Recycled Print Collateral
Interface's global sales network relies on samplebooks: complex physical books that live in architecture and design firm libraries, combining photography, physical product swatches, and specification brochures. With thousands of sales associates worldwide and tens of thousands of books in circulation at any given time, the material decisions behind these objects carry real environmental weight.
DETAILS:
Recycled content for enterprise-wide print collateral
Role:
Art Director
Print Process Improvement
When our paper vendor discontinued their 50% post-consumer recycled stock, the path of least resistance was a downgrade to 10% recycled content — the higher-quality option the organization was leaning toward. I pushed back. Instead of accepting the tradeoff, I advocated for process improvements that would allow us to maintain 100% post-consumer recycled paper without sacrificing print quality.
That meant a complete overhaul of the color correction workflow: new photography correction standards, additional accuracy review touchpoints, and a new partnership with a professional color house embedded throughout the proofing and printing process.
Scale of Impact
Interface launches approximately 20 new products annually, printing 5,000–10,000 samplebooks and 4,000 specification brochures per launch — plus 50,000–150,000 legacy replenishments each year. Through this initiative, Interface saved more than 5 million sheets of virgin paper in a single year.
