Michelle Chan
DES 40A
Winter 2013
Vogue Magazine - Raw Materials
Vogue, a household name, worldwide, and a high fashion, editorial magazine, most would be surprised to learn is not completely responsible in its practices. The magazine, under Conde Nast Publications, not surprisingly, uses materials similar to those of the other periodicals by the same publishing company, and information regarding the production of each of these magazines is well concealed and not readily available to the public. They have no clear standards and do not comment on the materials. The secrecy of the information, of course, has led environmentalists to wonder the internal goals of the company really are. Magazines and publishing companies with honest practices are quick to make it clear how and where they receive their paper, what happens with the remaining issues for the month, and the percent content of their paper, but the fact that Vogue does not even address the issue of the production of the magazine has made these people second guess many little details. While there are articles and features in the magazine regarding eco-friendly practices from time to time, and even a "Green Issue," people criticize the true intentions and the hypocrisy, prompting them to formulate petitions for the magazine reaching millions of households to promote more environmentally friendly methods of producing its materials. Although many like to criticize Vogue and Conde Nast for not explicitly stating the materials used for publication, ultimately it is necessary to first decide whether they are actually being mindful of the resources they are using and the sustainability of the raw materials and inputs.
The editorial magazine is a leader in its industry, and there are now many features and terms that are closely associated. For example, it is now widely known to the general public that "The September Issue" is first and foremost an issue that is long awaited and coveted as a predictor or forecast of the next trends, and second, a documentary following the internal workings of Vogue. In addition to this, it is common knowledge that Vogue produces some of the largest issues. The simple fact that people with little to no interest in fashion have a familiarity with this information is a testament to the success of Vogue and its presence in the general community.
Since Vogue was a nineteenth century social gazette, the magazine has grown largely in its audience, having become a worldwide phenomenon, its physical size, with its largest issue now almost a thousand pages, and its presence in its respective industry as a powerhouse that others look to for upcoming trends. As the audience increases, the amount of raw materials needed also increases. In addition, technology needs to advance in order to maintain its level of production, or even increase to keep up with its demand. As technology does advance, however, it becomes more and more possible to produce items with fewer and fewer raw materials, but more chemicals and materials that can be harmful to the environment are often substituted.
Many sources, including the Huffington Post, expose the "September Issue" of Vogue, from September 2012, as record-breaking, weighing in at 4.5 pounds with 658 ad pages. The next issue that comes close is the one from September 2007, which is the one that was featured in the documentary, The September Issue. The total number of pages from a copy does not even fair compared to a copy from 2012. The total number of pages is 840, with 516 pages of ads.[1] When compared to the average page count of 100 in 1910[2], easily producible from a single location, the large numbers seem completely unnecessary. It appears to be such a paradox that Vogue can promote being green and continue to add filler pages, but if it allows them enough money for production, to be able to use more luxurious paper that may be more expensive, but decent for the environment, from a company or business standpoint, it is advantageous.
