But Champion, Union Camp, and Fort James have long been giants in the industry. With so many recent changes, it's not clear yet what will happen with many of their papers. There is some concern that mills may be buying each other simply to eliminate competition, and it is true that some mills have been shut down and papers discontinued by their new owners. Georgia Pacific continues to use the Nekoosa name on papers developed by the Nekoosa mill before it became GP property. Hennepin and Hopper are gone.
Some mills maintain a distinct identity within the auspices of their new owners.
This is particularly true of companies like Hammermill, Beckett and Strathmore, which are now owned by International Paper. Fortunately, even with this consolidation, the number of environmental papers has held steady, right around 500. Some popular papers from the past, such as Hammermill's Unity DP, have disappeared. But new papers, such as Domtar's Weeds, have been introduced. Most significantly, every grade of printing and writing paper offers several, and often many, environmental choices.