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Mec And Domtar Cooperation Gives Way To Environmentally Sound Option For Large Consumers Of Paper

Montreal, February 14, 2006 – Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) announced today it is sourcing its key commercial printing papers from Domtar’s EarthChoice line. This decision is based on a two-year old partnership by which Domtar developed a catalogue paper that met MEC’s exacting environmental needs.

“Domtar was very receptive to our demands for more responsible papers,” said Peter ter Weeme, Vice President of Communications and Marketing for MEC. “Their willingness to answer the call with a viable solution shows that strong corporate values and strategic partnerships are forces for positive change. Together with other actions we have taken to reduce our use of fibre, MEC continues to provide social and environmental leadership in Canada.”

Domtar EarthCote, which is part of the EarthChoice line, was used to print more than 670,000 copies of MEC’s 2005 Fall/Winter catalogue. With 35 per cent post consumer waste content and virgin fibre certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to come from well-managed sustainable forests, EarthCote created significant environmental benefits. These include saving fully-grown trees, reducing greenhouse gases, and generating additional energy, water and solid waste reductions.

“Our experience with MEC on catalogue paper was the catalyst to creating a whole new comprehensive commercial printing product line at Domtar,” said Lewis Fix, EarthChoice Business Development Director at Domtar. “The 13 papers that now comprise the product line are endorsed by Rainforest Alliance and welcomed by ForestEthics and World Wildlife Fund-Canada.  And we are very pleased that MEC has decided to use these papers for their needs”, added Fix.

“For years, we’d been told that procuring environmentally sound commercial printing papers meant sacrificing quality and incurring higher costs,” said ter Weeme. “With the Domtar EarthChoice line, that is simply no longer the case.  Indeed, being green no longer requires painful compromises.  There are no more excuses for not doing the right thing,” concluded MEC’s Vice-President.

The Domtar EarthChoice product line overcomes the selection, availability, cost and quality constraints of other environmental papers.  It achieves this by combining recycled content with FSC-certified fibre in its coated and uncoated commercial printing, premium graphic design and publishing papers.

The past few years have seen Domtar pursue a leadership role in Forest Stewardship Council certification. Its goal is 100 per cent certification of all its forestlands and mill operations to the FSC standards completed by 2007. Domtar’s distribution network is also fully certified.

The Forest Stewardship Council is a non-profit organization that sets internationally recognized standards for environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable forest management practices. Its standard is the only one endorsed by many of the world’s leading environmental organizations, including World Wildlife Fund Canada, Rainforest Alliance and Forest Ethics.

DOMTAR IS THE THIRD LARGEST PRODUCER OF UNCOATED FREESHEET PAPER IN NORTH AMERICA. IT IS ALSO A LEADING MANUFACTURER OF BUSINESS PAPERS, COMMERCIAL PRINTING AND PUBLICATION PAPERS, AND TECHNICAL AND SPECIALTY PAPERS. DOMTAR MANAGES ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED STANDARDS 18 MILLION ACRES OF FORESTLAND IN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES, AND PRODUCES LUMBER AND OTHER WOOD PRODUCTS. DOMTAR HAS APPROXIMATELY 10,000 EMPLOYEES ACROSS NORTH AMERICA. THE COMPANY ALSO HAS A 50% INVESTMENT INTEREST IN NORAMPAC INC., THE LARGEST CANADIAN PRODUCER OF CONTAINERBOARD.

MEC IS CANADA’S LARGEST RETAIL CO-OPERATIVE, PROVIDING QUALITY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR SELF-PROPELLED OUTDOOR RECREATION. ESTABLISHED IN 1971, MEC HAS MORE THAN 2.3 MILLION MEMBERS THROUGHOUT CANADA AND AROUND THE WORLD. MEC IS RECOGNIZED AS A LEADER IN THE RETAIL SECTOR FOR ITS CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PRACTICES.

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