New Leaf Encore 100 Price: 7.99	New Leaf Everest Price: 17.99	New Leaf Everest Envelopes Price: 49.00	Fashion Steno Pads and Notebooks Price: 2.89
Basic Notebook Price: 1.79	Composition Notebook Price: 2.79	Journals with Agricultural Content Price: 8.99	Banana Legal Pads Price: 3.00
Binders Price: 4.99	Binder Accessories Price: 1.99	CD Sleeves Price: 3.39	Notebooks – Plant Series Price: 1.49
Writing Pads – Plants Series Price: 5.19	Filler Paper – Plant Series Price: 2.99	O’BON Pencils Price: 1.39	Patriot Pens Price: 0.59
Globe Guard Boxes Price: 0.38	HP Ink and Toner Cartridges Price: 10.99	Brother Ink and Toner Cartridges Price: 10.99	Biodegradable Water Cups Price: 3.00

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Office Supplies

EarthTalk®
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: I work for an office equipment company selling copiers, fax machines, computers and printers. Each year new models come out making old ones obsolete. As a result, we have loads of trade-ins with nowhere to go. What can we do with this old equipment? — Jeff P., Worcester, MA

Electronic waste, or “e-waste” as it’s called, is a growing problem in the United States and abroad, as obsolete or broken computers and other electronic equipment are taking up increasingly precious amounts of landfill space and potentially leaking hazardous substances into surrounding ecosystems.

The nonprofit Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition reports that 70 percent of the heavy metals in U.S. landfills are from discarded electronics—even though the e-waste itself accounts for only two percent of the trash by volume. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that Americans trash two million tons of unwanted electronics each year—six times the amount they recycle. To make matters worse, U.S. companies often ship old equipment to poor nations whose landfills and incinerators are ill equipped, subjecting already struggling populations to lead, cadmium, beryllium, and other contaminants.

So what can be done? If your old units still work but have merely been eclipsed by newer models, then by all means donate them to a needy cause that will either put them to good use or resell them to help fund their programs. You’ll earn a tax deduction for a charitable donation and, by keeping the equipment alive, prevent the manufacture of new units and thus, if ever so slightly, reduce the footprint of your operations.

But not every charity accepts old equipment, and no one wants to spend all day calling around to find one that does. A good place to look, then, is Goodwill, which will accept your equipment and then sell it through any one of its 1,500 retail stores across the country. Proceeds fund programs to help the disabled, illiterate, homeless, and those on welfare by providing job training and placement programs. The Salvation Army runs similar programs and also typically accepts donated old office equipment.

Another option is to donate your equipment to needy schools, either directly or via a service like iLoveSchools.com, which helps teachers find free supplies and equipment for their classrooms. The National Cristina Foundation also matches donated technology with needy schools and nonprofits. Also, the website GreatNonprofits.org maintains a list of charities in need of various types of office equipment. You can also offload equipment via Freecycle, a free service that helps find homes for unwanted stuff.

While finding a new home for your old gear is preferable, recycling is also an option. Recyclers harvest parts from old equipment that can be reused or resold. Several websites, including My Green Electronics, E-cycling Central, and Earth911, list electronics recyclers across the U.S. Some of these vendors will charge a small fee to recycle an item for you; others may do it for free. Also, Office Depot, Staples and some other stores will take back used electronics—even if not purchased there—usually for a small fee.

CONTACTS: Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, www.svtc.org; Goodwill, www.goodwill.org; Salvation Army, www.salvationarmy.org; iLoveSchools.com, www.iloveschools.com; National Cristina Foundation, www.cristina.org; GreatNonprofits.org, www.greatnonprofits.org; Freecycle, www.freecycle.org; E-cycling Central, www.ecyclingcentral.com; Earth911, www.earth911.org; Office Depot, www.officedepot.com; Staples, www.staples.com.

SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk®, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php. EarthTalk® is now a book! Details and order information at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalkbook.

Photo credit: George Hotelling, courtesy Flickr.

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Earth Talk: Electronic “e-waste.”

EarthTalk^TM
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: Where can I locate directories of environmental groups, businesses and jobs so that I can get involved in making a difference? — Jeanette, Carle Place, NY

The most comprehensive directory of environmental groups—from small to large and local to international—is provided for free online by the Washington, DC-based National Wildlife Federation. The group’s Conservation Directory (www.nwf.org/conservationDirectory) features listings for some 4,200 groups, including conservation-oriented non-profits, commercial businesses, government entities, colleges and universities, zoos, aquariums, museums, grant-giving organizations, and related coalitions.

