Resources for the Washington DC area
 

 

                                                              

Buying Recycled Paper Products

 

 

 


      

 Site search | Links



 

    

NRDC's Shopper's Guide to Home Tissue Products Made with Recycled Paper

 

Recycled paper, compared to regular paper...

has a 60-70% energy savings over virgin pulp.

uses 55% less water.

reduces water pollution by 35% and reduces air pollution by 74%.

creates jobs.

source: treecycle.com

 

Every 20 cases of recycled paper saves the equivalent of 3 to 12 trees.

source: recycledproducts.org

 

Buying recycled paper products "closes the loop"; paper made from paper means trees that don't get cut down. And trees are an important in that they store, or sequester, carbon dioxide, keeping this greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere.

But it's not always easy to find paper products. You might assume that all grocery stores would carry at least one brand of paper towels, toilet paper, etc. made from recycled paper. But not all do.
 

Shoppers Food Warehouse has a large selection of Marcal products. You can either buy a single roll to try it, or buy large quantities.

Safeway carries EarthFirst brand paper products, which are 100% recycled content, 80% post-consumer content.

Harris Teeter  has recently added Marcal paper towels and napkins.

Trader Joes carries their own line of recycled paper products.

Whole Foods Market carries recycled paper products, and some alternatives to paper made from cotton. Their own "365" brand is cheaper than the name brands they carry. However, one of the very best brands is Seventh Generation. It's premium priced, but they have an extensive line of products

And you can buy recycled paper products at office supply stores like Staples and Office Depot, although sometimes you have to buy quantities of 24.

You can occasionally find brands like Fiesta and April Soft toilet paper at dollar stores. While you may not have heard of them, they actually rate very well according to Natural Resources Defense Council's ratings. Dollar stores also sometimes carry Marcal toilet paper and paper towels.

 

Remember, products that you can buy that are made from recycled paper include paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, and facial tissue. Also, you can get office paper products like paper for printers and fax machines. Staples and Office Depot have excellent selections of these.

And to help the effort along, if you're not recycling cardboard and magazines, please consider doing that. While you may not have curbside recycling for these items, chances are your county or city has drop off points for them.

Learn more at recycledproducts.org

 

 

 

 

 

When shopping for tea, please consider looking for products that are listed as Fair Trade Certified. You can look for local and online retailers at TransFair USA.

(photo credit TransFair USA)
     
 





© 2002 - 2005 David Walls. All rights reserved.