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Going Green in the office has never been easier with the help of the following green office supply stores. Not just offering "green" office products claiming to be composed of recycled content, the following green office supply stores make social and environmental sustainability their top priority, with the accreditations to prove it!  Remember, just because an office product says it's green doesn't mean it's as green as it should be. Always verify your green office products recycled pre/post consumer content.
 

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#1 CHOICE

 

ReBinder - It's one thing that Green America approved Sustainable Group (ReBinder) provides a comprehensive selection of truly green office products at affordable prices, yet it's the high degree of environmental stewardship and transparency that ReBinder incorporates into all of it's business practices that help make them one of the most exemplary green company's in business today. Founded in 2003 with the intent of offering a safe alternative to vinyl binders and plastic CD jewel cases, ReBinder not only developed an FSC certified, 100% recycled binder, and 100% recycled fiber CD holders, they now carry FSC certified folders, recycled card stock, clip boards, note pads, recycled pencils and petroleum-free, cellulose polymer pens (as green as a pen can get!). By the way, FSC is the highest environmental standard an office product can get. It ensures that fiber obtained from sustainably managed forests is tracked through the entire manufacturing process to the consumer. ReBinder also offers custom printing services (business cards, presentations, flyers etc...) with eco-friendly, non-petroleum ink made of water based acrylics. Having save over 2.5 million pounds of greenhouse gases, ReBinder get's our topmost vote for green office products. Oh, and did we mention they are socially conscious as well? All of their binders are assembled through Ability One - a certified disabled workforce.

Visit ReBinder to peruse their green office products and green printing service

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Buy Green offers a large selection of green office products, including 100% post consumer recycled paper at very affordable prices. What stands out the most in Buy Green's office store, however, is the Break-room supplies section. If your office has a break room, Buy Green definitely has it covered. Namely, there is a large selection of biodegradable eating utensils, cups, plates, take out boxes, and of course, the amazing, 100% biodegradable and compostable Bio Bag kitchen waste bags. Buy Green even carries marked recycling bins, space-saving stackable recycling bins and upright paper recycling waste baskets. Other green office supplies include refurbished HP and Brother brand ink and toner cartridges, green cleaning kits, 100% post-consumer shipping boxes and the oh-so-cool Good Kind pens, which are made of reclaimed/recycled birch and beech wood and filled with non-toxic, eco-friendly ink.

 Visit BuyGreen


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The Green Office is like the Office Depot of Green Office Supply Stores. Not every product is equally green, so while you may save more money, be sure to check your product details before buying. In other words, actually think of The Green Office as Staples or Office Depot but with a much larger selection of green office products. Carrying several hundred brands of printer cartridges, The Green Office is definitely the place to go online for refurbished, eco-friendly ink cartridges and toner.

One of the things we like best about The Green Office is their transparency. They use a three-tiered rating system to let you know just how "green" their office supplies are. The first level has no sustainability criteria, the second level denotes a good first step toward going green, while the third level denotes a product as being one of the most sustainable choices on the market. Another thing you can't go wrong with at The Green Office is free shipping on orders of $49 and up, not to mention the very low prices.

Visit The Green Office


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The Ultimate Green Store is like their name says, offering a solid collection of green office supplies, as well as break room supplies and high-end eco-friendly office furniture. What's great about TheUltimateGreenStrore is their affiliate relationship with The Green Office. As mentioned, not everything is as equally eco-friendly at The Green Office. What TheUltimateGreenStore does is sort out the greenest of their products and offer them directly through their store at no markup.  Everything from recycled paper and Earth Friendly pencils to KleenEarth recycled stainless steel scissors are available in the office supplies section, while everything from biodegradable eating utensils to stackable recycling bins are available for the eco-friendly office breakroom.

Visit The Ultimate Green Store

 

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It should go without saying, but we'll say it anyways: Using green office products is paramount to running a green office. If you work in an office or manage an office, you should know just how much product is used and waste generated through the typical office work flow, so to speak. Besides electricity usage, office supplies, are the chief culprit in giving behind-the-scenes business operations a pretty high Carbon footprint. Of course, not every office is going to use up the same amount of paper, ink, pens, staples and such forth. Some offices, especially home offices, hardly use any products for their main source of business at all, for they are entirely internet based and/or primarily use computers to handle daily business affairs.

Even then, no office - no matter how small - can go by without using paper, printer ink or other common office "necessities" to run a business. Green office products primarily consists of paper - whether it be printing paper, envelopes, note pads, index cards etc. - computer ink and toners, and writing utensils like pens, pencils and highlighters. Obviously, there are plenty of more supplies that get used up in the office, however, paper products, writing utensils and printer ink are the one's that generate the largest footprint, and as such, should be obtained and implemented first into the daily operations of a budding green office.

Now, before you just start buying anything that is labeled with the word "green", there are some things you should know about green office products. First and foremost, some green office products are more green than others. Sure, there are standards, but there is no law limiting to how the terms "green" and "eco friendly" get thrown around. Some office supply stores will cite something as eco-friendly, just because the company donates to a non-profit tree conservation fund or purchases Carbon certificates, while another product might be called "green" simply because it can be recycled. This doesn't necessarily mean it has been recycled - and with that I hope you get my drift.

In fact, the extent of what makes some green office products more green than others is directly related to the recycled content in the product itself. Paper is especially tricky when it comes to being green, for you could find paper ranging from 10% recycled content to 100% - and guess what? They will both be labeled as "green". Even paper that contains no recycled content whatsoever can still be packaged with the iconic green recycle logo - implying that it can be recycled. There is no law governing the use of this symbol. Now, whether or not the paper contains pre-consumer content (biproduct waste from manufacturers) or post-consumer waste (waste of the product itself), does not matter so much as using a paper with a higher percentage of recycled content overall. However, if you have a choice, go with paper that has more post-consumer recycled content, as this gives more incentive to recycle.

As for writing utensils, the best green office products are refillable, mechanical pencils made of recycled plastic and refillable and/or biodegradable pens with non-toxic, eco-friendly ink. What is eco-friendly ink you ask? Well, not to get too technical, a good starting point is to contain no more than 5% volatile organic compounds (voc's) and petroleum distillates, and should be composed of at least 60% renewable, bio-based materials. Water-based and vegetable based acrylics are the best. Just because its soy ink does not mean its green! First off, most soy inks contain no more than 10% soy ink to being with. And remember, over 92% of all soybean crops are now genetically modified, which can cause great harm to both the environment and human health. EPA standards aren't the best gauge either! As for printing ink, using refillable inkjet cartridges is obviously the best route to go, while laser printers should be stocked with remanufactured laser cartridges with eco-friendly toner if possible.

Other office products that can stand to be given the title of green office product are binders, clip boards, CD and DVD cases/holders and folders. Again, it all comes down to how much recycled content makes up each item. In the case of the aforementioned, the most green office products you will find are those that are made up of 100% recycled content, and of those that are made from paper products and/or wood (meaning anything that comes from trees), the highest certification of sustainability is FSC Certified. FSC is the Forest Stewardship Council, and ensures that non-slow growth trees are grown, harvested and manufactured into wood byproducts in a sustainable and eco-friendly manner.

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