Newspapers, old money, CD cases, plastic cups, wood scraps, tires and even blue jeans can get recycled into pencils!
Something to consider while you’re busy creating the future, scrawling in your notebooks.
I am forever amazed by the creative ways people stop waste from reaching landfills.
**Purchasing recycled, eco-friendly office supplies can really set the standard for future schools and workplaces. Plus, it sends a message to companies that endorse cheap-labor and poor environmental laws by saying “I CARE! THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO SUPPORT.“ **
It may seem more expensive at first, but if you substitute that fancy coffee or an unnecessary bus ride, you can use the money you’ve saved to buy various recycled, earth-friendly alternatives.
I try to think of it this way:
- Paying a bit more now will help me pay less later (more demand = lower price)
- I genuinely feel good about knowing what my money goes towards.
- If I continue to make cheap purchases now, I will be spending more in the future (things breaking, extreme weather etc.)
- Corporations use slave-labor (extremely under-paid women & children) because I want things to be inexpensive.
- Spending an extra dollar gives working families a better quality of life.
- Quality of land and water are not considered or cared for when it comes to cheap products.
- By supporting corporate companies out of convenience, I am endorsing the possibility of corporate dictatorships fueled by economic demand and poor politics.
I know it is just a pencil, but the ideas are progressive and inspiring.
Sometimes change happens with little things that eventually add up to really big things.
Sources:
Latham, Donna, and Beth Hetland. “A Throwaway World.” Garbage: Investigate What Happens When You Throw It out. White River Junction, VT: Nomad, 2011. Print.
Pencil Revolution
Eco-Friendly Back to School Essentials
Re-purposed Denim Projects
ARISETOTRASH 