North America's fourth largest producer of towel and tissue paper, Cascades Tissue Group, today announced the launch of a new blog and website, named "SUSTAIN: The Professional Forum for Sustainable Towel and Tissue" and specially oriented to CSR officers and other sustainability professionals. The online site, found at www.sustain.cascades.com, will provide news and views on sustainable work and customer spaces, environmental transparency and scorecarding, supply chain greening, waste-stream mitigation and overall energy efficiency improvement. SUSTAIN's blog will feature regularly updated, original content and streaming video commentary from insightful business leaders inside and outside of Cascades Tissue, along with daily, sustainable news headlines and occasional contests or sweepstakes.

In celebration of the blog's launch, Cascades Tissue will be offering a special giveaway to one lucky winner who signs up for SUSTAIN's free monthly e-newsletter recapping the best and most popular posts from the blog. The winning subscriber will enable his or her employer to receive a free public restroom makeover consisting of numerous dispensers and six months worth of Cascades Tissue Group's North River® towel and tissue product (restrictions apply), regarded as the green standard in commercial towel and tissue offerings. Sign-up information as well as detailed rules and requirements for the sweepstakes are available online at http://sustain.cascades.com/blog/win-a-green-restroom-to-be-envied/.

"It's long been our belief that green business is everyone's business, so we're really excited about the opportunity the new site offers to have a rich dialogue with others in the sustainability marketplace on contemporary issues and practices," said Cascades Tissue Group President and CEO Suzanne Blanchet, who provides an entertaining introduction to the company and website via a prominent video on the blog. "If sustainability in business is something of concern to you, we invite your input."

Regarded as a longtime leader in environmentally preferable paper manufacturing and overall recycling and sustainability, Cascades Tissue Group recently received the Innovation award at the November ISSA/INTERCLEAN® annual conference in Orlando, Fla., and was named a finalist for Pulp & Paper International's 2010 "Environmental Strategy of the Year" award.

Cascades Tissue Group is a division of manufacturing and packaging leader Cascades, Inc. (CAS Toronto Exchange), long considered a pioneer in recycled paper manufacturing. The division has 17 mills spread throughout North America, including 10 in the United States. Its towel and tissue products are generally considered single-use goods - a fact motivating Cascades to remain an industry model of forward-thinking manufacturing, sustainability and carbon avoidance. For more information about Cascades Tissue Group and its North River environmental line, visit www.cascades.com/tissuegroup/afh or www.sustain.cascades.com.

Cascades Inc.

Cascades Inc.

Founded in 1964, Cascades, Inc. manufactures, converts and markets packaging and tissue products composed mainly of recycled fibers. Cascades employs close to 12,500 employees who work in more than 100 production facilities located in North America and Europe. The company’s visionary management philosophy, 45 years of experience in pioneering recycled paper and continued efforts in environmental stewardship, research and development are strengths enabling it to create quality new products for its customers. Whether for recycling materials, re-using waste, improving water and air quality or energy efficiency, Cascades has established high standards for each operating unit and closely monitors their steps toward achieving the objectives.

The company’s Cascades Tissue Group division is a leading tissue paper manufacturer for retail and away-from-home (commercial) markets, including office buildings, secondary and higher education, health care, hospitality, government and more. With 17 plants, Cascades Tissue Group offers its customers a wide range of sustainable quality products throughout North America. Its North River ivory towels are the first third-party certified 100 percent recycled hand towels, using 100 percent post-consumer content and utilizing 80 percent less water than the North American paper industry average. In the case of its notable North River® towel and tissue products, 100 percent of the electricity used for manufacturing is offset by Green e-certified wind energy, avoiding 43 million pounds of annual carbon dioxide emissions.

More from Cascades Inc.