Staples Honored with Marcal Paper Award

FRAMINGHAM, MA -- Marcal Paper Mills today announced that it is awarding Staples with the 2002 Marcal Environmental Marketing Excellence Award for outstanding marketing of recycled content products, according to a Business Wire report. Nick Marcalus, president/ceo of Marcal, presented the award to Staples chairman Thomas Stemberg, who accepted on behalf of Staples at the company's Home Office. To commemorate the occasion, Marcal donated $10,000 to the City of Boston for ten trees that were selected and planted by the Parks Department in historic Boston Common. Marcal's annual award recognizes outstanding marketers of recycled and environmentally responsible products.

"We are extremely pleased to present Staples with this award," said Marcalus. "I am particularly glad that Tom Stemberg, whose entrepreneurial spirit pioneered the office supply superstore industry, had the vision to offer environmentally progressive products. Back in 1986, Tom personally asked Marcal to be Staples' first provider of toilet, toweling, napkins and facial tissue paper products--all made from recycled paper--for their first store in Brighton, MA We are proud to work with Staples as they continue their leadership in providing customers with a wide selection of recycled content products."

"Staples is honored by Marcal's recognition of our environmental product marketing," said Stemberg. "Marcal has been a tremendous partner in helping us provide environmentally friendly products to our small business customers for 16 years. As part of Staples' overall environmental commitment, we look forward to promoting high quality recycled content products into the future."

The Marcal Environmental Marketing Excellence Award honor reflects Staples' commitment to the environment. Staples is dedicated to protecting and preserving natural resources through its leadership in the purchase and promotion of recycled content products, chain-wide recycling initiatives, energy conservation programs as well as educational initiatives for customers and associates. Including Marcal's innovative recycled-content products, Staples currently offers about 1,000 recycled content products--from copy paper to corrugated storage boxes to remanufactured ink cartridges--through its stores, Web site and catalogs.

Marcal's total 100% recycled content products line available at Staples include roll towels and luncheon napkins made with 60% post-consumer content, bathroom tissues made with 50% post-consumer content, dispenser towels made with 40% post-consumer content, and facial tissues made with 30% post-consumer content. Marcal has long been a leader in environmentally progressive manufacturing methods, recycling over 200,000 tons of community and business generated paper annually, as well as they have developed non-chlorine bleaching techniques to produce high quality