From the Tree-Free Forest"-The Non-Wood Paper Movement and the Japan Environment Foundation (September 1998)

From the Tree-Free Forest"-The Non-Wood Paper Movement and the Japan Environment Foundation (September 1998)

In the late 1990s, citizens in Japan were becoming increasingly concerned about the over-cutting of forest resources and the destruction of tropical forests. Against this backdrop, the "Tree Free Club," which was engaged in the production of paper using non-wood materials such as kenaf and bagasse, was launched in 1994 and eventually elevated to the status of "Nippon Environment Foundation" in 1998, in recognition of its activities. Noteworthy is the "Tree-Free Fund," which adds 1% to the price of non-wood paper and allocates that amount to a forest protection fund. This system made it possible to provide funding to environmental NGOs that were eligible for grants, with 10 to 20 organizations receiving approximately 500,000 yen per grant per year. This system of linking consumer choice to environmental protection was revolutionary at the time, and can be considered a precursor to the green consumer philosophy that would later emerge. The spread of non-wood paper was not merel
y an alternative technology; it raised ethical questions about the very act of "using paper. This movement was an attempt to reconcile the contradictions between paper and forests, consumption and protection, through citizen action.