I love that little green triangle of arrows I see when I’m shopping for greeting cards. Sometimes it’s printed on the back of greeting cards, sometimes tucked discreetly inside. The symbol makes the birthday cards, thank you cards or holiday cards I just fell in love with even more of a prized purchase.
The rate at which the U.S. and many other nations produce manufacturing waste has fueled such stress on our environment; knowing that I can reduce (or even eliminate) some of this by actively seeking recycled paper cards makes my final choices a snap. Waste is waste, whether it’s directly from the factory floor or paper fiber that has lived several lives before its usefulness has ended. I want to be sure that throwaways in any condition get second (and third, and fourth) chances to do the same jobs that sparkling new natural resources do, so that our natural resources stay abundant and sparkling. Recycling, and its continued support by an ever-growing world population, gives me hope.
Doing my part at home means that each newspaper, magazine, and piece of mail that has served its purpose goes straight to my paper-saving bin for once-a-week recycling pickup. As a regular purchaser of manufactured products, it means looking high and low, online and in stores, for the companies that have made the extra effort to offer high quality papers or greeting cards using either pre- or post-consumer discards.
Whenever I choose greeting cards for various occasions, I try to illustrate my commitment to “beautiful and recycled.” Not only can good resource management and beauty go hand-in-hand, but truly that they should. The little green triangle of arrows printed on the back of my greeting cards speaks volumes.