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The article presents statistics related to office purchases in the U.S., including the amount expected to be spent on office equipment in 2010, percentage of buyers paying higher paper prices, and the number of office products in the database of Buyers' Laboratory.

Presents statistical data on the purchase of office supplies in the U.S. as of February 2006. Increase in prices of paper; Percentage of buyers who are expecting paper prices to increase in the next quarter; Annual growth rate of plastic sheet.

Purchases of office papers have been slipping for more than three years now because of continued cutbacks in demand from slimmed-down offices and advertising agencies. Office papers generally include bond letterhead, bond copier paper, nonbond stationery, nonbond typing paper, computer paper, notepad paper, tablet paper, business forms and plain envelopes. Supply of all forms of uncoated free sheet papers has declined steadily since 1997 and Lehman Brothers projects continued cutbacks in paper capital spending through this year. Office papers enter the market through paper merchants, contract stationers, office superstores and such original equipment manufacturers as Xerox and Canon. Premium business papers are experiencing the most growth in demand, while general-use papers are growing at a slower pace. INSET: PURCHASING publishes new book on office technologies.

The article reports on the sustainable purchasing practices of office paper, based on the information given by office distributors Staples Inc. and Corporate Express Inc. in the U.S. Mark Buckley, vice president of environmental affairs of Staples, stated that the sustainable purchasing of the product would depend on its life cycle. The demand for green products has increased due to the growing consumption from healthcare, banking, education, and government sector.

Reports the development in the purchasing of office papers. Demand for office papers; Decline in the purchase of uncoated free-sheet papers; Decrease in the price of office papers.

Informs about a United States Presidential executive order requiring government paper buyers to purchase 30% post-consumer recycled content. Increase in the post-consumer content specification; Application of the order to all fiber printing and writing paper.