Is being eco friendly important to you? In this article we’ll look at 13 eco friendly office supplies and ways to make your office more sustainable and “green”.
Many people try to have an eco friendly home, but at work – where they spend 1/3 of their lives – they may not be so eco-conscious. Perhaps these green office supplies can change that.
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List of Eco Friendly Office Supplies and other ways to make your office more sustainable
You may not need all of these eco friendly office supplies at your particular work. And perhaps you’re already doing some of these tips to be more environmentally friendly.
But hopefully at least one of these supplies or ideas will be inspiring for you.
1. Recycled Paper
Many of us are trying to reduce paper clutter at work. The following tips may help.
- Try to use less paper
- Print less frequently if possible
- Use the both Sides of paper
But if you have to use paper, buy paper made from 100% recycled paper or non-wood sources.
And if it is recycled paper, look for a high percentage of post-consumer recycled paper.
Click here to see this recycled paper on Amazon.
2. Non-wood sources of paper
The paper shown above is made of 95% fiber from sugar canes…not trees.
So instead of cutting down trees this paper utilizes the fiber from sugarcane (a perennial grass).
Is your office considering some non-wood sources of paper?
If so, you may want to check out this product.
Click here for more details of this 95% sugarcane paper.
3. Sticky Notes from partially recycled paper
These sticky notes will help you organize your paper work and they’re made from 70% recycled paper.
Plus, they can also be composted when you’re done with them.
Pretty cool. This 200-pack of notes is available on EarthHero.com (A leading online retailer specializing in eco friendly products.)
4. Use GreenGeeks to host your company’s website
Worldwide, the website hosting industry uses a ton of electricity. And switching your company’s website to an eco friendly web host is a way to go green that you may not have thought of before.
I decided to go with Green Geeks. They are online website hosting company that buys 3 wind energy credits for every 1 amperage of energy they use to run their facilities.
They say they’re the World’s Most Environmentally Responsible Web Hosting company.
If you are interested in migrating your website from your current hosting provider to a GREEN provider, then check out Green Geeks. They offer free website migration. (So they’ll help bring your website over from a different website host to theirs.)
Click here to see my GreenGeeks review. (I’ve been with them for years.)
Pens and pencils
There are a large variety of eco-friendly pens and pencils.
Eco friendly writing options include:
- pencils made from recycled newspaper
- pens made from recycled plastic
- Pens made from bamboo and other non-plastic sources.
5. The Sprout Pencil
These cool-looking pencils are made by Sprout.
The end of the pencil has a seed capsule that you put into the ground and plant once the pencil is used up.
And you can see by the engravings on the shaft of the pencil what each pencil will grow.
Do you see how it says “Basil” or “Forget me not”?
Those are the herbs and flowers that those particular pencils will grow.
Pretty cool! I haven’t used them yet myself because I still have lots of pencils left over from my kids’ school supplies.
But when I need new pencils I’m going to check out these cool pencils.
Click here to see details of the Sprout pencil on Amazon.
6. Pencils made from wood scraps
These pencils claim to be made from wood scraps.
They say this results in less wood waste.
If you want more details, you can click here to see on Amazon.
7. Refillable Pen made from Natural Grass (EarthHero.com)
The pen shown above is by a company called Agood Company.
The body of the pen is made from natural meadow grasses and BPA-free recycled plastics.
It looks both eco-friendly and refined at the same time.
It does have blue ink, but since this pen is refillable, you can get black ink refills for it.
Check out this cool pen on EarthHero.com
8. Erasers made from Recycled Rubber
These eraser are made by Onyx and they contain recycled rubber…which is cool but the main diss against the product right now though is that they’re packaged in some plastic wrap.
Looking for recycled office supplies is one way to help green your office supplies. Instead of using virgin products, they use products that have already been created in the past then recycled.
9. Bamboo Ruler (not plastic or sourced from tree wood)
Need a new ruler?
This one from Onyx is made from bamboo. Not from tree wood or plastic like many other rulers out there.
Click here to see this ruler on Amazon.
10. Organize Paper Clutter with a metal filing system
Do you waste time trying to find something in your office? Did you print something but you don’t remember where you put it so you print it again. You can help reduce that wasted time and paper by getting a good paper organizer.
This steel mesh vertical organizer can help you get your papers in order. It isn’t made of cheap plastic either.
I’ts made of commercial-grade steel to help ensure a long life at your office.
It is available on Amazon if you want more information.
The organizer shown below looks pretty cool because not only does it have the vertical organizers (5 slots), but it also has a slide-out tray for your pens, pencils, erasers, etc…
Check out this cool office organizer on Amazon. Will it work for you?
11. Bamboo Desktop Business Card Holder
How sleek does this thing look!
Add some refinement and luxury to your desktop.
It’d look great on your desk if you meet with customers right at your desk. (Or you can use it to prop up your phone if required.)
See more details about this business card holder.
12. Add a recycling bin to all the rooms
The 501(C)(3) non-profit organization Recycling Rules makes these recycle bins out of recycled plastic.
They can be stacked so you can designate one bin for paper and one for plastic. Or you can just put one bin in each room in your workplace.
When I started my previous job they didn’t have a recycle bin!
It was so simple to get one, and it makes it easy to recycle.
13. Get Reusable napkins for the lunch room
If you have a lunch room at your work, you can get reusable, washable hand towels (a.k.a. napkins) like these in order to cut down on paper towel use.
Try to establish weekly rotation of volunteers to take them home and wash them, or just do it yourself if you need to take the lead.
See more details on these paper-less napkins.
If you want some additional waste to reduce lunch box waste you may like this article.
Other Ways to make your office more sustainable
Commuting and idling in traffic jams is a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
So getting to and from work is a great way to use eco friendly transportation options.
Bike to Work
Does your work have a bike rack?
Cycling to work is not only good for the environment but you get some exercise too. And regularly getting exercise can help you deal with stress better.
Heck, you may even like work more.
To help prevent bike theft you can ask your employer if you can bring your bike inside, set up a bike locker, or invest in a good bike lock, and remove the front tire and/or bike seat. For more tips to prevent bike theft, see this article from Cycling News.
And make sure that you are properly illuminated so cars can see you. If you do any cycling in the dark or in the rain then make sure you’re visible. You can get bright visibility vests to improve your chances of being seen by drivers.
Curious about this high visibility vest for biking? Click here to see more details.
Maybe this is your week to start riding to work? Got to start somewhere right.
Take Public Transit
Does your local mass transportation services go near your work?
Look into whether a bus or train can get you to work.
I know many folks that use public transportation commuting time to either get personal work, job work or side hustle work completed. Basically it makes them more productive.
Plus on the way home it provides a way for you to relax and let the pressures of the day slipped away before you go home to your family.
You no longer have to white knuckle it in traffic jams anymore.
Check with your company’s HR department to see if they have discounts on public transportation passes. If they don’t, try to get them to start offering it.
I hope this list of eco friendly office supplies. Did it inspire you to start looking around your office to find ways you can make it more eco-friendly?
Thank you for checking out this article. I appreciate it.
Up Next:
15 handy Under Desk Storage Ideas [organize your under-desk area]
14 Eco friendly School Supplies (great for back to school)
15 green and sustainable Kitchen Swaps that you can make
