Christmas is coming, and don't we know it. Paperchase has had Christmas cards in stock for weeks. Retailers are rolling out the Christmas point-of-sale (note to Matalan, blue flashing lights are more redolent of the emergency services than seasonal joy), at the garden centre last weekend I was handed a mince pie and a glass of mulled wine, and for the poor residents of Coleford in Gloucestershire the town's Xmas decos are up before we've even got past Halloween and bonfire night.
And with the season of goodwill to all men comes the inevitable avalanche of e-cards masquerading as some sort of smug saviour of the environment. Yesterday I had another beta-blocker moment while looking for some information on the Envirowise website. On the home page is a promo saying "Save money... save trees... send free e-cards from Envirowise this Christmas".
Save trees??? Give me strength. This is an organisation that espouses an expert level of understanding about environmental issues, yet it's happy to trot out the glib and misleading "save trees" line. I really would expect better of them. The trees used for responsible paper production are a crop, and need no more "saving" than the carrots in my weekly shop. I would find it less irritating if there was at least some comparative information provided about the typical carbon footprint of a greetings card versus the time spent creating, sending and reading an e-card on a computer. In my parallel world an e-card can be more accurately described as a cheap option with particular appeal for the lazy and disorganised.
It does show what an uphill battle the NAPM has on its hands with its admirable "Two Sides" campaign, which aims to counter such misinformation and educate people about the true facts about paper. I'm going to do my bit for the cause by registering a complaint with Envirowise about their choice of words, and shall point them in the direction of the Two Sides website. I urge all readers to please do the same when you come across anybody touting similar e-tosh.
Meanwhile, I'm sitting at my desk looking at a lovely little greetings card from The Carte Postale. FSC-certified paper, vegetable-based inks, biodegradable cellophane wrap - a superior option to an e-card any day of the week.
