Two Sides to launch in South Africa

Last updated Mar 3, 2014 243

Two Sides, the international campaign which promotes the sustainability of print and paper media, has announced that, in cooperation with Printing SA, The Printing Industries Federation of South Africa, the Two Sides campaign will soon be launching in South Africa.

To have South Africa join the Two Sides network is fantastic news”, says Martyn Eustace, director of Two Sides. “South Africa is the home to international companies like Sappi and Mondi and is the leading economy in Africa with important paper manufacturing and printing industries. The issues which Two Sides faces globally are highly relevant to South Africa and I look forward to working with an enthusiastic team to ensure that the environmental sustainability of our industry is communicated to the business users and consumers who are often subjected to incorrect and misleading information”.

Pulp, paper, print and packaging is a significant contributor to the South African economy with an annual turnover in excess of 65 billion Rand (€5 billion). The industry employs over 50,000 people in 3000 enterprises across the value chain from forestry all the way to print and paper based distribution. Suppliers to the industry of equipment, chemicals, print consumables and raw materials are also included in this number.

In recent years Two Sides has expanded its activities from Europe to the US and Australia. Other countries are expected to join. Multi-county websites and newsletters hold and distribute information about the sustainability of print and paper and the organisation produces a fully sourced and detailed booklet on the Myths and Facts of the industry. Two Sides also engages with anti-print and paper messages which imply that print media may not be an environmental way to communicate and has had great success in changing the marketing messages of many well known corporate organisations.

Deon Joubert, past president of Printing SA who will be heading Two Sides South Africa comments; “Printers and their associates have been maligned for many years, yet we don’t attack other forms of media. Through Two Sides, we have a golden opportunity to defend the paper-based community and provide valid arguments for the prolonged success of our industry.” Patrick Lacy, CEO of Printing SA adds: “A campaign blueprint is almost complete. As a non-profit organisation we’ll be relying on members and media partners to support our efforts to elevate the value of this important issue.”