Comments on: Green your office — with a green back-to-school kit

By: Siel

Siel — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:33:37 +0000

I actually still go through a lot of paper journals — I find actual writing with paper & pen pretty different from typing things up. But like you, I don’t use a whole lot of other office supplies. I’ve had the same folders / binders for years, and give away the new stuff that may come my way.

By: Taylor

Taylor — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:33:12 +0000

Admit it, this is marketed to people who want to look cute and be green. Most of the people who buy this already have a laptop, an iphone, etc, something that can do all of this without buying anything new. maybe i was just a bad student, but I still have blank notebooks from high school that i can fish out of the garage if i feel the need to take notes on paper . . . . . thats so 1983.

By: Siel

Siel — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:42:07 +0000

Beth — I’d seen Chris’ post — and thought it was really misinformed. Yes, there are products with some recycled content in major stores, and yes, there are products that are much cheaper in major stores. These are usually not the same products! Products that are cheaper AND have decent recycled content? Those are tough to find.

I think the guy needs to actually walk into a Staples or Office Depot and look at what the selection actually is — both the reality of the prices and the eco-friendly content. Staples’ Eco Easy notebooks cost $2.49 a pop — not any less than the Sustainable Group stuff. The rest of the stuff at Staples? Most of it’s got little to no recycled content — and almost all don’t have significant post-consumer recycled content.

His assertion that Sustainable Group’s somehow ripping people off while offering products similar to big box stores is extremely misleading. Cheapo products at big box stores come at a high enviro cost and to suggest that people are somehow gullible chumps for choosing not to buy into the race to the bottom’s antithetical to the environmental movement altogether.

Of course I like the suggestion to buy what you can used — but for when I actually need a new notebook, I won’t be looking at the 99 cent bins at Wal-Mart.

By: Martin

Martin — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:15:55 +0000

I think the ideal solution to the problem of unsustainable school supply is to get the schools to change their requirements for supplies. All this stuff is for the purposes of recording, storing and transporting information. I do that every day without the aid of a three ring binder. Martin’s last blog post..Can Washboards Make a Comeback?

By: Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish

Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:41:17 +0000

Chris Baskind has another idea about these (http://lighterfootstep.com/2009/07/5-ways-to-green-back-to-school-and-its-not-this-eco-supply-kit/) but I like that they are not PVC and won't leach phthalates, unlike used vinyl binders. Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish’s last blog post..Joey Totes Reusable Bags Give-Away

By: tyna

tyna — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 21:20:45 +0000

Almost makes me wish i was still in school! Wait, I take that back - it will be great for my home office too. (I don't want to go back to school!) tyna’s last blog post..Weekly love list, Blackmarket Bakery