Tree Free Paper

This paper is made of what? STONE? AWESOME!!!

When I think tree-free paper, I think maybe recycled or made from hemp. (Hemp. Hah. The perfect answer to most if not all our economic woes and many environmental ones, too, and we can't grow it in the US. Go figure.) But I never heard of paper made from stone. Apparently I am a little behind the curve on that one.

The people who introduced me to stone paper are Buffalo Natur out of Canada (http://buffalonatur.com/index.php). They have lots of other great green products too - basically everything you (used to) need for school supplies. I mean, who uses PAPER anymore. Well, I do now, because I will find any excuse to write on this stuff. There are plenty of other brands out there, and they really are not that much pricier than regular paper tree-killing notebooks. These particular notebooks are made of stone which is recycled from construction sites. Think what an endless supply that is. Think about your paper usage. Sure, you may not use a notebook very often... but at work? Your printer? Or your kids?

This paper is cool because it is apparently recyclable, it is water and grease resistant, very durable, and hey you do NOT get paper cuts with it! I swear! It feels great  Everyone I show it to wants to write on it then wants to steal my notebook.

Trees are precious. We need not cut them down just so we can throw them away. These other ideas for "paper" are the kind of ideas that really make me happy. If you can't easily find hemp paper (Thanks W.R. Hearst for that SO much), then check out this stuff in your local drug store. If it cost a few cents more, well, how much paper are you REALLY using, it's worth it and maybe, just maybe, you will be a little more judicious with it?

Cost, price, value. These are topics for another one... but in the meantime, this stuff is SO cool! I encourage you to look for things like this. I'll point them out when I find them. I'm still trying to nail down where to buy products from these guys, but there are other brands out there.

I love it!

PeopleTowels: Small Act, Big Impact

The Natural Products Expo West was a few weeks ago, and I combed the aisles for 3 days looking for great products about which to tell you. I was not disappointed. 


The most exciting gem was SO great that I was impatient to write! Was it Mary Wallace, co-founder of PeopleTowels, that I just plain grooved with because she was so cool? Well, that was part of it. I mean, I already don't personally use very many paper towels at all. But of course, anything that helps and that I can get the word out on, I'm going to love. Here's what their site, http://www.peopletowels.com, has to say:

"The use of disposable paper towels has a huge impact on the environment by contributing to deforestation, water pollution and global warming. Some of the facts about paper towel consumption and the environmental impact are:

• To make one ton of paper towels, 17 trees are cut down and 20,000 gallons of water are consumed. 
• Every day, over 3,000 tons of paper towel waste is produced in the US alone. 
• Decomposing paper towels produce methane gas, a leading cause of global warming. 
• Paper was the largest contributor to municipal landfill waste in 2006. 
• The average person uses 2,400 – 3,000 paper towels at work, in a given year."

I love love love this product. How many times do I go into public restrooms and just shake my head at the overflowing trash bins, the mess of wet paper towels everywhere... the way they smell, the thought of the trees and processing and bleaching that has gone into them, and how this is just one restroom on one floor of one building in one town in one state... on and on. (Psst.. it's lots of times.) It's staggering. (Welcome to my brain.)  If we were carrying around PeopleTowels instead, this would not be plaguing my brain. Help my brain. 

From their information: If 1 in 4 adults used PeopleTowels for a year instead of paper towels, and we're just talking in public restrooms here, we would save enough trees to cover the state of Alaska. We would save enough water to FILL 22,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. And then, think about the landfill space saved and the resources not being used to make the paper towels. 

Now you see why I love love love this product? I bought a few. They are SO cute, too! Mine rolls up nice and small in my purse. You can clip them on you messenger bag or your backpack. This is an amazingly easy new eco-habit to adopt. In fact it is easier than remembering bags or carrying a water bottle, because they are so light and easy. 

So, thank you Linda, thank you Mary, I was so happy to meet you and to learn about your product. Thank you Expo, for having these PeopleTowels there. I think they cannot catch on soon enough. Order them online or find them at stores listed on their site. Give them as gifts. They are so cute and fun, and if you have a business, you can get your logo on them too. Good Green Witch PeopleTowels? Oh you bet your bippy those are coming. 

Let's get these things to catch on. It's such an easy habit-change to make. We can do this.