In 2001, the Global Journalist featured an article exposing the negative effects of virgin paper as opposed to recycled paper. The article name-dropped "Conde Nast." "The use of virgin paper is damaging to the environment because it leads to widespread deforestation, which causes soil and habitat degradation," a dangerous fact considering "[i]n the United States alone, 95 percent of all magazines use virgin paper, which accounts for 35 million trees being cut down each year." Not only do these magazines have an effect on deforestation, but also on the amounts of water and energy required for the paper mills. Although this statistic includes more than purely magazines, the pulp and paper industry is the third largest energy-consuming sector. Any effort to cut waste by a publishing company is a great one because each individual magazine produces reaches such a large audience, that a small change with a large multiplier will reduce a significant amount of waste. Wegner states that "maximizing the amount of pounds you recover, minimizing the amount of cleaning and maximizing the use of that recycled material in products where it doesn't matter if the final product is perfectly clean is most important." Any change matters in the large movement toward greener practices. The EPP (Environment Position Paper) also encourages publishers to minimize unsold copies and overproduction, which is the easiest way to cut down waste without added cost to the company.[3]
Despite all of the criticism, Conde Nast is not being completely irresponsible with its publishing. Vogue is not necessarily printed on post-consumer recycled paper, but the paper production company claims to offer sustainable choices. The website that provides the information regarding the paper belongs to the production company itself, so it is important to remember to take it all with a grain of salt, because it is very unlikely that any given company would admit to knowingly affecting the environment in a negative way; instead, like with Vogue, the representatives would be more inclined to leave the information out altogether. According to Industrial News Service, or ins-news, an Internet press club, Vogue has been using M-real Galerie Fine paper exclusively for years. The paper uses a fine gloss coating, and is apparently "a trendsetter in its own market." The advantages of this particular type of paper are largely cosmetic, using the unique combination of opacity, brightness, smoothness, and print gloss, though it does also have a relatively high yield.[4]
SCP papier describes Galerie Fine as a glossy, wood-containing paper with 25% of mechanical pulp.[5] The high level of mechanical pulp and a small level of chemical pulp is what define "wood containing paper." Mechanical pulping provides good yield because it makes use of the entire log except for the bark; however, there is a small trade-off. The energy requirement for refining is high, and can only be partly compensated by using the bark as fuel. This can be said as true for most energy renewable or sustainable efforts though. In order words, it is essentially a trade-off. Sustainable does not necessarily mean efficient, and efficient does not necessarily mean sustainable. Often times, in order for raw materials to remain sustainable, people have to make an effort to incorporate other resources, which, in turn, will deplete the newly utilized resources. Furthermore, in recycling, often there is a large amount of energy that needs to be used to product a new, lesser product, and sometimes, recycling is not the most cost effective or energy efficient, even if it does slow down the depletion of raw materials. The alternative, chemical pulp, where only 50% of the wood that enters the process can be used as pulp, uses more chemicals that are directly harmful to the environment; energy consumption, however, is self-sufficient, whereas that for mechanical pulp is not. To offset the expenditures in energy though, there is the high (95%) yield from wood material and the lower production cost. In the end, not only is the benefit of the mechanical pulp that it is better than chemical pulp, environmentally speaking, but it also produces what is desired for an editorial magazine: high opacity and a smooth surface.[6] SCP paper lists great whiteness and perfect smoothness as an advantage of Galerie Fine Gloss paper. The peroxide that is used for bleaching is easily dissolved in water and has little to no harm on the environment. Mechanical pulp is generally used for products that require less strength, such as newsprint and paper boards. One must be mindful that a majority of the glossy paper used for these Conde Nast magazines such as Vogue is still composed of chemical pulp, but the large percentage of mechanical pulp still acts to lower environmental wastes and produces a great yield. Considering the fact that the publishing company does not use recycled fibers, it is still doing its part to be somewhat environmentally conscious, even if it can also be criticized that it is a benefit to the company to use virgin pulp for its superficial purposes. Assuming all of this information is in fact true, it seems as though Vogue truly is being responsible, and that this is indeed a good balance of quality and sustainable for such a large quantity. When there is such a large audience, every last unit is a large amount on such a grand scale.
After all of the wood has been pulped and pressed, it enters the coating process, where clay, chalk, starch, latex, and other chemicals are used. These leave little impact on the environment. Next it is passed on to the rollers, which only use heat, pressure, and friction. The last step is for the paper to reach the printers.
