Q3 Paper Outlook — Beaten to a Pulp

While there is more to sustainable print than just paper, Carli says that's not a bad place to start given the amounts of fossil fuel and water used in its production. Winning converts will be an uphill battle, though, if the market's reaction to recycled paper is any indication.

"Recycled printing and office papers have been losing market share since 1995, despite the fact that they are higher quality and lower priced than ever before," reports Susan Kinsella, executive director of Conservatree, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization dedicated to converting paper markets to environmental papers. "There are hot spots of interest in chlorine-free, tree-free and sustainably forested papers, but they are still a miniscule part of the market."