I hope you enjoy this short article I wrote for the “The Green Room” which can be found in the winter issue of Stationery Trends Magazine. Everyone wants to reduce their carbon footprint and I was excited to be able to write about this complicated and many times misunderstood topic. Read entire article below.

The Green Room
What is your Carbon Footprint? -  Why does it Matter?
Learning abut your environmental impact allows you to go more green

By Sue Rostvold

There have been numerous books and articles written about carbon footprints, but what exactly does it mean? One straightforward approach can be found at www.carbonfootprint.com. There you can calculate and reduce your personal and business carbon footprint.

After calculating your carbon footprint, you’ll be more aware of the consequences of your choices. When customers ask you about green products or your environmental commitment, you’ll say you are educating yourself and have even calculated your footprint! Understanding how your current decisions and practices affect the world will strengthen your business, improve public relations and ultimately boost the economy.

A carbon footprint is a measure of the exclusive global amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases emitted by a human activity or accumulated over the full life cycle of a product or service. More simply put, the carbon footprint is a metaphorical description for the impact our actions and choices have on the environment. It measures the resources you consume, both directly (by the kind of car you drive and by how hot or cold you keep your house or business) and indirectly (by how much energy it takes to produce the products that you purchase).

When carbon-based energy (e.g. oil, coal, natural gas) is used, gasses are emitted, which adversely affect the planet’s atmospheric balance and can greatly affect climate. So we measure our impact, or the resources we use, by measuring the amount of greenhouse gases produced in units of carbon dioxide, thus calculating our carbon footprint.

So, a carbon footprint is calculated in two parts:

1) The Primary Footprint is a measure of our directly consumed non-renewable energy, creating CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. This includes home and workplace energy consumption, as well as transportation (e.g., car and plane).

2) The Secondary Footprint is a measure of the indirectly consumed CO2 emissions from the whole life cycle of products we purchase, rent and use — the carbon emissions created with the manufacture and eventual breakdown of these items. To put it simply, the more we buy, the more emissions we’re responsible for creating.

According the EPA, the process of recycling paper uses 60 percent less energy than manufacturing paper from virgin timber, while recycling aluminum uses 96 percent less energy than mining aluminum ore. So simply put, if you make a some lifestyle changes — reduce, reuse, recycle; support local businesses; purchase sustainable green and fair trade products; convert to compact fluorescents or LED lights; drive minimally and slower; and make energy saving decisions every day, like turning down the heat or air conditioning or using cloth tote bags — your business’ carbon footprint is probably already lower than average. Congratulations!

We each have the power to make really important changes in this world with our simple day-to-day actions. As we become smarter and more creative with our energy consumption, our planet will be healthier and our nation will be less dependent on foreign sources of carbon-based energy.

Sue Rostvold drives a compact car in Austin, Texas. She and her husband compost, recycle and garden to lower their carbon footprint. In addition to a 20-year career in the pre-press and printing industry, Sue is the passionate founder of Verysupercool “green” greeting cards. Her dog-themed, inspirational cards are printed on 100 percent PCW recycled paper. You can e-mail this article and find even more links about carbon footprints at www.verysupercool.com.

Here is my second article for “The Green Room”, which can be seen in the fall issue of Stationery Trends Magazine. I enjoy writing about the environment, an important issue. Even though Stationery Trends is a trade and not an environmental magazine, they are incorporating sustainable content into each issue, and that’s Verysupercool in my book!

I haven’t seen the movie “Curious George”, but while researching for this article I fell in love with Jack Johnson’s music! I can see why he is such a favorite with young kids, with his great song,”The 3 R’s” .

Read entire article below:

The Green Room
The Three R’s – Recycled products are a smart choice,
Just ask Plato – or Curious George

By Sue Rostvold

Although most of us didn’t grow up recycling, it’s really nothing new. History indicates that recycling dates back to at least 400 B.C., and no less a personage than Plato was doing it. These days our children are often leading the way, singing along with Curious George (aka Jack Johnson, who did the score for the 2006 film): “Gotta reduce, reuse, recycle!”

Wholesalers and retailers across the U.S. are responding to consumer demand for more sustainable goods. Offering recycled products is an easy, eco-friendly way to assure that customers leave your venue feeling positive about their purchases and your store.

Most businesspeople are convinced that responsible sourcing is the way to go, but what does that mean to a stationery/gift retailer that’s new to the movement? If you sing along with Curious George, you’ll respond to both your customers’ desires and the earth’s needs by remembering the three R’s:

• REDUCE. Reducing consumption is the first step. One easy way to do this is to stock products with minimal packaging. This is much easier to do now, since Wal-Mart forced the packaging industry to simplify their product wrappings. When you buy pre-packaged products, look for ones that are simply packaged, and tell your buyers and distributors to look out for new finds. Buying and selling in bulk is another way to minimize packaging. You can even creatively re-package bulk items with scrap paper, ribbon and twine.
• REUSE. Reused, re-purposed and re-adapted are some of the words today’s hip artisans use to describe what was known in the 1990s as “found object art.” Materials such as beach glass, steel, wire, newspaper, aluminum and barn wood are recycled into rustic, eclectic or modern stylized creations. Often these items are made in developing areas of the world and carry the additional benefit of being fairly traded.
• RECYCLE. As the saying goes, “If you’re not buying recycled, you’re not really recycling.” When you buy something made with recycled materials, you ensure that discarded materials are reused instead of ending up in a landfill. Even though almost all paper is recyclable, statistics reveal that approximately 35 percent our landfills are comprised of paper and paperboard! That’s because Americans threw away about 85 million tons of paper products in 2006, nearly a three-fold increase from 1960.* So it’s more important than ever to buy recycled paper products, and remind customers why this matters.

