Every little page counts

To highlight the thoughtlessness with which most of us use and abuse paper, Lowe Bull Johannesburg teamed up with Food and Trees for Africa to produce a thought-provoking television commercial. Simple and straight to the point, the spot shows a printer printing successive copies of an aerial photograph of a forest - but each time a new page is printed, another section of the forest disappears until the once-lush forest is transformed into a barren wasteland, and the printer runs out of paper.

Not one word is said during the commercial, ending with a simple written directive: “Think before you print”.

“People don't tend to think of paper as a precious resource, but the reality is that paper consumption is one of the drivers of global deforestation,” explains Lowe Bull copywriter Ben du Plessis.

It's no secret that deforestation is one of the world's primary ecological concerns, bringing with it often catastrophic climatic and geographic changes. It is estimated that if no drastic measures are taken to preserve the world's forests, only 10% will remain by the year 2030.

Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA), South Africa's only national greening and food gardening NGO, proactively addresses issues such as climate change and sustainable resource use and management through conserving, planting and maintaining trees. Founder Jeunesse Park initiated the design of the first carbon calculator in South Africa, evaluating carbon emissions by a range of activities such as energy consumption, land and air travel, and paper usage and then calculating how many trees one would need to plant to absorb the carbon generated through the process of photosynthesis.

“Communicating environmental messages through the media is a powerful way to get to large numbers of people. In this crucial time where climate change and food security threaten our quality of life, and will undoubtedly impact on future generations, this kind of awareness is imperative,” says Jeunesse Park, Founder of FTFA.

This commercial ties in perfectly with FTFA's goal of educating South Africans about the importance of trees to life as we know it.

“Ordinary South Africans can save millions of tons of paper, and thus help conserve the world's forests, just by being more conservative with their printer usage,” says art director Miguel Nunes.

“So think before you print.”