Consumption
Buy Recycled Printer Paper - Recycled paper uses
less resources -wood, water and energy - as compared to paper made from virgin pulp. Buy printer paper made from 100%, 50% or 30% post consumer recycled paper. One ream of 100% recycled paper produces 5 lbs. less carbon dioxide than a ream of virgin paper.
The most common printer papers purchased by SU departments from our vendor OfficeMax and their cost are shown below. As you can see, recycled paper is affordable. 92 BRITE 100% RECYCLED $3.70 ($.75 more than virgin)
92 BRITE 50% RECYCLED $3.45 ($.50 more than virgin)
92 BRITE 30% RECYCLED $3.30 ($.35 more than virgin)
92 BRITE VIRGIN $2.95
Buy Fair Trade Products - Support human rights by buying fair trade label products such as coffee, tea, chocolate and fruit. Fair trade products ensure a fair wage and safe working conditions. Pura Vida Fair Trade, organic, and shade-grown coffee is available at the Cherry St. Market, Bistro, Sidebar or Bottom Line cafe. Bring your own mug and pay only $.95.
Buy Products Without Cancer-Causing Chemicals - Learn what chemicals are in the products you use every day that may lead to cancer from long-term exposure. Throw away the harmful products you own and buy an equivalent product without health risks. Safer Shopping covers personal care products, pots and pans, fish and treated wood.
Buy Remanufactured Toner Cartridges - SU's office products vendor OfficeMax highly recommends the
Guy Brown brand of remanufactured toner cartridges because they do not receive customer complaints. The Guy Brown re-manufactured toner cartridges match new toner cartridges in performance, are 100% guaranteed to be free from defects, are 100% compatible with the printer for which they were engineered, the business is minority owned and they have a manufacturing facility in Washington which creates local jobs.
Another reason to buy is price. As an example, the Hewlett Packard deskjet toner cartridge most frequently bought by SU staff costs $25. Guy Brown sells theirs for $16.
Your department pays $9 less, you support a minority business and cartridge recycling. If every SU department switched to Guy Brown, it would reduce the university's costs as a whole by $23,000 annually. You recycle your used toner cartridges and buying a Guy Brown cartridge completes the recycling loop. Buy it and try it.
Clean Healthy-Many cleaning products contain chemicals that will harm your health with long-term exposure and harm the ecosystem as they go from your drain to our local water bodies. Replace the harmful products you own with an equivalent product without health risks. SU's contracted custodial service uses Green Seal certified cleaners.
Safer Cleaning Products Buy Ozone Friendly Products - Products with CFCs are in aerosol cans like hairspray. Choose products in non-aerosol cans.
Buy Organic - Fruits and vegetables aren't the only things you can buy in the
organic section these days. Try organic cotton towels and sheets. Pesticides, dyes, and bleaches pollute the environment and your body.
Make Informed Purchases - Put your money to work in a positive way. Have you ever wondered how chocolate is grown, if antibacterial soap is good for you, or what's in personal care products? If you've had questions about the environmental and social impacts of the products you buy and use,
Good Stuff? - A Behind-the-Scenes Guide to the Things We Buy is for you. The Guide contains information on 30 common products so you can make informed purchases that benefit your health and the environment.
Buy Less Stuff - Reduction prevents the generation of waste in the first place, so it goes a long way toward protecting the environment.
Grist magazine article.