Greenpeace, guardian of oceans and forests, has reissued its Recycled Tissue and Toilet Paper Guide to help people make the switch to recycled paper.

The newly updated pocket guide endorses brands such as Green Forest, Earth Friendly, Natural Value and Seventh Generation, which are made of recycled paper.

It recommends that shoppers avoid products such as Kleenex, Cottonelle, Charmin, Angel Soft, Bounty, Brawny and the Target and Wal-Mart house brands because they are not made from recycled wood products.

Using recycled personal paper products can make an impressive impact in curbing global warming, according to Greenpeace, among others — far greater than one might suspect from contemplating the lowly roll of toilet paper.

Greenpeace reports that Americans could save 400,000 trees if every family replaced just one regular roll of TP with a recycled one. Imagine if more people switched over completely to recycled brands. Untold acres of carbon-absorbing, life-sustaining forests could be saved.

Even if Greenpeace’s calculations are off-the-mark, consumers could still wield impressive sway in saving forests by ditching conventional paper products.

Mainstream paper companies have responded to deforestation concerns by turning to wood from sustainably managed forests, which require them to harvest according to guidelines that preserve the forest and provide for replanting.

Advocates, though, worry that even these sustainable practices still winnow trees for throwaway paper products.

Greenpeace’s position is that paper companies should get their wood fibers from post-consumer wood or paper waste, or failing that, from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forests and tree farms. Companies should not use wood from old-growth forests, a practice that’s slowing, but has not stopped.

For its guide, Greenpeace eschewed paper products that were made from virgin wood fibers, and gave improved rankings based on how much of the product came from post-consumer waste. It also looked at whether the paper was bleached using chlorine, a process that pollutes groundwater, lakes and streams. It suggested that consumers look for products that are made of 100 percent overall recycled content, a minimum of which is 50 percent post-consumer recycled content.

It’s an attainable goal: Green Forest, the top TP pick, is made from 100 percent recycled fibers, 90 percent of which are post-consumer waste, meaning this paper is truly on its second incarnation. By contrast, several TPs in the “avoid” category contain no recycled or post-consumer content. In other words, they might be Angel Soft, but they’re not green.

Harvesting daylight is an ancient trick – as old as the first man-made structure, as old as life on our planet, actually. Using the sunlight provided by nature is the most basic and simple way to illuminate one’s world. But when it comes to modern, sustainable architecture, the idea is relatively young.

Only in recent times has “daylighting,” as it’s sometimes called, made a blip on the broader green movement’s radar, with industry experts speculating that fewer than 1 percent of all U.S. buildings use natural light in a substantive manner (going beyond windows). The 21st century approach is waaaay more technologically involved than, say, a prehistoric clan setting up its fire pit next to the cave entrance.

More from GRN

Slideshow: Lighting with natural daylight

“In a layman’s terms, daylighting – which was our original term for it – is the process of bringing natural sunlight into a building and distributing it so you can turn the electric lights off,” says Bruce Bilbrey, co-owner of the Natural Lighting Co in Phoenix, founded in 1990 by his brother, Paul Bilbrey. (See the photo above of Frito Lay offices in Arizona — lit totally by daylight.)

“It’s not using the sun to create power to run the lights. It’s not a solar electric system. It’s using the sunlight directly. You use it with lighting controls, so that the lights can be off when there’s an adequate amount of daylight in the space.”

Bilbrey says the technology involves installation of skylights and reflective “lightwells” that architecturally bend lighting into a space, then, via large lenses and diffusers, deflect the light around. The company’s various systems can be used in residential and commerical spaces, and, depending on a building’s size, ceiling heights, lighting requirements and other needs, different types of diffusers and are employed.

“In very basic terms, it’s solar lighting. We call it simple solar,” Bilbrey explains. “But it’s not the same as having a skylight, which is just a feature on the roof where the light kind of comes in and goes where it wants – though the whole process does (use) ‘skylights.’”

Over the past several years, he and others in the business, such as Lighting Control & Design in Glendale, Calif., have noted a steady rise in the harvesting and harnessing of natural solar goodness. By doing so, “daylighting” converts don’t just save on energy bills and carbon output; they increase productivity among workers and create a healthier indoor environment that can lift spirits as well as enhance mental prowess. (This picture shows a daylight system at a charter school in San Diego.)

Daylighting even helps boost retail sales, studies show.

Large retailers including Whole Foods Market, Kohl’s, Target, Wal-Mart and JC Penney now use solar lighting (known generically as light, or daylight, harvesting) in many of their stores, while corporations such as Frito Lay/Pepsi and branches of the U.S. military employ solar harvesting to shed light on multiple situations – provided the situation occurs during daylight hours.

“Solar lighting really only works during the day,” says Bilbrey, who along with his brother and co-founder James Hennessey works with retailers Whole Foods, Target and Safeway, as well as various schools, municipalities and military bases around the U.S.

“We manufacture and install Component Daylighting Systems, which don’t store light, like a solar electric system,” the Arizonan says. “But in many buildings, the (daytime) lighting load is 50 to 70 percent of total energy use. The lighting load in one gym we worked with was 70 percent of the energy used in that building.”

