Eco-friendly Office Supplies: Cheap & Green

By Author: Christopher Bell
Total Articles: 5
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It’s easier than ever to lead your office into the eco-friendly age. Green office supplies are cheaper and more abundant than they have ever been in the past. Office supply companies everywhere are adding green office supplies to their inventories making it easy for offices to switch to environmentally friendly products.

Green office supplies were once limited to paper and envelopes; these days not only is there a broader selection of papers and envelopes but there are pens, wastebaskets, toners, inks, and a host of other products that are commonly found throughout offices across the globe. Recycled office supplies are no longer the most expensive item on the shelf; many of them are cheaper than non-recycled products.

There are a few things to look for when shifting your office from unsustainable to sustainable. Check to make sure that your green office supplies are at least 30 percent recycled materials, although a 100 percent recycled is always better. Paper products that are whitened with oxygen processing, ozone, or hydrogen peroxide are more eco-friendly than ones that have been bleached ...
... with chlorine based chemicals.

Buy reusable and refillable products rather than buying disposable pens, pens, and markers made from woods and petroleum based plastics purchase refillable versions with barrels made from green materials. Items like clipboards, wastepaper baskets, staplers, and tape dispensers made from recycled plastic bottles, cardboard, and newspaper are better options than the same items made from virgin raw materials.

The overwhelming need to shift from unsustainable office supplies to green office supplies has even become a priority of government offices. On October 5, 2009 Executive Order 13514 ordered that all government run agencies shift to 100 percent recycled office supplies; although, moving to green office supplies was not the sole purpose of EO 13514 (which is to generally minimize greenhouse gas emissions) it does serve to shave costs and shift the focus of the $38.5 million spent on office supplies every year.

Investing in green office supplies is no longer a fashion statement but a necessity driven by a need to preserve the environment and eliminate waste. Recycling technologies have advanced making green offices supplies better than those made from virgin raw materials. As these technologies progress the cost of green products will continue to decrease making them even more desirable, not just in offices but in homes as well.

Christopher Bell is a freelance writer for Green Line Paper Company, a leading eco-friendly paper company offering high quality eco friendly products. For more information on green office supplies including compostable bags, visit Green Line Paper on the web.