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If you've ever received a business card, you'll know that they are both useful and annoying. They are useful because they provide a lot of information about the person who gave it to you, but also annoying because once you have it in your hand there's no way of getting rid of it without making them feel bad. However, what most people don't realize is how much damage their business cards do to the environment when they end up in landfill after just a week!
It has been estimated that 150 trees are required to make 10,000 reams of business cards.
The average number of trees required to make 10,000 reams of business cards is 150. According to the Environmental Paper Network, it takes an estimated 546 trees to produce just one ton of office paper.
The World Wildlife Fund estimates that around 40 million trees are cut down each year for traditional office stationery like paper and envelopes, which includes more than 50 billion business cards. Of course, many of those trees are used for other things besides plain old stationary. They’re also used in books, magazines and newspapers—but when you stop and think about what business cards really are: a piece of paper with someone’s contact details on it…that makes more sense!
This means that it takes 1/60th of a tree to make one ream of 500 business cards.
This means that it takes 1/60th of a tree to make one ream of 500 business cards. Just let that sink in for a moment!
To find out how many trees are needed to make 10,000 reams of business cards, you simply multiply the number of trees needed for each ream by the number of reams in total.
This is quite a shocking number when you consider that on average 80% of business cards end up in landfill within a week of being handed out!
Most paper business cards are not recyclable. While recycling may be a better option than contributing to landfills, it often takes more energy and resources than simply using recycled paper.
Most paper business cards are not compostable. Paper can take up to a year or more to break down in a compost bin, but due to plastics being used the business card may never fully decompose.
Most paper business cards don't biodegrade in landfills either! This means they will sit there for hundreds of years before they finally break down into tiny pieces that escape through filters at the landfill site and eventually make their way back into nature via rivers and waterways (and potentially oceans).
That is a lot of trees being cut down every year just for paper that most people end up throwing away.
If you’re like most business card holders, your card is more than likely in a drawer somewhere collecting dust. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who can't go anywhere without their business cards. The truth is that most people's business cards end up in the trash after they've been passed on to someone else or used once (if they even get used at all).
The worst part about this cycle is how many trees need to be cut down every year just for paper that most people end up throwing away! That's not counting all of the ink wasted as well as all of the time spent designing and printing out those cards.
Why keep it digital?
So, what are the benefits of going digital?
It’s more eco-friendly than paper business cards.
You can share your contact details, social handles and custom links with anyone, anywhere.
It’s more convenient for everyone involved: you don't have to bother with printing cards because they're all digital; recipients don't need to take the time or effort to store the card; and if you decide to change your phone number or email address, it's quick and easy for you to edit it in one place.
In conclusion, it takes a lot of trees to make your business card. But don’t worry! We at Social Dot are here to help you save them all with our Social Dot products that allows you to connect digitally and instantly in a tap... without the old school paper business cards.