All of the wood used by Metsa Board, the company that produces the paper, is derived from sustainably managed commercial forests. In addition, the raw material is used to its fullest. If a portion of the material cannot be used for one product, it will be used in another branch. Metsa Group is responsible for using the raw materials for pulp, soil improvement and sawdust running tracks, and board and paper. Not only is the Metsa Group not wasteful, but also apparently is beneficial to surrounding communities. The harvesting residues, black liquor, and wood bark are incinerated to produce bio-energy for the production process. 5 Although the paper may not necessarily be recyclable into the form of fresh paper, the wood-based products can be burnt as energy at the end of their life cycle. Most of the information on their website regarding sustainability, however, is justified by the fact that they know where their materials come from, whether they are certified or non-certified forests. They do not explicitly state that they only use materials from a particular type of forest, so this "knowledge" does not actually have any effect. Also, the website does not explicitly mention being a supplier for Conde Nast or Vogue, or of Galerie fine paper.[7]
The information about the printing is not readily available. Whereas the details for Metsa Group were very vague, it was possible to backtrack because the website provided just enough information to continue to learn more if one was motivated enough to search. QuadGraphics, the company that does printing for Vogue, does not mention anything about the inks that are used on the main part of the website, but they do not neglect to mention that they are responsible, sustainable, efficient, and recyclable. Many do not realize that the sustainability and recyclability is referring to the paper. It is already widely known that paper is recyclable. There is even a subsection titled "Green Technology," that fails to provide any substantial information. It is unknown what ink is used to print Vogue, but if it is indeed the "EnviroTech ink" QuadGraphics they proudly manufactures, then offset inks with a renewable resource content greater than 20 percent in addition to the EnviroTech inks which contain approximately 27 percent and includes vegetable oils and pine resin are used. It is difficult to accurately gauge whether QuadGraphics is being completely truthful or not, because if there were to be any harmful, toxic wastes to be produced in the whole process of creating a magazine, it is assumed that a majority of it would most likely result from the ink (or the mills).[8] The contract between Vogue and QuadGraphics is ending this year, in 2013.[9]
The very last step is the binding, or more precisely, perfect binding, which requires adhesives in the form of natural polymers, and is not a concern in the large fight against waste and for a sustainable environment.
In the end, the main question seems to be whether it is dishonest to use resources without a percentage of recycled materials. Recycling is a relatively new phenomenon that is growing with each decade, and while in the past, it was more expensive, now it is easier than ever to recycle. The concept of recycling is being taught to students as young as in elementary school, and is so ingrained in society today, that it is looked down upon to not make an effort to recycle. Is that necessarily bad? When recycling, one must remember that there is energy and money needed, and the benefits must outweigh the costs. Now, in 2013, recycling is indeed effective and efficient, but does not produce 100% yield. In recycling magazines, the input is the old magazines, whether unsold, directly from the publishers or the newsstands, or the fraction that actually makes it to the recycling process from the consumers, and the output is usually not new paper for magazines, but rather cardboard or products that are not as refined. A single ton of mixed paper saves the energy equivalent of 185 gallons of gasoline, and making one ton of paper from recycled paper saves up to 17 trees and uses 50 percent less water than when using virgin pulp. It is important to remember than in order to create paper from the recycled pulp, virgin pulp must be added to maintain its strength, and can only be recycled about ten times. In the case of Vogue, the recycled waste never makes it back as paper for the magazine, and about 1.5 million tons of magazines enter the municipal solid waste stream in a given year, in contrast with the 54% recycled. It is important to keep in mind that recycling is only efficient on a large scale, which it is at this day in age, because materials to be recycled must first be transported distances, and this also requires time, energy, other resources, and money.[10]
At the rate at which technology advances, many books are outdated, and since practices change so often, even articles from 2007 are difficult to trust. More so, while there used to be certain standards, in order to rise to the top, it is necessary to be a leader and extend above and beyond in new practices. In researching companies that might have less than ideal practices, I learned a lot about wordiness and being indirect. It is hard to judge whether these companies are being honest, and are actually sustainable and environmentally friendly or not, when they are not upfront. While initially it is easy to be skeptical and assume that their indirect manner meant that they each had something to hide, I eventually concluded that Vogue, still valuing high quality paper and printing, also continues to be at least somewhat environmentally conscious without sacrificing the superior level of paper. That is not to say that it is not unfortunate that they only use virgin pulp. Eventually they will need to find new methods of creating paper, because the forests will not sustain at the rate at which their issues are growing and new trees are being cut down. The next step would be for Vogue to use paper with even a small percentage of recycled content. It would be making such a large statement in the world.
