Our Green Office

Last week in the checkout lane of SoMa Whole Foods there was a plastic bin of chapsticks with a big cardboard sign that said “STOP GLOBAL WARMING” as though to suggest that buying a chapstick would actually stop global warming.

Chapstick or hybrid car, it’s convenient to think we can buy our way to being green, or saving the Earth, or saving the human race, rather than actually changing our behavior.

When we must buy something, however, it is absolutely crucial that we look for the green alternative.

For LG’s office, the green alternative often comes from The Green Office, a “sustainable office products” distributor headquartered right here in San Francisco. Pictured is the latest order of printer paper, 100% post-consumer recycled content, of course. We don’t use much paper, but I purchased in bulk to reduce fuel for shipping.

Click here to order some Aspen 100 of your own

Paper is just the beginning. Scissors with recycled plastic handles, recycled post-its, recycled pencils, and so on. Even when there isn’t a truly green alternative (rubber bands?) I feel good supporting their business. On the other hand, I collect a lot of rubber bands from parts and supplies we receive, so I don’t have to buy many, and that is the real goal.

Originally published March 19, 2008. Kept online as written, so the links that point here still work.