Green and Recycled Office Products,
An Eco-Friendly Alternative
To acheive a stable-state or sustainable economy that we can pass on to future generations, we must cut consumption of virgin materials in our everyday lives. Steps we take toward a renewable and “green” economy around the house should not stop there. Bringing our demand for recycled and refurbished products to our office and workplace is the next step in building a sustainable society.
In the office, there are many ways to go green. We can save paper by printing on both sides, or setting our printers to “duplex printing” mode. We can use recycled paper with as high a post-consumer waste product percentage as possible. When we use a high percentage of post-consumer recycled content we’re ensuring that we make the most demand possible for more recycling, and obviously use the least amount of virgin materials in the process.
Office machinery can easily be purchased from many manufacturers and retailers. In the same way recycled products reduce consumption, refurbished products reduce the amount of materials needed for products we use in the office. Copiers, Computers, Laptops, Cellphones, PDA’s, Fax Machines, Scanners, you name it – there are places to buy refurbished models, and at a lower cost than brand-new items.
We can use refurbished or refilled printer and copier inkjet and toner cartridges also. Most printer refill retailers and distributors offer refilled cartridges, while some even offer kits for you to refill these items on your own. Others will refill your cartridges for you if you wish to send them in. Many brick-and-mortar outlets also offer printer or toner cartridge refills onsite – usually at a fraction of the cost of the new version of the same cartridge!
Why Buy Fair Trade and Fairly Traded Goods?
Next time you’re Target or WalMart or the Gap, your local university pep store, check the tags for the country of manufacture for the items they’re selling: China, Thailand, Honduras, Haiti, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico and more – many countries notorious for their brutal treatment of workers. Fair Trade Certified goods are helping to change these trends.
When we buy Fair Trade, We Make a Difference
Fair Trade Certified means the supply chain follows strict standards to help workers and farmers get solid economic footing in the global economy. Fair Trade Certification ensures, among other things, the workers in the factories making the clothes, shoes or toys or the farmers in the fields are working in fair and safe environments.
Fair Trade Means Fair Wages and Fair Prices
Fair Trade typically means workers and farmers are paid a fair price for their work, without extra fees or withheld paychecks typical of many sweatshop rip-offs. The fair price for all workers around the world is a living wage (one that a person can actually survive with).
Fair Labor – an Important Element in Fair Trade
Buying fair trade goods helps workers and farmers around the world to engage their own economic destiny.
Fair Trade ensures workers enjoy fair labor condidions, including freedom of association, safe working environment, and prohibits child labor. Fair Trade is also imported on a more personal and one-to-one model with less middlemen and more power to the farmers, and craftspeople.
Among the free association required to be Fair Trade Certified is the right of workers to organize and in fact only deals with farmers and workers who democratically decide how the business is run and where the revenues go.
Fair Trade Helps Communities
Fair Trade producers and farmers also stimulate community projects to distribute more knowledge and skill to the communities. Buying Fair Trade coffee, shoes, clothes or other products manufactured as Fair Trade Certified will help workers and farmers in many ways, and as we continue to support this market, more workers and farmers will be able to participate in Fair Trade.
Why buy refurbished DVD players, digital cameras, computers, and other electronics?
A refurbished item is basically a recycled version. When you buy refurbished electronics you’re helping to reduce our society’s impact on the environment. Old, used, broken, or otherwise de-capacitated electronics like computers, dvd players, Ipods, Iphones, stereos, etc are refurbished (repaired) to factory specs and work as good as new.
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Refurbished DVD players use less virgin material resources than new DVD Players. If you buy a refurbished laptop computer, you’re saving energy and resources. Buy a refurbished digital camera
Recycled electronics are a part of the electronics industry mainly due the fact that some electronic devices however large or small they maybe have catagories for wear. Larger devices DVD players, PC monitors, flat screen tvs, stereos, videogame consoles, laptops, printers, microwaves, refrigerators, stoves, washers, and dryers all are common everyday used items which keep us going about or lives for living.
On the other end of the refurbished spectrum there is the rate of what items are returned from buyers that decide that they no longer desire to own such items putting into perspective the functionality of the electronic device or if its upgradable or not. Hence a recyled DVD player or PC is a more optimal choice to buy as opposed to a brand new one. Buy recycled refurbished repaired electronics it’s better for our environment.