The Tour de France is more than ever committed to do its part to preserve the natural setting which greatly contributes to its success.
This has led A.S.O., over the years, to initiate and extend a number of ecological-friendly projects.
The 10 to 12 million fans who come to see the Tour inevitably leave behind trash which must be dealt with in order to preserve the picturesque landscapes where the race unfolds.
Departments will also do their part, joining along in the Clean Roads operation. In each of the 33 departments the Tour will ride through, a coordinator has been named, charged with determining the spots where fans are most likely to flock and implementing trash collection measures.
Riders in the Tour de France must abide by its code of ethics, which notably makes its own the principles lined out in UCI’s Cycling and Environment Charter. The Tour thus concurs with the IOC, which deems ecology to be the third dimension of the Olympic spirit.
In 2007, the Tour de France is printing all material on Cyclus Offset 130G paper, that which you are holding right now.
It is made from recycled pulp obtained from recovered papers. Black soap is used for de-inking, while chlorinefree bleaching techniques explain its light gray color. The use of fully recycled paper can lead to some constraints, notably the varying quality of the pulp which makes for small color and texture variations. The slightest visual imperfections might therefore be spotted, an unmistakable sign of this paper’s natural production.
Readers will no doubt forgive us such slender blemishes, as we thought it only too fitting that we should adopt techniques in line with our ecological commitment.
