Green Eco Services

Eco Friendly Office- Printing Green

Welcome back!

I Just Gotta Tell Ya

• 5% of the worldwide wood harvest ends up as paper
• The United States threw out 20% of all the paper made in the world
• One fifth of all the tropical rainforests in the world disappeared between 1960 and 1990
• Europe and America have less than one-half of their original forest cover
• Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island, New York is the highest mountain on the east coast, south of Maine
• It takes about 31 million BTU’s to make a ton of paper enough energy to power a U.S. home for 2 months
• According to IdealBite if 10,000 printed most documents in Draft Mode, we’ll use 20,000 fewer ink cartridges per year.
• In a PC World test, a typical inkjet printed 12 ppm (pages per minute) in regular mode but cranked out 36 ppm in Draft.

The Green Factor

• Less waste. Each year, the world’s discarded cartridges, stacked end-to-end, could circle the planet three times.
• Save Money Printing double-sided, you’ll buy half as much paper,
• Print in Draft Mode- 100 pages in Draft Mode instead of regular mode, you’ll could save as much as $2 on ink.

What To Do

• Set your printer (or print software) to Draft and Double-sided. (see how to print double sided)
• Print only the pages you need- use preview and shrink to fit
• Refill your own printer cartridges

• InkSaver - software that lets you control the amount of ink your printer uses, helping you save up to 75% of your ink. Windows-only ($35).
• GreenPrint – software that weeds out pages you don’t want to print. For Mac or Windows (free for Windows, $29 for Mac). Saving up to $100 per year
• Ecofont - a free typeface for Mac or PC that’s designed to use as little ink as possible but is still totally readable.

Resources:

• Crave

Eco Friendly Office Office Post-its Made From Elephant Dung

Maybe for some, this might sound a little disgusting but these post-its are made from Elephant Dung

Elephant Dung Poo Pads

First they collect dried elephant dung from elephant conservation parks. The dung is then rinsed with water until the remains are the materials from the grasses, bamboos, and fruits the elephant has eaten. This fiber placed in boiling water (sterilization). Color and natural fibers from banana trees and pineapples are added to make the paper sturdier. The mush is then spread evenly over large trays, and the trays are leaned up against trees outside to dry.

No Toxic chemical are used, no bleach, no acids or alkaline are used in the manufacturing.

These are a great Eco Friendly alternative to post-its, and a nice gift for anyone. Plus for every pad sold and additional donation is made to help elephant conservation.

You can purchase at the Green Office (click above banner)

Eco Office Product Give-Away

GreenOfficeStore.com Launches Eco-Friendly Office Product Give-a-way via Facebook

Ridgewood, NJ (MMD Newswire) June 2, 2009 — GreenOfficeStore.com, an online retailer of eco-friendly office supplies has announced a new program aimed at raising awareness for it’s environmentally friendly office products via Facebook.
Building on it’s modest but growing Facebook presence, GreenOfficeStore.com is awarding free office supplies to fans who have taken steps to go green. Contest winners will be selected weekly beginning June 1st and running for an undetermined length of time. Anyone with a Facebook account is eligible.

Facebook members simply become a fan of GreenOfficeStore.com at http://www.facebook.com/pages/wwwGreenOfficeStorecom/20425006922 They then simply post on GreenOfficeStore.com’s wall a few sentences about things they have done to ‘green’ their lifestyle. Each week the posts will be reviewed and a winner will be selected. Winners receive a free green office supply from the pool of available items. The item pool is constantly updated with new green products.

“This is a great way to help get the word out.” says a GreenOfficeStore.com spokesperson. “Eco-friendly living is really beginning to take hold these days. Facebook is a great way for those concerned with the environment, and even people taking small steps towards eco friendly living and products, to tell other what they are doing”.

GreenOfficeStore.com says it has been seeing a steady increase in Internet based mechanisms such as Twitter.com, Facebook and blogs (such as their own athttp://greenofficestore.blogspot.com) to talk about eco friendly concerns and share stories and tips about earth friendly living.

“Environmental responsibility is a job for all of us. Social networking users in general really seem to be in tune with that. We thought this would be a great way to let them know that even in the office, there is a supplier offering all the office supplies they normally use in an eco friendly version” added a GreenOfficeStore.com employees.

Full details of the contest can be viewed on their website at: . Contact GreenOfficeStore.com at (201) 882-0153 or info@greenofficestore.com.

Eco Friendly Office- Labels

The little things add up- small items such as paper clips, rubber bands and office labels add more than you may think into landfills, waste, trash and garbage. The most eco friendly thing you can do is reduce any amount of paper you use. You can save money and the environment by going paperless- thus reducing amount of paper, file folders and labels.

