (SBS) Embossed Paper | USA | 100% | 0% | Yes | Yes |
Ink Information
Sleeve a Message primarily uses Aqueous based inks and coatings, but we offer UV Ink as well. None of our inks will prevent the marked material from being recycled. Ink represents a very small percentage of the total weight of the finished sleeve, often below 1%. In consulting with our ink manufacturers, there is no evidence that suggests our marked paper prevents recycling, biodegradability, and composting. That being said, our ink manufacturers did report they have recently become aware of situations where ink or coating slows down the biodegradation process.
Scrap Management
Sleeve a Message recycles all paper scraps used to produce our product.
***Please note there is a difference between backyard composting and commercial composting. EPA explains that at the commercial level, chippers, grinders and mixers are involved in a pre-processing phase that breaks down dense materials and makes sure the materials reach certain conditions. We recommend composting sleeves in a commercial application.
Support Small Businesses & Help the Environment
Sustainable Sam: Sleeves Support Trees
Member of ELEVATESTL and ACCEL