News media contact: Linda Bloom · (212) 870-3803 · New York

NEW YORK (UMNS) - Unless consumers, organizations and businesses start asking for chlorine-free paper, production will remain low, speakers said at a summit sponsored by the Women's Division.

However, when a group such as the million-member United Methodist Women goes chlorine-free, "it pulls a lot of weight," said Duke Reich, a sales representative from the French Paper Co. in Niles, Mich., and a member of Bay Ridge United Methodist Church in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Reich and other industry representatives were among the speakers at the April 30 "Chlorine Free Summit" at the Church Center for the United Nations. The Women's Division, part of the churchwide Board of Global Ministries, administers the United Methodist Women organization.

When the division printed the journal for the 1998 United Methodist Women's Assembly, the processed chlorine-free paper came from French.

At Rolland Inc., production of a totally chlorine-free paper called New Life Dual Purpose 100 represents only one-tenth of 1 percent of that particular mill's production, said the company's Gerry Zampini. But, he added, as the demand rises, prices will decrease.

Beyond the office paper issue is the question of chlorine use for household products, such as toilet paper, paper towels and facial tissues.

Consumers should consider the actions they can take on a personal level to improve the environment, said Jeffrey Hollander of Seventh Generation, a Burlington, Vt.,-based company that sells chlorine-free and non-toxic household products. "We're trying to communicate to consumers that they really can make a difference. Their actions can change the marketplace."

More information is available online from Seventh Generation or the Chlorine Free Products Association. Pam Sparr, the summit organizer, can be contacted by e-mail at psparr@gbgm-umc.org.

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New York, and Washington.