The Great Paper Chase

You know, there's so much buzz about "green this" and "green that" going on in this country, it gives the impression that we're really shaping up in terms of mending our environmental ways. But before we get too hearty about patting ourselves on the back, let's take a step back and look at ourselves through the lens of reality.

I had a chance to do just that this week. My husband and I run a small retail music store, and I've started sending out a monthly newsletter to our regular customers. Legal sized paper folded in thirds works really well, because it allows me more space to ramble on. (Don't laugh - the customers love it 'cause I talk about stuff that's of interest to THEM. Too many marketers only think about their own interests.)

Anyway, we ran out of legal sized paper pretty quick, so I hightailed it down to the local office supply shop to pick up more. I figured they might not have recycled in stock and I was right, but I wasn't prepared for just how right.

This shop has a special-order catalog the size of the New York City phone directory (HUGE.) they've got everything in there you could possibly think of - and more than a few things you probably never would - for your office.

But they didn't have a single type of legal-sized 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Not one.

Now I know 8 1/2 X 14" paper isn't all that commonly used. But it's standard enough to be an option on every copier and printer I've ever come across. So what gives?

All the ads we're bombarded with now on a daily basis, about how this company cares about future generations, and that one is looking out for Mother Earth... how much are they really taking to heart? Not too much, by the looks of it, if all their words won't even produce enough demand for one measly sustainable option in a multi-thousand-page tome.

We may be making progress, but friends, we have a long way left to go.