More than 1,500 companies worldwide have removed or amended unsupported environmental claims about paper following engagement by Two Sides, according to Two Sides North America (TSNA).

The milestone comes after more than a decade of campaigning against messages such as “Go Green, Go Paperless” and similar claims suggesting that switching from paper to digital communications is automatically better for the environment.

In North America alone, TSNA says it has contacted 422 companies, with 228 subsequently changing or removing the messaging it challenged.

228 North American Companies Change Messaging

TSNA’s anti-greenwashing campaign focuses on environmental statements about paper that the organization believes are not supported by adequate evidence.

Banks, utilities, insurance companies and telecommunications providers are among the sectors that have frequently used environmental messaging to encourage customers to switch from printed bills and statements to electronic alternatives.

TSNA argues that companies should not describe digital communications as inherently more sustainable without evidence supporting the comparison.

During 2025 alone, the organization engaged 62 companies regarding environmental claims, with 25 changing their messaging.

Jules Van Sant, executive director of TSNA, said unsupported claims can misrepresent an industry that has invested in responsible forest management and environmental improvements.

“It’s discouraging to see how greenwashing continues to undermine an industry dedicated to advancing environmental sustainability and responsible forest management,” Van Sant said.

TSNA Challenges the ‘Digital Is Greener’ Assumption

TSNA’s position is not that digital communication should be avoided.

Instead, the organization argues that comparisons between paper and digital alternatives need to account for the environmental impacts associated with both systems.

Digital infrastructure requires electricity and physical equipment and generates electronic waste, while paper production has its own environmental impacts and depends on forestry, manufacturing, transportation and recycling systems.

For this reason, broad statements that switching to digital automatically “saves trees” or is environmentally preferable can oversimplify a more complex comparison.

TSNA points to data from the American Forest & Paper Association showing that paper originates from a renewable resource and has an established recycling infrastructure in North America.

Environmental Claims Face Greater Regulatory Scrutiny

The campaign also comes as regulators increase scrutiny of environmental marketing.

Canada amended its Competition Act in 2024, introducing provisions affecting environmental claims and the evidence businesses need to support them.

In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides provide guidance on environmental marketing and warn businesses against broad or potentially misleading claims that cannot be adequately substantiated.

These developments increase the importance of evidence when businesses use terms such as “green,” “eco-friendly” or similar environmental language in customer communications.

Consumers Still Want a Choice Between Paper and Digital

TSNA also argues that communication format remains a consumer-choice issue.

Its 2025 Trend Tracker survey found that 78% of U.S. consumers and 83% of Canadian consumers believed they should be able to choose whether they receive bills in printed or electronic form.

Earlier TSNA research from 2022 also suggested environmental messaging can influence that decision. According to the organization, 65% of U.S. respondents who had encountered greenwashing claims said those messages encouraged them to switch from paper to digital communications.

TSNA says its campaign is therefore not intended to oppose digitalization, but to encourage businesses to make environmental comparisons based on substantiated information.

“Businesses deserve credit for real progress,” Van Sant said, “and consumers deserve information they can trust.”

After more than 1,500 companies worldwide have changed their messaging, the campaign highlights a broader issue extending beyond the paper industry: environmental claims increasingly need evidence behind them, regardless of whether the product being promoted is physical or digital.

Last Updated on 18/08/2026 by Jota Machinery