Stocking just one recycled item is better than none. Your customers want items derived from responsible, creative practices. When retailers support companies that are committed to the environment, they also strengthen their own business ethics and reputation. In the end, whether you are a retailer or end consumer, purchasing quality items from companies that are environmentally conscious just feels like the right thing to do. This makes our collective buying power is more important and meaningful than ever before in history.

*2006 statistics from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Sue Rostvold lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband Allan, and her swimming dachshund Martin. Her company, Verysupercool, features dog-themed, inspirational greeting cards printed on 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper — making them a completely recycled product! For more information, or to watch a music video of the Jack Johnson recycling song mentioned in this article, visit www.verysupercool.com.

I’m so excited to announce that my very first column came out in the summer issue of Stationery Trends Magazine. I was honored when the editor, Sarah Schwartz, approached me to write an ongoing green column: The Green Room. (Of course I managed to work my dog Martin into my head shot photo. Sarah, an animal lover herself, was nice enough to oblige.) Stationery Trends is an attractive new trade magazine that prides itself as a great resource for greeting cards, gifts, and all things stationery!

I wanted my first article to talk about how easy it is to start thinking green. It’s too overwhelming to think about transforming your entire retail space into a green store over night, but you can each take small steps in the right direction starting today!

Read entire article below

The Green Room
Be an Eco-Conscious Store Owner – Starting Now!

By Sue Rostvold

In a post-“Inconvenient Truth” world, everyone wants to be more eco-conscious. Retailers across the country are searching high and low for more sustainable products to green up their inventory in order to provide their customers with earth-friendly choices. Most positive changes don’t happen overnight; more often they happen incrementally over time. Although your store may not be totally green by tomorrow, you can be eco-conscious starting today!

Being a eco-conscious buyer and business owner is easy. It has nothing to do with whether or not your wear a tie-dye shirt, drink kombucha tea or meditate. It will cost you nothing but a little time and some extra thought. It’s just a matter of knowing your vendors’ products and policies, as well as taking note of your own store practices.

How many customers walk in with a can of soda or plastic bottle of water? Do you have a recycling bin for cans and bottles in your store? That is a simple thing you can do that let’s your customers know you care about the environment.

Start with a simple checklist

So, what do you need to ask your vendors? They are probably some of the same questions your customers are already asking you. How often do you hear, “My friend is really into the environment, do you have gifts that were made from recycled materials?” or “I’m looking for something local” from your customers? People feel good supporting their local economy, and vacationers love to pick up local gifts for their friends and family, and it’s an added bonus if the item is eco-friendly too!

It’s up to each store owner to develop their own set of criteria for how they screen and make their final purchasing decisions. Decide what’s important to you, then educate yourself and your customers will benefit in the process. People love to be the first to tell their friends about a new green find or local item no one else knows about.

Below is a checklist that can be used as a starting point to rate your vendors. It is really just an expanded version of the basics we all know, the three R’s: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

1). Vendor is local, made in the U.S. or fair trade.
2). Vendor products are made with non-toxic or less toxic materials.
3). Vendor products are made from recycled materials.
4). Vendor products are recyclable or reusable.
5). Vendor products are produced using renewable energy or carbon offset.
6). Vendor products are minimally packaged and/or packaging is recyclable or compostable.
7). Vendor has a waste reduction/recycling policy.
8). Vendor supports non-profit efforts by donating time, money or products to charitable organizations.
9). Vendor pays a living wage, runs a union shop, provides health care, child care benefits, etc.
10). Vendor is certified by Co-op America, Fair Trade Federation, or another viable monitoring group.

The good news is there are already hundreds of vendors available that can answer yes to most of the questions listed above. You’ll find many of these companies are members of Coop America or the Fair Trade Federation.

Denise Hamler, Director of Co-op America’s Green Business Network says, “Today we are seeing amazing growth – three companies a day are joining and by the end of the year nearly 5,000 green businesses will be touting the Co-op America Seal of Approval, an important mark in this growing sea of green. By using this seal customers know that these businesses have passed the Co-op America screening and approval process and are a true green company, truly authentic!

Even more good news is that studies have shown that green product consumption is on the rise. Last year at the Sustainable Green Brands conference in New Orleans, findings from one survey reported that consumers expect to double their spending on green products and services in 2008, totaling an estimated $500 billion annually or $43 billion per month,

The research also found that 90% of Americans agree that there are important green issues and problems, and 82% believe it is important for companies to implement environmentally friendly practices.

The survey was conducted by Landor Associates; Penn, Schoen & Berland (PSB) Associates; and Cohn & Wolfe.

Green, Greener, Greenest

It’s important to remember that there are degrees of green and sustainability. Just because a product is made outside the U.S. doesn’t make it bad, but it’s important to be aware of how it was made and by whom.

Do you really know what was involved in the production? What were the working conditions for the employees? Were they paid a fair wage? What is happening in the environment in the surrounding area as a result of making this product?

The green movement is raising the eco-consciousness of the whole world and not a moment too soon. People are finally realizing that the true cost of goods purchased and sold is much more than the dollars and cents they pay at the cash register.

Sue Rostvold lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband Allan, and her swimming dachshund Martin, along with any number of foster dachshunds from Central Texas Dachshund Rescue. In addition to a 20-year career in the pre-press and printing industry, Sue is the passionate founder of Verysupercool, which incidentally was the only company exhibiting at the 2006 National Stationery Show featuring greeting cards printed on 100 percent post-consumer waste paper!