Treefrog’s tree-free paper – an eco-friendly alternative

Treefrog copy paper is 100% biodegradable and made without any wood products

Worldwide, the consumption of paper has grown 400 percent over the past forty years. Thirty five percent of all the trees harvested are used to manufacture paper.

“There’s a huge amount of rainforest lost every day to make paper,” said Michael Nilan, CEO of Treezero, Inc., an Atlanta-based company that sells a 100 percent tree-less paper called Treefrog.

Treefrog is copy paper that’s made from the recycled waste fiber from sugar cane and bamboo. They use the bagasse of the sugar cane – the waste that’s leftover after the sugar’s extracted – and bamboo waste from construction sites, scaffolding and other to-be-discarded uses.

Both plants are renewable resources. Both sugar cane and bamboo can be harmlessly harvested several times a year. The waste by-products are then blended together to produce this paper.

Treefrog makes its paper from the waste of sugar cane and bamboo

No chemicals are used in the paper’s production, said Nilan. It’s made like regular paper.

Nilan says all this is why they call it the most eco-friendly paper in the world.

There’s no wood anywhere in the production process, said company spokesperson Austin Mahler. “It’s 100% tree-free and you can’t tell the difference!”

Treefrog has all the best qualities of copy paper without the downside.

Treezero thoroughly tested this wood-less paper to make sure it worked well. They tested it in fourteen different copiers – from a low speed to a high speed printer in Canada, where they printed a complete legislative bill for the Canadian government.

“We have yet to have a single jam of paper,” said Nilan. “Not one!” You definitely can’t say that about traditional copy paper!

And, Nilan said, “it holds print as good or better than virgin wood paper.”

It’s also got the brightness we’ve come to expect. Originally only around 82 percent, Nilan says they’ve since brought that up to 92 percent brightness.

Side by side, it’s hard to tell this apart from regular copy paper.

Treefrog copy paper uses no chemicals and doesn’t jam your printer

But don’t mistake Treefrog paper for the recycled copy paper you may have used or seen. It’s not the same thing. Most of what we think of as recycled paper actually only contains 30 percent recycled fibers. That means the rest is actually 70% virgin wood!

There is 100 percent recycled paper, but it’s expensive – around $9 to $10 a ream.

“It has to be affordable in order for people to switch over to a sustainable product,” Nilan said.

Treefrog is priced about the same as that 30 percent recycled paper and less that the 100 percent version. Depending on where you buy it, it averages $5.99 – 6.99 a ream.

Treefrog comes in two versions: a bamboo-sugar cane combination and a pure sugar cane paper. Both are premium multi-purpose paper that can be recycled with other virgin paper products. They’re made to use with laser and ink jet printers, color copier and FAX’s. They’re 100% biodegradable, are compostable, chlorine-free and are even ISO-9001 certified.

Treezero is expanding their distribution from smaller retailers to those companies with larger purchasing contracts. They’re currently talking with Staples about carrying their product.

To learn more about or to purchase Treefrog, visit their website or phone them at (800) 333-7179.