Each listing includes all contact information, as well as a general description of the group’s work, the issues it focuses on and other relevant information. Users can search by keyword, location, issue and even contact name. Groups that aren’t in the directory can easily add themselves via an online form. NWF reports that new groups are added every day.

EnviroLink (www.envirolink.org), which started as a mailing list in 1991 between 20 students at Carnegie Mellon University, is today one of the best resources for green info on the web. The EnviroLink database has links to thousands of groups and resources across the U.S. and beyond, and is keyword-searchable.

Another old-standby is EcoMall (www.ecomall.com), which has an extensive “activism” section listing various eco groups and their campaigns. The site allows users to search by keyword or to navigate through well-conceived listings by issue topic. While the simple design of the site may bring users back to the early days of the World Wide Web, the listings remain fresh for the most part.

Beyond organizational listings, there are many other sites where you can find various green resources. Those looking for green products or services, for example, need steer their web browsers no further than Coop America’s National Green Pages (www.coopamerica.org/pubs/greenpages). The trusted directory lists some 3,000 businesses that have made commitments to sustainable, socially just principles, including support for sweatshop-free labor, organic farms and “cruelty-free” (not tested on animals) products.

Another good online directory of environmental products, services and even related job opportunities is the Eco Business Links Environmental Directory (www.ecobusinesslinks.com). A couple of other excellent environmental jobs listings include 5 Million Green Jobs (www.5milliongreenjobs.org) and the Green Jobs Network (www.greenjobs.net). Meanwhile, EnviroEducation.com also offers job listings, but focuses on helping aspiring students of environmental education, policy and science find graduate- and certificate-level programs to indulge their green learning muses.

Of course, in this day and age Internet search engines rival these directories for helping people find groups to work or volunteer with. An expertly crafted keyword search on Google (www.google.com/Top/Society/Issues/Environment) is sure to turn up some promising results. Remember to set key phrases apart by surrounding them with quotation marks to get better results. Navigating through Yahoo’s topic-based Environment and Nature Organizations page (http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/environment_and_nature/organizations) is another way to harness the power of the Internet to find environmental groups, information and resources.

SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php. EarthTalk is now a book! Details and order information at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalkbook.

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Directories of Environmental Groups, Businesses and Jobs

It’s that time of year again, alarm clocks, school clothes, football practice… yep school is gearing back up. Big Box stores are full of parents battering each other down for the last black and white composition notebook.  It’s almost like Christmas in August isn’t it?

I have had a bad habit in the past of not seeing what supplies I already have in the house from previous years, and it is so wasteful, I know. This year thanks to many of the green office products I have had opportunity to review I will definitely be able to scratch several items off of the list and I love it! For the rest of the lot, why not green up your kids supply list?

Green Apple School Supplies offer a great selection of environmentally responsible school supplies for your kids to fill their backpacks. Like Banana Paper or Rulers made from Recycled Yellow Pages, and much more!

My husband has a friend that is deaf and his sign language skills are very beginner, so the banana paper notebooks and pencils made from cedar wood scraps have been useful for hours of written conversations without the waste of virgin materials.  I love the idea of highlighter pencils, no harsh fumes when opening a cap. The raw cardboard binders may not seem too stylish for the kids, but it is an open canvas for them to doodle all over and get creative, which is what they end up doing with those chemical leeching plastic ones anyway, right?! And the list goes on! This is a great way to green up an area of your life, cause every step counts!

Green Apple Supply is happy to offer four of the following giveaways: One Banana Paper Legal Pad with special embossed cover, 50 sheets, one set of Friendly dry erase markers, chisel tips, 4 colors (tubes made with recycled paper/uses 60% less plastic and ink has no VOC’s) and a Green Apple retractable pen made from recycled components. All are perfect fit for the “green” office or backpack. Retail value for each set is $11.00. So, do any or all of the following and leave a separate comment for each one to get a chance to win!

• Visit Green Apple Supply let us know what you would love to try.
• Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post.
• Tweet this giveaway
• Stumble this giveaway
• Use other forms of social networking to spread the word about this giveaway.
• Subscribe to my feed to stay up to date with the latest from Eco-Office Gals.
• Buy anything from Green Apple Supply and comment 5 times that you did! (I will confirm)

Good Luck! Four winners will be picked on 8/12/09.

Here are your random numbers:

36

Timestamp: 2009-08-15 15:31:08 UTC

Congrats! Sonya Sparks

All the best!

