The company actively participates in the development of French forests, by managing several hundred hectares of fir and spruce trees in the Vosges mountain range.

In 1512, in the heart of the Vosges, the superior of the Abbey of Étival, François Faignozel of the Premonstratensians order, authorized the creation of a paper mill along the Valdange river.

Taken over by Jean-Baptiste Bichelberger, a native of the Moselle (department) and trained in new continuous paper production processes, it allowed him to set up a little further on the banks of the Meurthe a modern factory, the "Papeteries de Clairefontaine", named after the company founded in 1858.

His son Paul Bichelberger and his son-in-law Émile Champon then made an important change by introducing wood as a raw material.

He also made the decision to promote the brand with the triangular Clairefontaine logo on each notebook cover, synonymous with quality for both schoolchildren and professionals.

His son Jean-Marie continued his actions and led Clairefontaine to a position of European leader in high-end papers intended for office automation.