Green News
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Written by bherman
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Using green business products can make an office as efficient, clean and productive as ever, while enabling them to use fewer resources and save money.
Going green has turned into big business, with annual sales of green business products growing from some $80 billion in 2008 to an estimated $400 billion this year, according to A.C. Nielsen. This sales growth is driven by the commitment of office products purchasers to purchase environmentally responsible products.
Manufacturers and dealers offer businesses real choices -- not just between a few products in narrow categories, but from among thousands of products in dozens of categories. These include paper, envelopes and folders; rechargeable batteries; remanufactured ink cartridges; biodegradable cleaners; office furniture and much more.
BuyOnlineNow has made a significant commitment to providing environmentally friendly office supplies. Here are some of the main categories of green products, supported by top-tier manufacturers, which offer real choices in sustainable supplies.
The Most Used Products
Consumables are products used every day that are essential to run a modern office. Paper is the most common consumable, used for everything from printing and correspondence to products in office kitchens and bathrooms. Altogether, even a modest-sized office consumes hundreds or thousands of pounds of paper each year. Manufacturers have responded with numerous green selections for specific uses.
Paper requires bright color, substantial weight and the ability to accept clear imprinting of ink. Technology now makes it possible to get crisp printed pages using paper stock with high recycled-paper content. Documents for submission to customers can easily use paper with 30% recycled content that features bright white (92 to 96 GE brightness) or a choice of bright colors. Available from well-know suppliers such as Boise, Hammermill, Mohawk, Oxford, Strathmore, Universal and Wausau, paper is available in quantities up to 10-ream/5,000-sheet cartons. The carton themselves are made with recycled cardboard, an additional green benefit.
For less sensitive documents, printer and copier paper with up to 100% recycled content is available, as is cover stock for report covers.
Miscellaneous paper products for everything from note-taking to file storage offer high levels of recycled content. Here are some examples:
· Note pads can easily utilize 40% or 50% recycled-paper content
· Self-stick notes in every imaginable color range from 30% to 100% recycled content
· Envelopes, notebooks, easel pads and adding-machine paper also range from 30% to 100%
· Index cards, heavy-duty mailers, hanging binders and calendars are available with 10% to 30% recycled-content
· File folders, manila folders and pressboard classification folders often exceed 30%
· Super-strong products such as "accordion" files (up to 100%), heavy-duty corrugated storage boxes (65%), and stackable reinforced-paper storage drawers (35%) round out the product selections
These products come from names that are second to none, including Bankers Box, Post-It, Smead, Pendaflex and Universal.
Many other paper products, such as hand towels, kitchen-towel rolls and toilet tissue provide additional opportunities for offices to go green. Single-, C- and multi-fold towels with 40%, 80% and even 90% recycled content make a difference. So do towel rolls with 40%, bath tissue with up to 90%, and facial tissue with up to 45% recycled content. Plus, there is no need to be concerned about quality, with names like Kimberly-Clark and Windsoft on these products.
Everyday Products
Plastic products intended for repeated use can range from 20% to 100% recycled content. Round-ring binders and D-ring binders, for example, can have up to 45% recycled content to help reduce plastic consumption. Letter trays with 25% and other desktop accessories with 30% are readily available. Some desktop organizers have 50%; one type of clipboard has 96%. There is even a plastic-and-metal stapler that is made of 100% recycled content. Among the trusted names producing recycled-plastic accessories are Rubbermaid, Saunders and Scotch.
Writing instruments from Bic, Pentel and Sharpie provide a number of options. There are numerous types of smooth-writing pens and highlighters with as much as 18% to 82% recycled plastic content, plus they use acid-free nontoxic ink.
Consumable plastic products offer another opportunity to conserve. Products include drink cups/lids made from recycled plastic or compostable corn-based plastic, and trash bags made of biodegradable plastic. These are practical and cost-effective solutions from "companies that care." In fact, manufacturer Eco-Products goes a step further. Its zero-waste main office is powered largely by solar panels and its delivery trucks use natural gas or bio-diesel fuel.
