allcop launches “Natur Pur Fotobuch” sustainably designed book

The German photo lab allcop introduced the “Natur Pur Fotobuch” a “holistically sustainably designed photo book.” The inside pages and the cover material are made of 100% Blue Angel-certified recycled paper. Compared to a conventional photo book in digital printing, the new photo book saves 42% CO₂e emissions, the company said. To achieve this, the “Natur Pur Fotobuch” has been rethought from the ground up. It is even recyclable. For the start, the product is available at dm-drogerie markt in the private label as “Paradies-Fotobuch nature”.

allcop produces the new photo book exclusively in Germany with electricity from 100% renewable energy sources.

The motivation to launch a particularly sustainable photo book came from allcop’s in-house sustainability team. Matthias Zahn, Head of Key Account and member of the sustainability team: “We see the increasing sensitivity of end customers for more sustainable product alternatives. Their desire to immortalize memories in a photo book and to pay special attention to ecological aspects led to the formulation of our goal: We are developing a photo book in which the resulting CO₂e emissions are reduced to a minimum.”

Allcop deliberately does not use the usual laminating foil on the cover of the “Natur Pur Fotobuch”. For a “haptically beautiful book experience,” the photo lab, therefore, uses the binding method of the stiff brochure. Because the book cover material is visible at the edges in this process, a PEFC-certified wooden board without optical brighteners is used.

Should the product ever need to be disposed of, the book block and cover can be recycled together in the waste paper. The printing process used is optimally suited for so-called de-inking in the recycling process. The printing inks can be removed from the paper and the paper fibers can be reused.

The “Natur Pur Fotobuch” emits 42% less CO₂e than a conventional A4 portrait photo book in digital printing. The Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) was determined in cooperation with myclimate Germany. For this purpose, the “Natur Pur Fotobuch” was compared with a digital print photo book A4 portrait hardcover with an average page thickness of 52 pages. All steps of the product life cycle were included: raw material extraction, transport to the manufacturer, production of the photo book including packaging, distribution of the finished product and disposal at the end of life. The so-called use phase can be neglected.