Bibliography
Gunman, Andrew. "Ins-news, Product Communication for Industry." Ins-news, Product Communication for
Industry. Industrial News Service, 20 Aug. 2007. Web. 10 Aug. 2013.
Leon, Sarah. "Vogue September 2012 Issue Has A Weight Problem: Heavy Magazines Lead To Mail Woes."
The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 23 Aug. 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.
Maier, Karyn. "How Are Magazines Recycled? | National Geographic." Green Living on National Geographic.
National Geographic, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.
Oliva, Alberto, Norberto Angeletti, and Anna Wintour. In Vogue: An Illustrated History of the World's Most
Famous Fashion Magazine. New York, US: Rizzoli International (us), 2012. Print.
"Quad/Graphics Awarded Multi-Year Contract Extension from Condé Nast." Printing Impressions. PIworld,
23 Dec. 2009. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.
"Renewable Content." Quad/Graphics: Renewable Content. QuadGraphics, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.
"SCP PAPIER, A. S., Slovakia." Galerie Fine Gloss. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2013.
"Types of Pulping Processes." Paper Online -. N.p., 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.
"Waste and Recycling Facts." Clean Air Council. Clean Air Council, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.
"We Offer Sustainable Choices." We Offer Sustainable Choices. MetsaBoard, 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.
Williams, James C. High Yield Fiber Sheets. The Buckeye Cellulose Corporation, assignee. Patent 4247362.
27 Jan. 1981. Print.
[1] See Huffington Post article for specific data and statistics.
[2] For background information about the history of Vogue and the developments over the years, see Oliva, Norberto, and Wintour 2-5.
[3] The Global Journalist article reveals the most detailed information regarding virgin paper vs. recycled paper.
[4] See Industrial News Service article to learn what kind of paper Conde Nast uses exclusively.
[5] SCP papier describes the Galerie Fine paper that Conde Nast uses.
[6] Paper Online provides detailed information on the various steps and processes in producing different types of paper.
[7] Metsa Group provides vague information on the products that it produces, including the paper that is used for Vogue.
[8] QuadGraphics provides little information about its products, but mentions being "sustainable."
[9] PI world reveals that QuadGraphics is responsible for the printing, and shows that the information is still up to date and relevant.
[10] See "Waste and Recycling Facts" to learn more about recycling and form personal opinions on the matter.
Cameron Davis
Professor Christina Cogdell
Design 40A
13 March 2013
Life Cycle of Vogue Magazine - Waste and Emissions
Everyday, millions of people in the United States and around the world purchase products whose origins are mysteries to them. The great majority of the time, it is not clear to them where the products came from, what they are made of, who made them, or what will happen to them once they are disposed of. The consumer is unable to see, and therefore understand, the true costs of the products that they are buying. The product that our group chose to research the lifecycle of is printed magazines, and more specifically, the American fashion magazine Vogue. We picked this subject because we felt that magazines are a product that are particularly wasteful. Fashion magazines such as Vogue have issues that are nearly a thousand pages long, the majority of which are advertisements. After analyzing the lifecycle of Vogue, it is apparent that the true cost of a magazine is much greater than the consumer is ever aware of, and calculating that cost is an exceedingly difficult process. My goal in this paper is to quantify (to the best of my ability) all of the wastes (toxic or otherwise) involved in producing Vogue magazine. This includes all steps of the products lifestyle, from gathering raw materials, all the way to the products eventual disposal.
