Hubby and I live behind a Whole Foods so we could buy our recycled paper consumer goods there, right? Except I get them next door at the CVS, a major drug store chain, ubiquitous in Washington, D.C.
Why? Their basic (not the premium) house brand toilet paper and paper towels — the later I don’t use at home, but will get for Day Job — are 100% recycled paper, 60% of the fibers being post-consumer. They don’t splash the fact on the front of the wrapper, but the information is plainly printed on the back. That’s pretty good recycled content, and is a fair match to Whole Foods’ house brand at less cost. (I think the Seventh Generation brand is too expensive.) When I have two equally attractive and responsible options, I’ll pick and promote the one that costs less and is easier for others to adopt.
Oh, and for office paper, Staples has a 100% post-consumer recycled copier printer that I use for home printing and I haven’t had a problem with it. It compares favorably to other economy papers, but is more expensive. But hardly enough to notice if you make an effort to conserve in the first place.
See, that wasn’t hard.
