DISQUS

Marsha · 5 months ago

Great post! Glad to see creative ways to "green" the classroom being suggested. Last September we posted an article that offers general tips for helping create a more humane school experience -- not just focusing on how our choices impact the planet, but also encompassing care for other people and nonhuman animals. http://humaneconnectionblog.blogspot.com/2008/0...

Thanks for highlighting this issue!

David · 5 months ago

To start, I will say that I am a part of ReBinder.com / Sustainable Group - just wanted to avoid any discussion of motive, etc.

So at this point you would probably expect me to get defensive about your post - not at all. In hole, a solid post with some great ideas of things we can all do to make a difference and be more responsible. However, in terms of the school supplies themselves, I do take some exception to 1) your characterization of the kit as a "3-ring binder and skimpy selection", and 2) what it competes with.

The picture does not include everything that is in the kit - there is too much for just one image. The kit includes 33 items with FREE shipping and yes, one 3-ring binder. However, with the 3-ring binder you also get two replacement covers. One of the features of our binders is the ability to easily replace the 3-ring binder cover after they are tattered up (and recycle the old), or in this case doodled on by your kids. With regards to the kits price, I think if you go create a comparable retail package you would find our kit very competitive. I would suggest readers look at our kit online and then go compare for themselves.

In terms of other options, we would never try to compete on a "green" basis with rummage sales, flea markets, and second hand stores - reusability is always first choice. However, these are not always viable options for consumers.

Lastly, addressing the under tone of the post or suggestion of 'green' washing, we will let our history and track record speak for itself. We have been in the business of providing responsible office supply products and custom branded marketing solutions for the past five years, have thousands of consumer and business customers all over the US and the World. With regards to the color - no rebuttal. We love the color kraft and so do our customers - no bleach white for us :-)

Great discussion though and I/we appreciate lighterfootstep.com’s commitment.

Trish · 5 months ago

David, I decided to take your challenge. This afternoon, out of curiosity, I stopped by Office Depot and priced cardboard binders (which seem to be the main debate here, eliminating the use of a vinyl binder). They were $4.25 each for a 1" binder and $5.25 each for a 2" binder. I priced the other items in this kit with regular shelf reduced items and the total came to $15.75 (I went by the list, not the picture). Every notebook had a recycled symbol on the back and each folder was made from recycled materials. If you add this to a $5.25 binder, it comes to $21, plus tax.

You commented that you "have thousands of consumer and business customers all over the US and the World." Congratulations on this accomplishment. However, you are ignoring the most important customer of an item such as this one -- the working parent, struggling to raise their children in this economy and still be environmentally responsible. These same parents should not feel guilty for bargain shopping and not buying an item packaged with a label approved by the green community. We care, too, even if our children carry a 50 cent recycled folder instead of a $5 one.

David · 5 months ago

Trish, In all sincerity, you are wonderful for doing this - thank you. Companies holding themselves out as green, sustainable, responsible, or other need to be accountable for marketing themselves as such, so I am glad there are people like you out there. Quite frankly, there are few too few like you willing to dig deeper.

Without knowing exactly what was priced I am not sure we are comparing apples to apples. Couple comments though - a few specific to the kit and one to the industry. In our kit you actually get the equivalent of three binders because of our unique way of making the ring metals removable, which also makes them truly recyclable, and we also include free shipping. So there might be a few of the discrepancies in terms of price.

The last comment is industry related - you should be very cautious of relying solely on the recycle symbol as a way to identify what products are truly green/sustainable and what are not - the symbol is far too diluted and virtually meaningless now in its use on products (outside of identifying what is recycling and what is waste for disposal). We run into products every day holding themselves out as a 'green' simply because they use recycled chipboard in the product (which by nature, all chipboard is recycled). However, they are are also made in China, wrapped with a non recyclable material, and lastly have the ring metals riveted in, so you can not recycle it anyway without tools to remove the ring metal from the board (which nobody does) - not so 'sustainable' I would say.

Anyway, I would love to chat with you about specifics directly.

Thank you again for holding ReBinder.com to account.

Trish · 5 months ago

David,

While I make every attempt to be cautious of my purchases and what's contained in them, I am also just as cautious with my bank account. You keep missing this specific point, which was really my only complaint about your product. I am not trying to attack your product and based on the concern you've shown in this discussion, I'm sure it's probably one of the best on the market. However, it's overpriced. I work with a federally funded program that feeds school-age children during the summer months and we also engage them in various activities and projects.

Many of these children's parents can barely afford their basic needs, much less buy them school supplies. While I would love to see every one of these children have school supplies like yours, it's just not practical. We make do with what we have and buy as much as we can through donations and contributions.

This was what upset me when I first saw your product -- the price. I understand your argument that the products I priced might not be the most eco-responsible or quite as good as yours. However, you have to understand my argument that some people just don't have an extra $20 or so to put towards the warm fuzzy feeling that comes from buying the most green/sustainable products.

Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic F · 5 months ago

Hey Chris, while I totally agree with you that buying used is generally the better option than buying any new "green" thing, in the case of binders I have to disagree a bit. I don't want vinyl binders in my home. I don't want vinyl anywhere near me, and I wouldn't want it near my kids if I had them. Vinyl (aka PVC) contains phthalates and can contain lead. And kids (and kitties) put everything in their mouths. So I'm all for the natural binders made from recycled cardboard.

In fact, I've got some (made by a different company) that I'll be reviewing (and possibly giving away) on Fake Plastic Fish soon. You can come and visit and argue with me about it there if you want.

Love ya!

Beth

Chris Baskind · 5 months ago

Point taken on the PVC. But you can buy canvas-covered cardboard binders pretty much anywhere at very low cost, too. That would be my preference. :-)

David - green thoughts · 5 months ago

Excellent points on the many other ways to make a difference. And, I just wanted to mention that we are probably in an early phase of green products. Many readers may remember when "fresh" organic produce meant a few shriveled, tasteless vegetables in a poorly-run storefront, and when there was limited selection of other organic (e.g. cereal, grains, dairy) products. Clearly that has evolved over the years, and hopefully the same will apply in the broader areas such as this article discusses.

Jane · 5 months ago

I think one of the points that is often missed when talking about living green is the quote "live simply that others may simply live." Do your kids need new notebooks, or are the ones from last year still fine? Is the new backpack a necessity or a desire? As far as the kit supplied for our perusal, if this is the best use of a family's dollars than so be it, but each family must determine that on their own. Stewardship of our material goods is what is at stake here.

Anne · 5 months ago

REBINDER ROCKS!! Like LA Green Girl, I’m a huge fan of the Sustainable Group.

I wanted to post this because I am feeling a little defensive of the products you are describing and the company from which they are purchased. I understand that not every parent – or tutor, in my case! – can afford a Rebinder Back to School kit for their child(ren). $45 is a lot of money. However, isn’t the whole goal of “living green” and being socially responsible to recognize the FULL COST of our choices? For example, shouldn’t we recognize the price of any product we purchase as not only the value we assign to it for our consumption, but also the non-monetary costs – and benefits – of its production to the environment and to the people who produce it?

First, let me give you an idea of where I’m coming from. I live in Richmond, VA and for 4 years I have been tutoring a family of Sudanese Refugees. There are 9 children – NINE! – in the family, and 7 of them are in the public school system at various levels. Dad is gone, Mom makes $1,000 / month, the rent in the 3 bedroom apartment they share is $844, and food stamps don’t cover gas and toilet paper. You can do the math and quickly realize that school supplies are the LAST thing on the mother’s mind.

That’s fine – I’m happy to take care of them! As you suggest, I put a box out at work for people to deposit extra supplies, I hit yard sales and thrift stores, and I exclude all non-critical supplies from the school lists. From there, I establish my budget and I shop for the remaining materials. I get loose leaf paper from Wal Mart and 5 subject notebooks from The Dollar Store. Sometimes there’s no getting around it. BUT …

Did you know that in addition to what David mentions in his above comments, the Sustainable Group process facility is less than 30 miles away from the source of its materials? Did you know that unlike other competing products, the Sustainable Group has an actual legitimate Chain-of-Custody certification for its products by a truly independent, international organization called the Forest Stewardship Council, a certification which no other binder has obtained?
http://www.fscus.org/certified_companies/detail...

In addition to these strides towards “green”, did you know that Sustainable Group proudly employs disabled workers in the Seattle area to assemble their merchandise? I’m sure you’ll agree that this socially responsible choice has little to do with “green” but is simply the right thing for – as you put it – “those around you.”

I don’t think that being green – which I agree can be defined as “living in harmony with your environment”, is the same thing as living in harmony with those around you. We all should strive to do both, of course, but the latter has nothing to do with “green.” Our decision to allocate your money to local programs and organizations that help children is an admirable one, but that is our CHOICE. It should not be boiled down as a mutually exclusive decision! It is just a matter of personal preference on how we’d like to allocate our budgets.

The way I see it is that by VOTING for (i.e. buying from) companies like this whenever I can, I am promoting responsible commerce everywhere. None of us can be 100% “green” all the time, but I believe wholeheartedly that every little bit counts. Hopefully with some new pencils, some reused vinyl binders, and a fist full of RePockets from Sustainable Group, I can teach the kids I tutor to care, too.

In summary, although I agree that we should be on the watch for “overpriced luxury goods posing as eco products”, the merchandise you selected to illustrate your point is NOT an example of this. It reflects the TRUE COST of a retail decision that I am proud to pay.

Thank you for your post! I think this is a great discussion to have!