My paper has been broken down into multiple sections, each covering a different portion of the issue. The first section is an introduction to Vogue magazine. The second section of my paper discusses the waste involved in paper production. The third section of my paper is analysis of the wastes involved in the processes of printing, binding, and shipping the magazines. The fourth section will discuss the post-consumer stage of the magazines life cycle. The final section of the paper will serve as a conclusion which will discuss my thoughts on the project, as well as the difficulties and failures we encountered while gathering research.
Introduction to Vogue Magazine
Vogue magazine is an American fashion and lifestyle magazine, which was founded in 1892 by Arthur Turnure (wikipedia.org). Today, Vogue is published by magazine publisher Condé Nast in twenty-one national and regional editions (wikipedia.org). Vogue has come to be described as “the world’s most influential fashion magazine” (Weber). It is published on a monthly basis. Each September, a special September issue is released which forecasts the fashion trends of the coming year. The September issue of 2012 is the largest volume Vogue to date, coming in at an astonishing 916 pages in length (wikipedia.org). Vogue’s total average circulation in 2012 was 1,222,373 (Condé Nast). It is nearly impossible to fathom the massive quantity of paper required to print 1,222,373 issues of a magazine that is 916 pages long.
Paper Production
All of the paper used in producing Vogue is gathered from a mill in Husum, Sweden (ins-news.com). The mill is owned and operated by Metsä Board Corporation, formerly known as M-Real corporation (ins-news.com). According to wikipedia.org, “Metsä Board Corporation...is Europe’s leading producer of fresh forest fibre cartonboards, the world’s leading manufacturer of coated white-top kraftliners, and a major paper supplier.” The Husum mill has received certification for the production and distribution of pulp and paper from the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) (http://www.metsaboard.com/materialarchive/Material%20Archive/Mill%20certificates/Husum/FSC-2012-Metsa-Board-Husum.pdf). The FSC defines themselves as “an independent, non-profit organization that protects forests for future generations” (us.fsc.org). In addition, all of Metsä Board’s wood “comes from sustainably managed commercial forests” and all of their mills “have certified environmental (ISO14001) and quality (ISO9001) management systems as well as PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) and FSC chain of custody certification and FSC controlled wood status” (We Bring Forest To You). According to Metsä Board, “in 2011, 81% of the wood supplied by Metsä Group originated either from PEFC or FSC certified forests. This is a remarkable percentage since only 9% of the world’s forests are certified” (Origin of Wood).To their credit, Metsä Board Corporation has taken a great number of steps to help reduce their effects on the environment by using the sustainable practices that these certifications require. However, this does not mean that their systems are without waste.
The specific paper that Metsä Board produces and sells to Condé Nast to print Vogue on is called Galerie Fine. Metsä Board classifies their Galerie Fine paper as “coated fine paper with high brightness, smoothness and improved opacity” (Paper and Pulp Mill Metsä Board Husum). Galerie Fine paper is produced using raw wood pulp, also called virgin pulp (We Offer Sustainable Choices). This means that the pulp is taken directly from freshly cut trees as opposed to being reclaimed from recycled paper. Metsä Board maintains that their raw pulp is “cleaner than recycled fibre” (We Offer Sustainable Choices).