Green Office Labels

But if you do use labels- Consider using Recycled Paper labels available from the following companies. For Specialty labels- Click your State (on the sidebar for a list of Certified Green Printers. ) The EPA recommends labels be composed of 50% recycled content with at least 30% post consumer- content 

Eco Friendly Office Labels 

• Worldlabel.com Recycled Labels - 50 types of 100% postconsumer recycled labels ($23/100 sheets of labels).
• Avery EcoFriendly Labels - new eco line made from 100% post-consumer waste paper using a chlorine-free bleaching process; instructions printed using soy-based inks ($13/750 labels).

Optical WebBlog and Business

Rethink Your Work Travel

I Just Gotta Tell Ya 

• Driving 10% less by can reduce greenhouse gas emission by .2-.8 per year.
• According to AAA the cost for owning and operating average care is 52.2 cents per mile.
• Carbon dioxide is the number one contributor to the greenhouse effect and cars produce about 30% of the nations carbon dioxide emissions.

What you can Do

• Make it a habit to carpool or take transit to work
• Consider joining a car-sharing service like Zip car or Flexcar
• Consider walking, biking to work
• Set up a carpool board / even in your center or office building 
• Ask Your Office if You can work at home

Top 16 Ways to Save Paper in Your Office

I Just Gotta Tell Ya

• The Average office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of copy paper a year. According to the EPA each employee in a typical business office generates 1.5 pounds of waster paper a day.
• A Ton of 100% recycled papers saves 7,000 gallon of water, 60 pounds of air emission and  3 cubic yards of landfill space 
• According to Office Depot, each remanufactured toner cartridge ‘keeps approximately 2.5. pounds of metal and plastic out of landfills and conserves about a half gallon of oil.’

What you can do

1. Use  recycled office paper and products. See Staples, and Office Depot.
2. Buy Paper that is PCF (processed chlorine free)
3. Use unbleached and uncolored paper.
4. Buy products in bulk to minimize packaging .
5. Stop Printing if you can, read online, and order catalogues, newsletter online instead
6. Print on Both Sides
7. Avoid Color Printing
8. Ask to be removed from mailing lists
9. Make hard copies only when necessary. Use Email or E-vite
10. Use a stick on label on the first page of a fax instead of a cover sheet.
11. Recycle toner, and ink cartridge and buy remanufactured ones.
12. Post Employee manual and similar materials online rather than distribute print copies
13. Get rid of paper files and folders- put it all online 
14. Go Paperless 
15. Use the back side of old paper for scratch pads 
16. Recycle all paper 

How Much Can you Save? 

• A single sided 10 page letter cost .55 cents to mail. Same letter copied on both side of the paper uses only 5 sheets and $.34 in postage.
• A carton of paper costs $50.00 (5,000 sheets) cutting your paper use in half can save you $50.00 per employee per year. 

Resources 

• Grinning Planet 

Eco Office and Schools- Whiteboards and Markers

AusPens-

I Just Gotta Tell Ya 

• Disposable whiteboard markers use xylene, a very harmful chemical, significantly increasing the toxicity of classrooms and all workspaces.
• Disposable whiteboard markers are one of the top sources of toxic waste for local schools and offices.
• North American teachers will throw out over 500 million whiteboard markers into their local landfills.
• Disposable whiteboard markers clog our local landfills with toxic chemicals and millions of PVC cylinders that will never biodegrade.

Whiteboard Markers

• Aus Pens- non-toxic and xylene free- Their Motto- Refill Not Landfill-  Using Aus Pens can save you up to 70% in your dry eraser budget .

Print it Green- Where to Find Green Printers

I print as less as possible- mainly because I am cheap! I don’t like to buy paper and especially buy new ink cartridges. But sometimes you have to print. Letterhead, business cards, business supplies and more. The key to saving money and the environment is to 1.) Go Paperless 2.) Print double sided 3.) Don’t print at all 
 

I Just Gotta Tell Ya 

• The printing industry is the single largest air polluter and the third-largest consumer of fossil fuels in the world after automobiles and steel manufacturing,” said Renourish Founder and University of Illinois Design Professor Eric Benson. “On a typical day, [printers] use trillions of gallons of water that must be treated for its toxic chemical content and released back into our waterways.”
• Environmental Defense  estimates that producing one ton of virgin uncoated paper — which accounts for 90 percent of the United States’ printing and writing paper — requires three tons of wood, 19,075 gallons of water, and generates 2,278 pounds of solid waste.
• White papers are bleached via a chlorination process that releases dangerous chemicals and pollutants into the water, according to sustainable-design Web site Renourish.
• Adhesives, bindings, and foils used in printing and packaging make the add-on non-recyclable and going into landfills. 
• Petroleum-based inks can cause lasting damage to the environment, leaching volatile organic compounds (VOCs) — which can cause cancer and birth defects — into the ground, contaminating soil, groundwater, and, upon evaporation, the air.
•  Many of the solvents, shellacs, driers, and other solutions employed in producing film, printing plates, and cleaning the presses are toxic pollutants that can cause chronic health problems — including kidney and liver damage, and even death — among press operators, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