I forgot 5 prizes were being awarded! Apologies! Here are the other 4:

Here are your random numbers:

7 - Heather Goldsmith
115 - Veronica Garrett
56 - Chris G.
98 - clarissa neiding

Timestamp: 2009-08-16 15:39:16 UTC

Jen

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Flaunt It! Monday! Green Apple Supply

10 easy steps to help you green up your office routine.  Try it for Earth Day.  Make it a habit.

• Grab an empty paper box and make it a recycle box for your desk.
• Dump your stale coffee on the plants instead of down the drain.
• Shut off the light when you leave the rest room.
• Stop printing emails.
• Going out to lunch? Go local. Walk.
• Sniff out toxic dry erase markers – get them out of the office.
• Collect old magazines around the office and drop them off at a school, or doctors office.
• Got cleaning supplies? Replace with non-toxic as you run out.
• Turn down the thermostat.
• Go meatless – bring in a meatless lunch.

Got an easy step to share? Add it below!
Jen

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

10 Things You Can Do In the Office for Earth Day

Good Monday Morning! Today I am doing a double review and giveaway. It was just meant to be, these products came together by fate. See first, I was introduced to ecosmart world products. They make non-toxic eco-friendly whiteboard markers. As much as I would’ve liked to do a review their product I had nothing to use them on so I had to decline. Fast forward a few weeks and Jaysond of ScienceAide introduces me to their reusable scratch pads. Hello?? So here they are let’s check them out!

I was introduced to this super awesome reusable scratch paper from ScienceAide. I love using this whiteboard scratch paper while on the phone with clients or doing internet research. Just write, erase and reuse, over and over.

Then Eco Smart World has these equally great refillable dry erase pens. These dry-erase pens are recyclable, refillable and xylene free (one of the most toxic chemicals in the world and found in most disposable dry-erase pens) Each starter kit is equivalent to 246 pens

The kit also comes in 6 colors with refill ink and they don’t stink! Yah, you know that nasty dryerase pen stink! Apparently that comes from the toxic xylene.

Now as much as I love these two products I have to admit I haven’t had a whole lot of opportunity to use them.  Yep, the girls have taken them over, I have 1 sheet for me… that’s it.  But on the other hand I’m not having to dig up used paper for them to color on, right?

Ok, so 1 winner gets the whole deal, the scratch sheets and the pens!

• Visit ScienceAide or ecosmart world read and learn, then comment here about a point that interested you.
• Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post.
• Tweet this giveaway
• Stumble this giveaway
• Use other forms of social networking to spread the word about this giveaway.
• Subscribe to my feed to stay up to date with the latest from Eco-Office Gals.

A winner will be picked randomly on 3/25/09. Leave a separate entry for each one you do and US residents only, please. Good Luck!

Here are your random numbers:

36

Timestamp: 2009-03-26 01:02:23 UTC

Congrats christopher h

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Flaunt It! Monday: ScienceAide & ecosmart world

Electronic Publications are taking over these days. With e-books, e-magazines, blogs and gadgets like the Kindle, there really isn’t any excuse if you’re serious about going paperless.  Since I have been working on and with others on publications such as these lately, I thought I would share some of these options.

• Ebooks: Electronic books have become quite mainstream these days, but how can you use them for business? Employee manuals, budgets, handbooks there is really nothing you can’t replace with an e-book to reduce paper.   An example of an e-book I recently completed is the Indie Shopping TV Information Kit.
Open publication - Free publishing - More video

• E-Media Kits: Gone are the days where you have to ship big bulky packages to Media and Publishers to get your information out to the masses. Your Media Kit summary, articles, reviews, logos, etc can all be made available on your site for the public use. Eco-Office Gals worked with Erin at Ely Organics to build her Media Resources page, no shipping required!
• E-Magazines: You can grab almost any popular magazine in it’s electronic form this days. However, you can also get a wealth of great information from the not-so-mainstream.  Smaller publications are taking advantage of electronic resources to get their information out to their readership.  One such publication, A Distinctive Style, was recently introduced to me by the publisher Denise Marie.  This magazine is full of great articles and beautiful artwork & photography.

We invite you to escape, take a new and exciting adventure while reducing your carbon footprint. Join thousands of other readers who have already taken Green to the next level by reading A Distinctive Style Magazine. We’re an interactive, online publication that brings you the latest news and trends in the world of ecology. A Distinctive Style Magazine is your one-stop source to live a greener, healthier and happier life.