While I was unable to find any specific figures on the waste resulting from production of the Galerie Fine paper used in Vogue, I was able to locate overall waste information on the Metsä Board Corporation’s Husum mill. In 2011, the Husum mill produced 651,000 tons of wood pulp, and 636,000 tons of board and paper (Metsä Board Sustainability 2011). In addition, the Husum mill was responsible for 82,952 tons of CO2, 302 tons of sulphur, 192 tons of Nitrous Oxide, and 283 tons of other particulates being released into earth’s atmosphere (Metsä Board Sustainability 2011). All of these substances are contributing to global warming and negatively affect both humans and the planet. The Husum mill was also responsible for discharging 9996 tons of COD (chemical oxygen demand), 981 tons of BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), 24 tons of phosphorus, 161 tons of nitrogen, 755 tons of suspended solids, and 46,053x10m3 of waste-water (Metsä Board Sustainability 2011). Finally, the Husum mill generated 5,595 tons of landfill waste, and one ton of hazardous waste (Metsä Board Sustainability 2011). I found no indication of whether or not Galerie Fine paper is bleached with chlorine like many other fine quality papers. When “chlorine is combined with wood, it produces chlorinated organic compounds, such as dioxin and furans, as byproducts” (greenamerica.org). Dioxin is extremely detrimental to the environment because it can “contaminate air, soil and water and enters the human food supply by bioaccumulating in the fat of fish, seabirds and mammals as it travels up the food chain” (greenamerica.org). Dioxin has been linked to “cancers, lymphomas, diabetes, immune system disorders, and birth defects” (greenamerica.org). Despite Metsä Board taking many steps to minimize their effect on the environment, the production of their products still produces a large amount of waste.
I was unable to locate any information regarding how Metsä Board ships the finished Galerie Fine paper to Vogue’s printers, but due to the paper being made in Sweden, and Vogue being printed in the US, I believe that it is safe to assume that they are shipped by plane. A large amount of greenhouse gases are emitted by commercial airplanes, furthering the environmental impact of the magazine.
Printing Process
As of 2009, Vogue has been and will continue to be printed by the American printer Quad/Graphics. The company also prints 11 other magazines for Condé Nast. “Quad/Graphics...is the largest privately held printer of magazines, catalogs and other commercial products in the Western Hemisphere, and the third largest printer – public or private – in the nation” (piworld.com).
Like Metsä Board Corporation, Quad/Graphics has taken many steps to become a leader of sustainability within their field. For example, they have installed “giant spider-like pipes...” in their gravure printing plants as “part of the solvent recovery system”, and “between 1989 and 2007, [their] gravure pressrooms reduced VOC (volatile organic compounds) emissions by 83 percent despite a 1,308 percent increase in relative production” (Print is Efficient).
Other steps that Quad/Graphics have taken are aiming to become 100 percent landfill free, using electricity generated by green sources, “reducing the amount of water [they] consume relative to production”, and “lowering or eliminating potentially harmful emissions in coatings, adhesives, cleaning solutions and fountain solution/fountain solution additives” (Print is Responsible).
Quad/Graphics has also been using their EnviroTech inks since 1982. “EnviroTech inks for web offset printing have renewable resource content (including vegetable oils and pine resin) of approximately 27 percent. This ink complements [their] other offset inks, which have a renewable resource content greater than 20 percent” (Print is Responsible). In order to reduce their shipping and transportation emissions, Quad/Graphics became a part of the EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership. “SmartWay...was introduced in 2004 by the U.S. EPA as an innovative, market-based partnership to reduce fuel use, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants from the freight sector” (SmartWay). Through being part of SmartWay, Quad/Graphics has “prevented the emissions of 12,611 tons of carbon dioxide in 2009...the equivalent of taking 2,187 passenger cars off the road for a year” (SmartWay).
In order to cut down on waste produced during trimming, “Quad/Graphics operates the nation’s largest trim waste collection system of its kind” where paper waste is gathered from their “press and finishing areas” and is then compressed and baled for recycling. “To facilitate recycling, wastepaper is sorted into 24 different grades” (Print is Recyclable).
Although there is much information on Quad/Graphics’ sustainable practices available, I was unable to obtain any information related to the quantity and composition of waste that they produce while printing Vogue or in general. A large portion of the information on printing processes that is available is outdated or contains little information relevant to waste produced during the process. Information that I was able to obtain is that Quad/Graphics prints Vogue using the web offset printing process, and binds the magazine using the perfect binding technique (Condé Nast). Since Quad/Graphics has taken so many steps towards being a more sustainable printer, I felt that it would be inappropriate to use general waste figures of the waste produced during the printing process. The amount of waste that a printer produces is largely dependent on the systems that they have put in place to maximize efficiency and minimize waste, as well as what kind of paper and inks they are using. Without all of this information, it is impossible to accurately estimate the amount of waste being produced.
