It’s regrettable that L.L. Bean has refused to renew its long-standing contract with Verso Paper (the successor to International Paper) to make paper for the Bean catalogues. A Bean spokesman said that her company was looking for more recycled content in the paper it uses, and to increase the certified fiber within the paper.

If L.L. Bean is truly committed to being “green,” it might consider reducing the production and mailing of so many unnecessary catalogues that waste paper and energy and probably have no better than a 50 percent chance of ending up in the recycling bin.

As for certified fiber, Maine’s paper mills no longer own the land that grows the trees for their mills. How do you persuade 100,000-plus owners of widely varying sized parcels of woodland to become and stay certified, so that mills can still sell paper to corporations such as L.L. Bean that waste it, even as it claims environmental virtue?

L.L. Bean might encourage customers to recycle the catalogues it sends by including a prominently placed recycling message.

Judith Berg, Buckfield


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.