The Environmental Impact of Traditional vs. Digital Business Cards

1. Deforestation and Resource Consumption

The manufacturing of paper leads to significant deforestation on earth. Based on research from the World Resources Institute, tree losses reach 15 billion each year with some of those losses related to paper manufacturing. The manufacturing process of paper business cards uses significant amounts of water and energy together with chemicals for processing.

The manufacturing process of a ton of paper demands the consumption of more than 20,000 gallons of water. Paper manufacturing processes that require massive water consumption together with hazardous chemical emissions create environmental destruction.

2. Carbon Footprint

Various stages of business card manufacturing including production and transportation and disposal create substantial carbon emissions. The paper industry generates approximately 10% of total manufacturing emissions as stated in a study by the Environmental Paper Network. The life cycle of business cards resulting from printing and subsequent packaging along with delivery creates increased carbon contamination.

Business cards generated through printing facilities suffer extra carbon emission damage from their transportation to end-users along with fuel use. The degradation process of printed business cards in landfills releases harmful chemicals from their chemical-based inks into the environment.

3. Waste Generation

Almost 88% of the more than 27 million business cards that are printed every day are thrown away within a week. This generates a lot of waste, which increases pollution and landfill overflow. Due to lamination, special coatings, or printing ink, the majority of business cards are not recyclable, which makes them a significant source of solid waste.