Post Consumer Waste
The next step in Vogue and other magazine’s life cycle is their distribution to newsstands and readers across the world. But what happens to the magazines that never end up being read? As of the year 2000, “for every 35 copies [of a magazine] sold, approximately 65 copies are discarded without ever being read” (greenamerica.org). According to experts, “about 3 billion of the approximately 4.7 billion magazines that are delivered to newsstands each year never even reach a reader. These discarded magazines, placed end to end would circle the Earth 20 times” (greenamerica.org). The implications of this amount of waste are obvious. These magazines are contributing to the already dire issue of our overfilling landfills. Magazines are often printed with toxic inks and dyes that once landfilled can become contaminates (greenamerica.org).
Recycling magazines can be of many benefits, but unfortunately, the vast majority of magazines never get recycled. “Approximately 90% of all magazines are discarded within a year of publication, and only about 20% of these are [eventually] recycled” (greenamerica.org).
By recycling one ton of paper, 1,000 pounds of solid waste, 10,000 gallons of water and 17 million BTU of energy can be saved (digitalcommons.calpoly.edu). Magazines that are landfilled could instead be recycled into useable fiber for new paper. Critics of recycling claim that in order to recover fiber from magazine papers, large amounts of energy must be used in order to transport the paper to where it will be recycled. This view is inaccurate because “most recycling actually occurs near population centers (where much of the paper is recovered), which minimizes transportation” (greenamerica.org). Recycled paper fiber is also easier to process than virgin pulp because it has been processed before, therefore “reprocessing it uses just 10 to 40% of the energy that virgin pulping requires” (greenamerica.org).
This stage of my research proved to be one of the most difficult. I was able to find a wealth of information regarding the post-consumer waste of magazines in general, but no info specifically linked to Vogue magazine.
Conclusion
Although this research assignment proved to be an informative and insightful experience, it has left me with a sense of frustration at the lack of information that is available to the general public about the true costs of the products that we buy. It irritates me that companies and corporations choose not to disclose some of this valuable information in order to protect their best interests, rather than those of the general public. Oftentimes when information on a subject is available, it is often outdated and no longer completely relevant. For example, while looking for research to use for this assignment, my group and I searched the library catalog for books and other published works that might offer some insight. The few sources we were able to find on the shelves were all over 15 years old. The results from web searches often produced similar results. If I could do this project again I would choose a different product whose materials, embodied energy, and waste could more accurately be appraised and evaluated.
Works Cited
"Vogue (magazine)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 Oct. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.
Weber, Caroline. "Fasion." The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 Dec. 2006. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.
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"Quad/Graphics Awarded Multi-Year Contract Extension from Condé Nast." Piworld.com. Printing Impressions, 23 Dec. 2009. Web. 13 Mar. 2013 <http://www.piworld.com/article/quad-graphics-multi-year-magazine-printing-contract-extension-cond-nast-pi-news/1%20>.
"Print Is Efficient." Quad/Graphics: Print Is Efficient. Quad/Graphics, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013 <http://www.qg.com/aboutus/environment/efficient.asp>.
"Print Is Responsible." Quad/Graphics: Print Is Responsible. Quad/Graphics, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. <http://www.qg.com/aboutus/environment/responsible.asp>.
"SmartWay." Quad/Graphics. Quad/Graphics, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013 <http://www.qg.com/aboutus/environment/smartway.asp>.
"Print Is Recyclable." Quad/Graphics. Quad/Graphics, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013 <http://www.qg.com/aboutus/environment/recyclable.asp>.
Nguyen, Jeannie. "Digital and Printed Magazines’ Effects on the Environment." Digitalcommons.calpoly.edu. N.p., Dec. 2010. Web.