Immerse yourself in the pages of our publication and journey through a world of art, fashion and inspiration, while discovering new ways to go green! Find every variety of the newest eco products, functional gifts ideas, recycled products and services, and allow yourself to be swept away by breath-taking art that will stir your soul and reconnect your inner spirit with the beautiful side of life.

Visit ADistinctiveStyle.com and travel through the pages in wonderment – it’s just like a printed publication, only you’re not contributing to the 7,400 thousand tons of paper waste that go into landfills each year* – (that means you’re helping save our planet!) And unlike a printed magazine you can click and shop, crop or clip articles, bookmark links and send feature stories to your buddy list and post them to your social networking pages too.

And with the growing need for sustainable products and services many eco-businesses have already taken advantage of our unbeatable advertising specials. So, for all you Green Businesses out there, live up to your reputation and advertise digital! Right now we are offering 50% off a full-page advertisement. Another great advantage to advertising with us is, we do all the work for you! We don’t just design an ad., we throw in a professionally written story about your company at no extra charge!

As you peruse through the pages of our magazine we know you’ll be amazed at the capabilities to link directly to the digital storefront of the businesses and services we advertise. More than that, you’ll wonder why you didn’t discover this way of reading before and it will definitely change the way you look at magazines forever.

Embrace Life and Enjoy the Journey!
Denise Marie – Publisher

publisher@adistinctivestyle.com

*Source: www.data.un.org

So, spend sometime looking around your work or home office – get inspired – go paperless!
All the best
Jen

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Eco-Options: Electronic Publications

Good Monday Morning! It’s way too early, had to get the hubby out the door by 5am.  It’s supposed to be 81 degrees today, kids we’re playing in about 5 inches of snow last week! Crazy! Oh well…

How about we start the week with some choclate? Coco-Zen : Experience Oneness with Choclate, sells Fair Trade Chocolate Truffles and body treats.  I have yet to meet a choclate I don’t like, so when I found Joyce on Twitter, I just had to ask if she wanted to sponsor Flaunt It! Monday. I was so giddy when she agreed!!

A little about these Fair Trade Chocolates before I dig in (from the site):

Our truffles are made only from organic and Fair Trade Certified™ chocolate. By choosing Fair Trade, you are directly supporting a better life for farmers and their families through fair prices, direct trade, community development, and environmental stewardship.

Chocolate that erases the guilt of eating by helping the environment. That ROCKS!

So, Joyce sent the orange and Chai 2 tier tin and the Truffles-to-Go signature sampler. I must mention the packaging these came in.  The box that arrived was completely recycled even down to the shredded cardboard for filling.  The tins the chocolates come in are very attractive and completely reusable.

These chocolates are very unique. They are not very sweet, the flavors really come through perfectly. I feel so grown up to even say these are very sophisticated truffles.  My favorite was the Chocolate Chai Spice, even over the Mint Bliss and I’m normally all about the chocolate mint anything! My kids were not impressed, but that’s a good thing, Troy and I got to appreciate them in their entirety.  Yes, my husband loved them as well, I threatened to make him write this review if he didn’t leave me any to try!

My slogan is “growing small business green” and Coco-Zen fit the mold perfectly.  Companies often use chocolates as corporate gifts – for both customers or clients as well as employees and choosing to go with Fair Trade & organic chocolates is a great way to show their “eco-ness” in gift giving.

Want to start you Monday with some chocolate? One of my readers will win a $25 gift certificate to spend on any of the great products Coco-Zen has to offer.  Do as many of the below as you wish and leave a separate comment for each one.

• Visit Coco-Zen and comment here on which product you would love to try
• Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post.
• Tweet this giveaway
• Stumble this giveaway
• Use other forms of social networking to spread the word about this giveaway.
• Subscribe to my feed to stay up to date with the latest from Eco-Office Gals.
• Buy anything from Coco-Zen and comment 5 times that you did! (I will confirm)

One winner will be chosen on Wednesday 3/11/09. Please don’t forget to leave a separate entry and any entries that show obvious laziness i.e. a simple “Thanks for the great giveaway” will not be published therefore not counted. It’s just not fair for the people that do know how to follow simple directions. US residents only. Thanks!

Jen

Here are your random numbers:

209

Timestamp: 2009-03-12 03:29:52 UTC

Congrats! K. Lyons!!

