Waste Not, I Want That

One of the ways that I keep my family on track is with a giant family calendar. It’s actually one of the oversized, at-a-glance calendars that fit inside a desk blotter and which are meant to be used, well, on a desk. I have mine standing upright in a cookbook holder and in a prominent place where everyone can see it–by the entrance to the kitchen.

Last year when I need to buy a new calendar for 2008, I made the decision to purchase a “green” one of these desk blotter calendars, and what I ended up with was actually green (and color) and green (made from recycled-content paper). I didn’t care which company made it or how much it cost–what I was looking for was a product that I needed and which I could feel good about purchasing.

Turns out I’m not alone in making these kinds of decisions. Recently, I read about a new survey of consumers and their purchasing habits, and it showed this: more than eight times out of 10, people like myself will choose to buy the product that is somehow eco-friendly, even if it’s a brand we don’t normally choose or it costs a bit more.

The report went on to say that this is why that companies that want to avoid charges of greenwashing would be smart to put information about their “green” connection where consumers can see them. (This goes along with why I was disappointed that Seventh Generation cleaning products didn’t clearly label that their containers were made from recycled plastic, yet if you search the company’s website, you find out they are. Consumers shouldn’t have to work this hard to find out this information.)

Another report showed that because “green” has become such a saturated term, marketers and product-makers do better reaching consumers if they specify their so-called green product’s connection–using terms like made from recycled products, biodegradable or locally grown.

All of this should bode well for the newly announced partnership between TerraCycle (a company grown from worm poop, literally) and OfficeMax. Together, they will be offer office and school supplies made from recycled materials. Some of the first of these products to hit Office Max shelves include binders made from recycled goods (below) and pencil cases made from recycled juice pouches (above).

Though I try to be as frugal as possible with school supplies, especially during the back-to-school season, I might just have to spend a little bit more for these eco-friendly products the next time we need something from a store like Office Max.