The magazine was distributed inside more than 110,000 copies of The Globe and Mail and Washington Post. It featured a cover story about long-time environmentalist and Hollywood actor Woody Harrelson and his work to protect forests.

"As a magazine that pushes corporations to be more environmentally responsible, Corporate Knights makes every efforts to walk its own talk. With this special straw issue, we wanted to show other print publishers that recycled paper isn't the only sustainable option available to them," said Tyler Hamilton, editor-in-chief of Corporate Knights.

According to Andrée Gosselin O’Meara of The Globe and Mail (inma blog), Corporate Knights approached The Globe and Mail this past August about a possible sponsorship in the form of insertion and distribution support for their upcoming “straw issue”. The alternative paper was produced by Winnipeg-based Prairie Paper Ventures. If Jeff Golfman, president of Prairie Papers Ventures, can build enough demand in North America, he can justify moving ahead with the straw pulp and paper mill he wants to build in Manitoba - the first of its kind in the world. His goal is to create an affordable product with very low environmental impact that is 100 per cent tree-free and would complement existing recycled paper products on the market.