Office Depot Turns a Brighter Shade of Green; Expands Retail Partnership with Environmental Sustainability Pioneer - New Leaf Paper

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, today announced an expanded retail partnership with New Leaf Paper, the nation’s leading sustainable paper supplier. Under the partnership, New Leaf Paper will launch a new assortment of 60 environmentally leading stationery, resume paper and envelope products and distribute them exclusively through more than 1,000 Office Depot retail stores across the U.S.

“A partnership with New Leaf Paper supports Office Depot’s vision to expand our assortment with on-trend products that are smart for business and smart for the environment,” said Steve Mahurin, Executive Vice President of Merchandising for Office Depot. “Office Depot retail customers now have access to a unique line of New Leaf Paper products that are affordable, sustainable and fashionable.”

New Leaf Paper Founder and CEO Jeff Mendelsohn added, “We are thrilled to be expanding our relationship with Office Depot. Office Depot is a company that shares New Leaf Paper’s own commitment to meet the business needs of our customers while simultaneously helping to reduce their environmental impact.”

The new and exclusive range of New Leaf Paper products offered at Office Depot retail stores includes:

• New Leaf Paper Stationery: The New Leaf Paper stationery range fits a market niche that seems to be wide open: sustainable and stylish greeting cards, thank you cards, invitations and postcards. All 49 of the items in the assortment are made with 100% Post Consumer Recycled Content, processed Chlorine Free and manufactured with Green-e certified renewable energy, which verifies that green house gas emissions were mitigated during the production and shipping of these stationery products.
• New Leaf Paper Resume Paper and Envelopes: The New Leaf Paper resume paper and envelope assortments are designed to meet the needs of the growing number of professionals across America currently applying for Green Jobs. The 11 products in the new resume range available at Office Depot are made with 100% Post Consumer Recycled Content, bleached and processed Chlorine Free and manufactured with Green-e certified renewable energy. A number of the items also contain agricultural by-products from rapidly-renewable crops such as sustainably harvested Banana and Palm.

These two new categories supplement Office Depot’s current relationship with New Leaf Paper which includes four New Leaf Paper branded notebooks sold in all Office Depot channels and 100% Post Consumer Recycled Paper sold online and in catalogs under the Office Depot Green™ brand.

“We believe that New Leaf Paper is a pioneer in today’s increasingly sustainable paper industry here in the U.S.,” said Yalmaz Siddiqui, Director of Environmental Strategy for Office Depot. “As Office Depot continues on our journey as a Fortune 500 company dedicated to a sustainable future, we are excited to partner with New Leaf Paper. We think the partnership brings value to Office Depot as an industry leader trying to make ‘green’ mainstream, while bringing value to New Leaf Paper as a growing, authentic environmental company striving to reach a wider consumer market.”

About Office Depot

Every day, Office Depot is Taking Care of Business for millions of customers around the globe. For the local corner store as well as Fortune 500 companies, Office Depot provides products and services to its customers through 1,713 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs and a $4.8 billion e-commerce operation. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $14.5 billion, and employs about 43,000 associates around the world. The Company provides more office products and services to more customers in more countries than any other company, and currently sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 48 countries.

Office Depot’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com.

Media materials specific to Office Depot’s environmental initiatives are available at http://mediarelations.officedepot.cc/environment.

About New Leaf Paper

New Leaf Paper leads the paper industry in the development and distribution of environmentally responsible printing and office papers that compete aesthetically and economically with leading virgin fiber products. New Leaf Paper offers a selection of more than 30 coated, uncoated, and board grade papers, many made with 100% post-consumer recycled content; its inventory products are all made with electricity that is offset with Green-e® certified renewable wind energy certificates. New Leaf Paper products range from luxurious finishes to offset papers, and its customer list includes printers and designers, Fortune 500 companies and preeminent nonprofit organizations.

For more information, please call New Leaf Paper at 1-888-989-5323 or visit www.newleafpaper.com.

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