The company is called simply SAVED A TREE. Half Australian and half Chinese, these young entrepreneurs aim to grow in the world of tissue.
Maura Leonardi
Their Australian story begins in China. It may seem strange, but that's the way it is. San Sen Paper and Pulp Co., Ltd., founded in 2004, is headquartered in Yichun City, in the province of Jiangxi, and it is a company that produces paper products through fibers that come wholly from agriculture residues.
And the idea starts from here, from the possibility of producing tissue paper not using cellulose but using alternative raw materials. And so cotton and bamboo become a binomial that perfectly espouses the production of toilet paper, just like Damien Scarf - CEO of Saved a Tree, the young Australian/Chinese company that introduced a new range of tissue products (toilet rolls, kitchen towels, facial tissue) on the market - explains to us.
Simple in the idea and innovative in substance, the rolls of the NO Trees brand represent a real innovation in the realm of tissue products manufacturing, because they revolutionize the concept of paper by using bamboo and cotton as their raw materials.
The idea was born from the intention to avoid the use of trees for paper production, thus safeguarding the environment. Today, it is the only company capable of successfully transforming bamboo in the pulper, without emissions that weigh on the atmosphere. "Attention towards environmental issues is today commonplace; everyone talks about it," explains Scarf. "Every day, the media remind us that the planet is ours, too. Thirty to forty years are needed to grow a tree, while bamboo regenerates in 2-3 months. An extremely reduced arc of time and a raw material that yields the same result: optimum-quality, soft tissue rolls, obtained through the use of 100% renewable, clean energy. This year, we obtained the FSC Certification for our bamboo cultures - an ambitious objective that allows us to be competitive, all the while respecting international standards," states Scarf, beaming with pride.
Finished product quality in respect of the environment lies at the base of the strategy of Saved a Tree.
And in from ideal stems the choice to use recycled cotton in respect of the company's mission and in such a way as to be able to offer a premium product, green in all its components. "Every part of our business is sincere and green, and we try to give a clear answer to all the questions that are asked us by our partners and by consumers, because in our opinion, every responsible person wants to participate in safeguarding the environment, and hence to be able to say he or she saved a tree," explains the Saved a Tree team.
"Quality, price and the environment are our motto. We are a young company, and the only one that, in 2008 - a year in which many companies were closed in China due to excessive CO2 emissions - obtained from the Chinese government the authorization to continue our activity because it was perfectly in-line with the laws in force regarding environmental respect," underscores Simon Shen, part of the Saved a Tree team.
Premium is the market segment that the company has focused on since their inception, surprising the Australian market. Just like they united bamboo and cotton, so Research&Development was mixed and integrated with Marketing, paving the way for the use of alternative materials for roll production through the distribution channel. No advertising but a simple brand positioning strategy; from the simple, essential packaging that clearly recalls the environment, up to their positioning on the shelves of an important Australian retail chain. "Sold out" was the answer by consumers, who immediately recognized the quality of the product and the value of environmental respect.
We can summarize their principal message in the commitment to saving trees, conscientiously and seriously. For this reason, when it comes to Saved a Tree, everyone feels that "good people meet good people", that there are many optimum companies, retail chains and consumers, too, who today can become partners in this adventure.
"We could simply define ourselves as a "green" company, because this is our priority. Soft, like the desire to guarantee product quality at high standards. Indeed, today our 3-ply product has attained softness quality standards three times greater than when we started out, and we are still enhancing the levels obtained. Commercial, because our product is accessible to everyone and because we can and must be responsible for the environment," concludes Scarf.
The Chinese consider Bamboo a friend of China because, for over 4000 years, all its parts have been used and can be used by man. In Asia, the Lucky Bamboo is given as a symbol of good luck. Giving or receiving a bamboo is a good auspice for luck and prosperity. And that's exactly what we wish for this young and enterprising industrial entity.