Remanufactured Printer and Toner Cartridges
Remanufactured cartridges help the environment by getting multiple service lives out of used cartridges. Each cartridge adds up to 3 lbs. of waste to a landfill when finally discarded, after factoring in manufacturing byproducts. With an estimated 500 million laser and printer cartridges produced each year, plus tens of millions of copier toner cartridges, recycling them can have a significant impact on the environment.
Furthermore, recycling office-equipment cartridges is cost-effective, and there is no difference in print quality or page yield between new OEM cartridges and remanufactured ones that use the original OEM cores. Cartridges for equipment from Brother, HP, IBM and Lexmark use as much as 70% recycled content and have the approval of these OEM manufacturers.
Printer Manufacturers Who Support the Environment
Several manufacturers have taken an extra environmental step by offering free, easily accessible cartridge recycling and working to reduce the manufacturing "carbon footprint." Since 1991, HP has offered its HP Planet Partners program for the free return and recycling of Original HP cartridges. HP also re-engineered its handling and packaging of recycled cartridges, which it estimated reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 37 million pounds of carbon dioxide in 2007. Another green innovation is the Brother HL-2140 printer equipped with a "toner saver" mode to extend cartridge lifespan.
Rechargeable Batteries
Many offices use hundreds or thousands of batteries in everything from adding machines and wall clocks to tape recorders, cameras and smoke detectors. From AAs and AAAs to heavy-duty 9V batteries, they add up in landfills unless rechargeable batteries are used. Thanks to Energizer batteries and wall plug-in chargers, which can charge 4 AAs or AAAs in just 15 minutes, dependable NiMH and NiCad batteries can be used again and again.
Cleaning Products
Many cleaning products contain toxic ingredients or "volatile organic compounds." VOCs are the petroleum-based solvents which emit fumes into the atmosphere and office air. Fortunately, there are effective, residue-free natural alternatives to chemicals used in janitorial and sanitation ("jan-san") products. Soaps, hand cleaners, kitchen/bathroom cleaners, degreasers and floor/carpet cleaners are available with lemon oil, coconut-based cleaning agents, corn-based alcohol and neutral-pH surfactants. Cleaners and cleansers are available in scented varieties and in water-dilutable bulk packs, such as economical 800-, 1000- and 1250-ml cartons to refill Gojo hand-soap dispensers. Some other trusted names include Amrep, Clorox, Method, Seventh Generation and Simple Green.
Steel Products
There is an abundance of metal products in a modern office, including desktop accessories to hold or sort papers, files, folders and books. Manufactures such as Buddy Products offer accessories such as slant racks, lock boxes, vertical organizers and sorting racks, which average about 30% recycled content. Even higher levels are found in Acco paper clips, which can use 100% recycled metal.
Office Furniture
Chairs, desks, bookshelves and file cabinets can contain sizeable quantities of toxic, odor-emitting materials and VOCs depending on how the furniture is manufactured. To counter this problem, the office furniture industry now has in place a VOC-free certification program called Indoor Advantageä. Certified office furniture uses wood and wood laminates with non-VOC stains and finishes. Likewise, there is furniture whose fabrics are non-emitting. Products with superior non-emission characteristics qualify for Indoor Advantage Goldä certification that complies with the more rigorous standards set by California. A brand name to watch for when shopping for non-emitting office furniture is HON.
Shop for these and thousand more earth friendly office supplies in BuyOnlineNow.com's GoGreen - Green Office Products department. |
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Written by BBertsinger
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April 22nd is Earth Day. In honor of Earth Day, we are having our annual Go Green Sale on all of our Green Supplies, which are made with more than 25% post-consumer waste. This includes everything from file folders and Post It Notes to cleaning supplies and binders. Enjoy these special prices for the entire month of April! 