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Flaunt It! Monday: CoCo-Zen

Barter is a type of trade in which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods and/or services, without the use of money.^[1] It can be bilateral or multilateral, and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed countries, though to a very limited extent. Barter usually replaces money as the method of exchange in times of monetary crisis, when the currency is unstable and devalued by hyperinflation.

I’m thinking about bartering today because I actually just completed a barter deal and it is fresh on my mind. It’s been around since the beginning of time, so it must have some creditability, right? I think bartering is good deal for business when it benefits business both ways.  I have bartered my services on occasion for cleaning supplies, bath products, other services.  I barter for goods or services that I would need to buy with cash anyway.  I am very picky about who I barter with and when and for what.  I mean, sure there are lots of things I would love to barter for, but in today’s economy I always have to think “would I buy it if I had the cash in hand.” if the answer is no, I have to take my own advice. To date, I have been successful with the bartering I have done.

Sometimes, the offer bartered is simply not a fair trade.  I often see people trying to barter a service they seek in exchange for ad space on their site.  Unfortunately, some people do not know enough about the online world and see this as an opportunity to get their name on another site.  However, if the person offering the space has low rankings, the chances of someone seeing your ad is slim, so you may as well be offering your product or service for free.

So, my thoughts on bartering in today’s economy.  Make sure it is equaly beneficial for both parties. Barter for what you need not what you want. (Afterall, your utility companies will not understand that you cannot pay your bill because you gave up paid services for a trinket you wouldn’t normally buy anyway, right?). Finally, offer a service that is of value. In my opinion, offering ad space that has not made a blip on the internet yet is a scam. I hate to say it harshly, but you know your stats and if no one is visiting work on that before you offer advertising as payment.

That’s my thought for the day. What do you think about bartering in business? Have you done it? Has it been sucessful for both parties? Share your thought!

All the Best,

Jen

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Is Bartering Good for Business

EarthTalk^TM
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: What is “microfinance” and how does it help poor countries and preserve the environment? – Eliza Clark, Seattle, WA

The brainchild of Grameen Foundation founder Muhammad Yunus, microfinance is a form of banking whereby financial institutions offer small loans to the poor. The idea behind the concept, which originated in Bangladesh in the mid 1970s, is that motivated and disciplined poor people could climb out of poverty if they had access to funding-even small amounts-that help get businesses off the ground. With access to revolving loan funds, these “micro-entrepreneurs” can build businesses, pay back the borrowed money, and continue to provide for themselves and their families in a sustainable manner.

A classic example would be a woman who borrows $50 to buy chickens so she can sell eggs to other members of her community. As her chickens multiply, she can sell more eggs, and eventually she can sell chicks as well. She pays back the money and has climbed out of a perhaps desperate situation financially-and the community benefits from having a new source of nutritious food.

“Having access to money to start a small business isn’t about fulfilling a dream, it’s literally about keeping their families one step ahead of starvation and putting a roof over their heads,” says Tracey Turner, founder of MicroPlace, an online “microfinance marketplace” launched by eBay in 2007. Individuals can put small or large amounts of money on MicroPlace and get a rate of return in the two- to three-percent range-better than a donation-and get the satisfaction of knowing that their cash is helping someone in a developing country improve their lot and that of their impoverished community.

On the environmental front, microfinance is, in and of itself, “green” in that it promotes businesses that can be sustained indefinitely. Example after example over the last three decades have proven the concept that when poor people are given opportunities to earn a living in a legitimate and sustainable fashion, they have little or no need to pillage their surrounding natural resources to shelter or feed themselves. Also, most of the financial institutions involved in microfinance hold up sustainability as a precondition for awarding loans. Others encourage greener businesses by offering lower interest rates to borrowers with sustainability-oriented plans.

While upstarts like MicroPlace and Kiva (which operates on a similar model whereby individual investors can get in on the microlending fun) are grabbing most of the microfinance headlines these days, Grameen Bank was the first microfinance lender in the world, initiating its first project in 1976 in the Bangladeshi village of Jobra. Today Grameen does a lot more than just offer small loans. It also accepts deposits and provides other banking services, and runs several development-oriented businesses including fabric, telephone and energy companies. And it has spawned thousands of other institutions doing similar things: World Bank statistics show that more than 7,000 microfinance institutions serve some 16 million people in developing countries with $7 billion in outstanding loans, 97 percent of which are repaid.

In 2006, Grameen founder Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

CONTACTS: Grameen Bank, www.grameen-info.org, MicroPlace, www.microplace.com; Kiva, www.kiva.org.

GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

What is Microfinance?