Well, slap us with a ruler, it’s time once again to hunt down school supplies, to elbow into the desperate mob with our mandates to secure a thousand pens, pencils, highlighters, fine tip Sharpies, binders and the mysterious “folders with brads.”

With the eco news streaming like ticker tape from the big office stores this year, we thought it would be an easy assignment to find what we needed in recycled versions. We were surprised that this was not the case. The stores we sampled (Office Depot, Office Max and Target) offered only a handful of green notebooks and non-toxic pens. At Office Depot we nearly struck out, looking in vain for recycled filler paper, reasonably priced eco-responsible spiral notepads and pencils made from post-consumer waste. We did spot a reusable shopping bag at the checkout line. But we had only a lone green item, Ticonderoga EnviroStik pencils, to put in it!

Tired of combat crawling through towering stacks of un-green paper and binders, we turned the Internet. Aha! Here we found much greener pastures. Online, even the Big Box stores that had failed us in person had the environmentally good goods. Go figure. Serves us right for expending $4 gasoline to search out environmentally friendly products. Our findings, and a powerfully definitive list it is:

OFFICE DEPOT

We hurried here when we saw the big back to school flyer, even though it mainly featured conventional items. We’d also read the explainer box on the website for how to buy green, so we were excited to visit the store. Even though the sale flyer hadn’t emphasized green products, we wishfully thought they’d be there. We wanted to find, for instance, the Recycled Index Cards (pack of 500
$2.89). No luck. But at least they are available online.

Other items that we couldn’t find at the store, but that were available online:

Foray Recycled Groundwood Construction Paper (9 x 12 colors, pack of 50, $1.49 – see picture right); Office Depot Brand College Ruled Filler paper, pack of 100, (50 percent recycled content with minimum of 30 percent post consumer content; $2.49 each); and a cool Costa Rica Natural Banana Paper Recycled Notebook (2-subject; 70 sheets, $5.99).

The Banana Paper notebook is made of 100 percent post-consumer waste – it doesn’t get any more responsible than that – in Nicaragua using some banana waste and local labor. Shipping zaps a little of its low-impact appeal, but Nicaragua isn’t much farther than South Dakota from where we reside.

Another green notebook offered is the New Leaf 100 percent Think & Smile Postconsumer Recycled Notebook (80 sheets, $5.99; pictured above) with nifty bird and tree graphic designs on the cover. Pricing on both notebooks is steep, perhaps due to economies of scale?

For tadpoles the Office Depot website offers the 70-sheet Foray Recycled Newsprint Writing Tablet with a 1″ Rule ($2.19)

Pens? We finally found ‘em. Zebra is the brand to look for here. They make pens from plastic casings from old car headlights and compact discs and from plastic

shopping bags ($15.59 for a dozen).

STAPLES

Staples has really been pushing their green side, with ink cartridge recycling programs and recycled office papers (which are becoming requisite at all office stores) so we expected them to have the goods. They came through with this Mead Five Star Spiral 3-subject, college ruled notebook. It’s a familiar brand and it’s composed of 50 percent post-consumer material ($7.99 ).

We also found Staples College Ruled Filler Paper, a 400-count batch at a good price ($3.19 on sale) and the same Zebra pens made of 75 percent recycled material we found at Office Depot and for a slightly better price ($14.99 for a dozen in black ink).

Both of these were listed as Eco-Easy products on the online store, but we were unclear what Staples means by that. Some Eco-Easy products are simply non-toxic, say pens with water-based or soy inks; the site didn’t explain the eco-friendliness of “Eco-Easy” paper but talked generally about how “eco-smart” products save resources.

To help customers find items made of recycled materials, Staples uses the universal recycling symbol. So if you’re looking for either non-toxic or what might be called lower impact products, or recycled items, use the “Eco Easy” index online. We used it to find, for instance, low-odor Sharpies, which are better for kids.

One new cool new green item at Staples turned up in our browsing, the recycled rubber bulletin board. The blurb claims it won’t crumble like cork, that’s green and it’s available in brown or black ($54.99).

OFFICE MAX

We didn’t have great luck finding recycled school supplies here. A search for “recycled notebooks” turned up a lone 60-page steno pad. Pretty disappointing. The store does have a back to school sale going, but the focus is on price not sustainability.

Not willing to give up, we continued to poke around the website, finding recycled paper for printers,
(but all the office stores carry that) and recycled Post It notes.

Turns out, Max has recycled pencils by Paper Mate Earthwrite, made from reclaimed wood rendered in a simple #2 pencil (12-pack for $1.09). Hurrah! But not enough to build an order around. We also found this 1-inch EcoVue binder made by Aurora out of recycled plastic (no VOCs to worry about). Now they’re starting to get somewhere, and if they stocked these items faithfully in the stores, Office Max might make sense as a local vendor of green school supplies.