As an added bonus, 3M and BuyOnlineNow.com have partnered together for an exciting new promotion, Buy One, Plant One. Purchase a qualifying Post-It and/or 3M recycled product and 3M will plant a tree for each purchase. Enter your promotion code (found on specially marked packages) to register an eligible Post-it® or 3M™ Recycled Product, and 3M will plant a tree. In honor of Earth Day, trees will be planted throughout 2010 and into 2011; click here to learn about tree planting locations. Your participation is one more step towards a beautiful, more sustainable future. Learn more about trees and their role in improving our environment. BuyOnlineNow.com is also happy to offer the Avery EcoFriendly line of products as part of our Go Green Sale. By far, this offering from Avery has got to be one of the most progressively eco-friendly products available. - Label paper is made of 100% recycled material
 - Package is made of 100% recycled material
- Labels and box are recyclable as part of paper waste
- Labels are made of water-based 100% recyclable adhesive
- Label paper and package are Processed Chlorine Free
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Written by JJewell
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 WEBWIRE – Monday, April 20, 2009 April 22nd is Earth Day. Earth Day is a day in which people are encouraged to become more aware of our environmental impact, and to learn new ways to help prolong the life of our planet. At BuyOnlineNow.com, it is also a day you can save 20% on all environmentally friendly office supplies. Earth Day was started in 1970 by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson and is celebrated in many different countries worldwide. In America during the mid and late 1960s, there was an awakening among many people that coincided with the hippie movement, which resulted in a stronger appreciation for the earth that left many people asking what they could do to help protect the planet from destructive practices such as pollution and deforestation. April 22nd, 1970, the first official Earth Day, marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement. BuyOnlineNow has a commitment to providing their customers with environmentally friendly alternatives to many of the popular office supplies they sell. In March of 2007, they opened their “Go Green” option of office supply and office product shopping. By using a strict guideline of listing only products that are made from at least 30% post consumer waste as “green,” or environmentally safe biodegradable material, BuyOnlineNow ensures that their “Go Green” program truly gives their customers the best option to make earth-friendly choices when shopping for office supplies. Ring binders, file folders, Post-it notes, cleaning supplies and calendars are just some of the office supply options available in “green” alternatives. BuyOnlineNow hopes that by offering a one day only discount of 20% on all eco-friendly office products, they can help raise awareness among their customers that there are more responsible options available for those that want to do their part to help the earth. Since 2000, BuyOnlineNow.com has been selling office supplies and office furniture online. They currently stock over 27,900 different products in 85 distribution centers across America. BuyOnlineNow.ca opened in March 2007, offering more than 9000 products from 5 distribution centers located throughout Canada. BuyOnlineNow was named to the Inc 500 list of fastest growing companies in America in both 2005 and 2006 and the Inc 5000 list in 2007 and 2008. BuyOnlineNow was also included in Internet Retailer Magazine’s Guide to the top 500 online retailers in 2007 and 2008. For more information visit our web sites: http://www.buyonlinenow.com and http://www.buyonlinenow.ca. |
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Written by LHurley
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 Spring is here and the “spring cleaning bug” is making his rounds quickly. With Earth Day being today, many people are looking for earth-friendly solutions for organization. Fellowes has introduced a new record storage solution just in time to help you get over “the bug” while being “green” – the Fellowes Bankers Box DividerBox .
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Written by bherman
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It's been 6 months since we lauched the GoGreen - Buy Eco Friendly Office Supplies section of our web site; here's how its going: - Sales of "Green" recycled and biodegradable products are up 59%
- The number of Green office products we carry rose from 1300 to 1800
- We've switched our internal purchases of copy paper, paper towels, toilet paper, etc from virgin paper products to recycled products containing 30% to 100% post consumer waste
And we've seen many of our competitors add green sections to their web sites; it seems there's a little more "buzz" about green office products on the web than there was 6 months ago. This progress is encouraging, but we're not satisfied. We're pressing our suppliers for better pricing on the green products we carry and continuing to search for a larger assortment of earth friendly supplies. |
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