Mark+Folders will know we take pride in every part of our process. From initial ideas to the production of our products. It’s important to us that each and every element is carefully considered — not only to guarantee pleasure in use, but also, to ensure our impact on the environment isn’t a negative one.
Paper is at the core of our business. It’s one of the oldest known raw materials, with the earliest known uses dating back to the 4th century BC. We made the decision to use paper that is manufactured domestically, here in the UK, using processes that have been honed over the years to produce the finest quality stock.
Water plays a vital part in the paper-making production process. It’s made by extracting the cellulose fibres from trees and then combined with water to make pulp. Don’t worry, all our paper mills are committed to sustainable paper making — a lot of the timber pulp used is a by-product of the construction industry; any virgin pulp comes from accredited sustainable forests where three trees are planted for every one felled; others are 'harvested' from the tops of fast-growing species like bamboo; and of course, recycled papers are made from office waste and used coffee cups.)
It’s a wet, messy, smelly process, but the mills we work with in Cumbria and Aberdeenshire have made sustainability a core factor for their business. In line with guidance from the Environment Agency, they make sure any water used is returned to the source ‘as clean or cleaner’ than when it left. At the James Cropper Mill in the Lake District, the water is so fresh, there are white clawed crayfish and fresh water mussels living in it!
We like to think the water that flows through the paper-making process at the mill leaves a trace of its energy in the finished material, which becomes part of what you hold in your hands. This running water is an integral part of the pages on your diary, your notebook, your planner. It gives those thoughts, those ideas, those commitments a certain gravitas — and gives each product its own Mark+Fold resonance. The power of those waterways have left their mark in everything we do.