What to Do? (Tech Soup) 

• Use paper that is 100 percent post-consumer waste (PCW), processed chlorine free (PCF), uncoated, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, made by renewable energy sources like wind or solar power (Mohawk Paper is a leader in this area), or even treeless (hemp andkenaf are two options).
• Use vegetable-based inks or soy inks instead of petroleum-based inks. These alternatives are both low in VOCs and competitively priced. 
• If using Pantone colors – avoid colors (mostly metallics and warm reds) that contain barium, copper, and zinc, which can cause health problems in humans. (Renourish offers free downloadable PDFs showing which Pantone colors are safe in itsink section.) Not all soy inks are created equal, however: Ecoprint’s Telschow advises using those with less than 2 percent VOCs.
• Look for a printer that uses renewable energy sources. Telschow points out that Monroe Litho in New York operates solely by wind power; Ecoprint itself has gone 100 percent carbon neutral by buying renewable energy credits for the emissions they aren’t able to eliminate in the shop.
• Try waterless printing, which eliminates the dampening systems used in conventional printing. Digital printing, which avoids the film and chemicals in traditional printing processes, is another good alternative.
• Avoid using bindings, adhesives, or foil stamps in packaging.
• Reduce the amount of inks you use by going with one- or two-color designs; you can also save paper by asking your designer to use standard press sheet sizes.
• Familiarize yourself with industry standards. The Environmental Protection Agency mandates that federal agencies must use uncoated printing and writing papers containing at least 30 percent PCW content; coated papers must contain 10 percent, notes Dynamic G

Where to go?

All of the below listed companies offer online services. To find the closest printer to your office go to: 

• FSC Certified Printer List 
• Printers National Environmental Assistance- directory of green printers  (http://www.pneac.org/)
• Sustainable Forestry Initiative- Listing of Certified printers and paper products

A few more resources: 

• Natural Source Printing
• Print Greener-
• BizCard- Scottsdale, AZ 
• Bacchus Press- San Francisco, CA- FSC certified 
• Greener Printer- Berkeley, CA 
• Savoir Print- Berkeley, CA 
• bizLink- Chatsworth, CA 
• Plan it Green Printing- Eagle Rock, CA 
• bGreen Printing- Santa Monica, CA 
• Got Green Printing- Sherman Oaks, CA 
• Phillips Printing- Ocala, FL 
• Barefoot Press- Raleigh, NC 
• Concord Litho- Concord, NH 
• 4 over 4- Astoria, NY 
• Print Green- Eugene, OR- Co-op Approved
• Signature – Providence, RI – FSC Certified 
• Odee Company- Dallas, TX 

Green Printing

Press Release

Bizcard is an environmentally friendly online print marketing company. We help SMB create high quality business cards, postcards, direct mails campaigns and other print products/services. From our inception, we have made a commitment to develop environmentally friendly printing solutions.

During production we have eliminated the photochemical-dependent process of making plates by using digital presses. We are able to significantly reduce the chemical usage in the process. We do our printing in-house to maintain consistency and quality by keeping all of our operations under our control. This also allows us to closely monitor and regulate our environmental impact.

We either use recycled paper or purchase  resources that come from responsibly managed forests lands.

Our customers are encourage to purchase products that use 30 to 40% less paper than the industry standard.

We are taking our efforts beyond our production line as well. For example we use a special film on all the windows to reduce the heat within the building and  decrease our energy consumption. All the lights in our building were changed from Standard with normal transformers to Fluorescent Electronic bulbs. Our bathroom sinks  are automated reducing the amount of water being wasted.

We encourage our team members to carpool and to bring their own food to reduce the carbon footprint produced when driving to restaurants at lunch time.

However, as we grow, our positive impact grows as well. As part of our mission statement, we seek out partnerships with nonprofit organizations that are committed to social responsibility. By building partnerships with reliable non-profit organizations, such as American Forests (see http://www.bizcard.com/plant_tree__v.hd), we are striving for nothing less than a complete reversal of our environmental impact.Through our online, grass roots effort, we hope to gain the attention of more like minded consumers, companies and organizations.

Green Office Furniture