But we really started to have more fun, and expand our options when we looked at specialty venues online…

PROGRESSIVE KID

This store is..well, progressive. You’ll pay more a little more for some stuff, but actually many of their notebooks from the New Leaf collection are priced lower than in the big chain stores. New Leaf’s 120-sheet, 3-subject notebook, made of100 percent post-consumer recycled material ($6.99), is a good value measured against similar notebooks we saw.

You’ll also find neat stuff not available elsewhere like this metal sandwich box. Sturdy, reusable, non-leaching ($24.99).

And there’s the occasional oddball item, like the Spider Relocator, for brave parents modeling empathy and intent on saving insect-eating arachnids. Who knew?

RED APPLE SCHOOL SUPPLY

This company specializes in pre-packed green school supply boxes that the local PTA can order and sell. A great idea. They also sell individual items, like these FSC certified pencils (we’d prefer recycled however),
a decent buy (12-count for $2.49).

Beware that the “green” colored pencils they sell are imported from Spain, which would carry a significant carbon imprint if you’re an American household.

SMENCILS

Eco-friendly color pencils are not available in abundance. We couldn’t find any at the big office supply stores. But there is one variety that fits the bill, as long as you don’t mind them being scented, and that’s Smencils. They’re made from recycled newsprint, available in art supply stores, and can be bought in bulk at the Smencils website for fundraising purposes.

We’ve tried Smencils and they’re fun and sturdy. Find them at specialty stores such as the Stubby Pencil Studio (10 for $14)
and at Target online. (12 for $11.99).

GREENLINE PAPER COMPANY

Still looking for a site where we could buy most of our basics and not have to order from three different places, we gratefully found the Greenline Paper Company. They stock the school supply staples like loose leaf paper and notebooks, categorized under their school supply tab.

Their prices are reasonable and you can buy in modest bulk packs that are workable for families. For instance a 6-pack of college-ruled, 80-sheet spiral notebooks by Second Nature is $12.59. That’s about $2 a notebook, better than a lot of places, and not so much to tempt you off the green wagon.

A 500-sheet pack of 100 percent recycled college-ruled filler paper (40 percent post-consumer content), will set you back $6.95, not so bad considering you’re helping the globe hang onto it’s forests.

Greenline also has index cards and 33-cent pencils made from recycled old money. Double green points for choosing these because your kids will get questions and can spread the message.

RECYCLED PRODUCTS (.Com)

This site has a wonderful selection of pens and pencils and something you simply can’t find at your brick mortar stores, recycled MECHANICAL pencils. If you have a kid who just digs these, this is your spot. They’re made with reclaimed wood casings, and they’re reusable.

This store also offers PLA Pens, made of the biodegradable plastic. But you’ll need to place a bulk order for at least 250 (and call to get a price quote), fine for Student Council projects; overkill for household use.

SUSTAINABLE GROUP (.net)

Oh Snap! Binders, you’ve got to have them and they’re usually plastic. This site offers something different, the Enviro-Friendly 3-Ring Rebinder made of corrugated cardboard, with a cover that can be replaced. Read their explanation of the Rebinder for more info.

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media

It’s starting to sound like an Obama Campaign Slogan parsing contest out there in the U.S. Greenscape. First there was the We Campaign, started by The Alliance for Climate Protection, a nonpartisan advertising effort to raise awareness about the consequences of and solutions to global warming started by former Vice President Al Gore and colleagues.

Now, we’ve got Together, an alliance of businesses, cities and non-profit organizations, working to help America fight climate change. The group, announced earlier this month, has its own set of heavy hitter sponsors, including California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The premise behind the alliance: Most Americans want to do something about global warming, but don’t know what to do, exactly. So Together will tell them in “clear and simple steps” what they (aka we) can do to reduce their impact on the planet.

“Protecting our environment is a job that belongs to each one of us,’’ said Gov. Schwarzenegger in a news release. “It means more than companies changing their practices or governments changing their policies. It means each person finding ways to change the little things in our lives that will in turn have a huge positive impact on the world around us.”

Together is an offshoot of The Climate Group, an independent non-profit that started in the United Kingdom in 2007 (heavy hitter: Tony Blair). Together initiatives in the UK claim to have saved 522, 000 tons of carbon emissions and more than $200 million on household energy bills, according to their news release.

The Climate Group hopes to expand into Australia, China and India, thereby engaging the biggest greenhouse gas emitters worldwide, according to the press release.

Businesses involved in Together include Chase, the founding corporate partner; Dell, Lenovo, MySpace, Nestle Waters, Recycle Bank, smart USA (makers of those micro cars), Target and Timberland.

Target will herald its participation by giving away 15,000 reusable bags. MySpace and smart USA will collaborate to give away a smart fortwo car to the MySpace user who refers the most friends to join Together.

Non-profits participating include the American Red Cross in Greater New York, Climate Counts, Global Footprint Network, Mercy Corps, National Wildlife Federation and The Center for a New American Dream. Media partners include MTV, News Corporation and Time Warner.

The founding city partner is New York City and another key sponsoring organization is ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, a collaboration of cities.

The “Togetherizer” – an online aggregator will tally the combined efforts of everyone who adopts solutions promoted by Together.

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media