Recycled Office Papers
Offices Going Green
More and more home-based offices and business offices are "going green," recognizing the modern-day trend to contribute to a more sustainable world by choosing environmentally friendly ("eco-friendly") office supplies and energy saving office equipment which conserve natural resources, save landfill space, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and save big bucks on business expenditures.
Save the Planet Office Supplies
Leaders in the movement to save Planet Earth by designing environmentally conscientious office spaces have come out with a plethora of eco-friendly office supplies, featuring literally hundreds of office products which meet environmentally friendly criteria. Today's creative and comprehensive line of green office supplies includes everything from recycled paper products and recycled ink and toner cartridges to energy saving office lighting, heating, and cooling systems, water conservation solutions, non-toxic office cleaning products, and compostable coffee cups.
Recycled Paper Products
The area in which your home office or business can contribute most to protecting the environment is in not only recycling your own office paper but in buying only paper products constructed from 100% recycled paper and 100% post consumer fibers. By doing so, your efforts keep perfectly good, useable paper out of incinerators and landfills and into attractive, practical consumer products. Here are some of the myriads of recycled office paper products available today: copy/printer/fax paper, envelopes, letterheads, flip charts, file charts, report covers, stick-it notes, business cards, desk pads, day planners, wall and desk calendars, paper pads and tablets, phone message books, paper towels, napkins, coffee cups, toilet paper, Kleenex, and more.
The Green 'Golden Standard'
If you are an environmentally conscientious consumer looking for green paper products for your office space, beware of suppliers who merely claim that their goods are "recycled." Rather, look for the golden standard in the industry by purchasing only FSC or SFI certified papers. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is the
international certification and labeling system for paper products that come from responsibly managed forests and verified recycled sources; the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) label signifies that you are buying wood
and paper products from a certified source.
How Recycled Paper Is Made
Since recycled paper is made from paper rather then from trees, the process of recycling takes a tremendous pressure of the world's forests. In fact, here is how recycled paper is made:
•- Different types of paper (i.e. newspapers and cardboard boxes) are separated to produce different recycled paper products (not all paper types can be mixed together)
•- The waste paper is de-inked
•- All fiber fragments, fillers, and clays are removed
•- The remaining pulp is cooked and manufactured back into a usable form
Benefits of Recycled Paper Products
Here are some of the many ways recycled papers benefit our environment:
•- Uses few to no trees (saves forests)
•- Creates less pollution (no burning of coal, oil, and wood by paper mills)
•- Contains less or no chlorine/bleaching materials (normally used to bleach paper pulp)
•- Reduces energy consumption by paper mills
•- Requires less water use (manufacturing paper requires a lot of water)
•- Reduces greenhouse gas and other toxic emissions from landfills and from the burning of coal and wood scraps
•- Requires fewer chemicals
•- Reduces solid and material waste
•- Saves on landfill space
•- Ultimately helps save the planet from accelerated global warming
Green Office Certification for Your Home Office
Did you know that your office space can be officially certified aa "Green Office" if it meets certain environmentally-friendly criteria? Offered by the GreenLine Paper Company, Green Office Certification is granted to private businesses and organizations who demonstrate that they are environmentally savvy and that their offices utilize energy wisely, use recycled office supplies, and use energy efficient office equipment and products.
Simply fill out a 24-question survey (taking about 10 minutes); if you receive a passing score, you will be granted an instant certification graphic for your website, demonstrating to the world that you are environmentally conscientious and that your efforts are contributing to a "green" sustainable world.