Why Posters Are More Sustainable Than Fine Art!
Have you ever considered how sustainable your art and home decor are? If you’re looking for more eco-friendly ways to decorate your home, the Project Nord team can help!
The purpose of this article is to help you decide on purchasing artwork that is both interesting and a more sustainable decision for our environment.
Posters Are Art Too
Buying art from living artists is a great way to support them. Paint materials are expensive, so you’d be helping an artist survive. Some people purchase fine art as an investment from an artist who’s about to make it big! But can a poster stand up to the strong reputation of a Picasso, or a Dalí? Project Nord thinks so! Just think, when you buy a Project Nord poster, you are supporting our up and coming illustrators and artists!
Poster art has played a role in everything from advertisement to influencing modern typography. Posters were a primary advertising source until the 1950s when the rise of new media outlets such as television slowed their production. Posters eventually became an art medium causing their popularity to resurge. Did you know that old posters can also be restored, just like fine art? See? Here’s just another example of why posters are more sustainable than fine art!
Materials That Harm The Environment
Yes, Fine Art is prestigious, but have you ever thought about what acrylic or oil paints are made of? Did you know that the oil and acrylic paint composition of yesteryear was made with high amounts of lead, turpentine, and other harmful chemicals?
Though the amount of harmful chemicals has been significantly reduced, there are other toxic chemicals. Lead, cadmium, and manganese are in pigments used to make commercial paint. Acrylic and oil paint still disperse harmful odors into the surrounding atmosphere when they are drying. And, let’s not forget that improperly disposing of excess paint and paint thinners mean an increased risk of these chemicals reaching our water supplies.
Fortunately, other eco-minded artists use less hazardous materials still create great artwork! Walnut oil or mild soaps can be used to clean up. As for oil and acrylic paint alternatives, ask an artist that you’re interested in buying artwork from, if they make their own paints. If they do, then most likely they are making them using natural earth pigments mixed with walnut oil.
Our cute The Walking Fox poster! He’s aware of his footprint!
Lessening Our Carbon Footprint is of Utmost Concern to the Project Nord Team
You’ve probably wondered, “what can I do to save the environment?” For starters, you research an organization's Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR. This will generally tell you about the materials and processes they use and how environmentally safe they are. We’re here to encourage you to keep going with your sustainability efforts!
At Project Nord, we don’t stop searching for a more sustainable solution to creating posters for you to enjoy! Our sustainable practices include the type of paper we use for our posters and the eco-friendly printing process.
We Use Paper From Sustainable Sources
Our paper source, which is regulated by The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) comes from sustainably-managed forests. These trees are grown specifically for the manufacturing of paper products. Using this type of supply sourcing means that existing forests are not disturbed in the production of our paper!
We print in the most eco-friendly way
The ink used to print our posters is water-based ink. Water-based ink is odorless and biodegradable, so that means fewer pollutants going into our air and water. We still need to do our part and adequately dispose of the excess and waste.
What is sustainable Art or Design?
More options exist today that work to reduce and even eliminate the harmful use of chemicals when creating art and design. We encourage you to check out sustainable art and design alternatives, by asking artists or companies what sustainable practices they use.
What We All Should Be working Toward
The Project Nord team is continuously working toward a more sustainable way to create and transport our posters to you. We also support external, environmentally positive initiatives that lessen our carbon footprint. The way we produce our posters doesn’t diminish their quality but improves them. We want you to feel good about decorating your home or space.
If you’re already practicing sustainable habits when buying fine art, keep up the good work! Take the challenge even further by checking out our ‘6 Things You Can Do Today To Be More Sustainable’ article. Remember, we can all do a bit more daily to lessen our carbon footprint.
Written by George McFarley III
Images sourced from Pintrest and the Project Nord website.