The Yak's favorite back-to-school color this year is green. Not as in Spartan green football jerseys and lime green T-shirts -- although both of those options sound perfectly fashionable.
Today, the Yak is thinking about green, Earth-friendly school supplies.
Robert Silberman, the vice president of marketing for Pilot Pen Corp. of America, said his company's new BeGreen line of writing supplies was launched because of customer interest. The company, which makes about 300 million writing instruments a year, launched the green line in Europe about three years ago and was looking forward to making the pens available here in the United States, too, once enough recycled materials were secured. The pens and mechanical pencils are made of at least 70 percent recycled content.
Robert said "this is absolutely the biggest time of year" for sales of school and office supplies, adding that about 35 percent of the sales of pens and mechanical pencils happen in this busy six-week shopping period.
And you (and your teachers) are the ones often shaping the decisions about what supplies are wanted and needed.
The Yak has been out shopping and has noticed that lots of stores offer a selection of green school gear this year. Here are a few ideas we liked:
• For a cool pencil case, we liked one we spotted made from Kool-Aid Jammers drink pouches. TerraCycle Inc. makes the pencil bags, selling for about $2.50 each, out of recycled drink pouches. The company even has information on its Web site on how school organizations can collect the drink pouches and earn money. Visit www.terracycle.net/bridges for details.
• Everybody needs pencils. We liked the SRX Green line of No. 2 pencils from Mega Brands Inc. because the company used recycled newspaper and denim! A pack of seven sells for about $1.80.
• We spotted a line of fun folders, notebooks and 3-ring binders labeled O.P.P., Other People's Paper, made from recycled paper products.
Beyond buying new supplies, you can also go green by using your old school stuff. Be sure to make use of the supplies you already have including pens, paper or pencils left over from last year. And if your backpack is still in decent condition, why not reuse it this year, saving money and recycling at the same time.
You can also go green at lunch. And no, that doesn't mean eating only green foods. Carry a lunch box or cloth bag instead of a paper or plastic bag, use a cloth napkin and bring a fork from home, instead of using stuff you have to toss every day. Instead of a plastic juice or water bottle, get a permanent bottle that you fill at home and use each day.
As you head back to school, feel free to show your team spirit by going green or going blue -- we do live in Michigan -- but try to show your environmental spirit, too! Go Green. Go Blue. Go Green.
By Janis Campbell
