Recycled Paper Cards for the Suddenly Responsible Almost Thirty Something

The older I get, the guiltier I feel about my irresponsible ways. I’ve spent most of my twenties trying to make a dent in the credit card debt I racked up in college. I’ve spent the past few months kicking myself for all of the detrimental behavior I’ve displayed towards the environment. I’m wondering why it isn’t easier to stick to a healthy diet and lose the tire around my waist once and for all.

Maybe a “responsibility switch” flips on as you approach the age of thirty. I paid off the Visa card. I opened a savings account. I’ve started using reusable bags to do the grocery shopping, and I’ve begun replacing the light bulbs in my apartment with energy-efficient ones. I’ve also become more aware of what I’m recycling. Did you know that of the seven different types of plastic, most towns only pick up the first two at the curb?

Of course, working at The Gallery Collection, I’ve become sensitive to the designs I choose each year for my holiday cards as well. It’s comforting to know that we are doing our part by offering recycled paper cards and windpower cards. It’s comforting to know that we can offer earth-friendly alternatives for those customers shopping for corporate greeting cards.

Now, if I could just rid myself of my fast food diet, it’d be smooth sailing. Not only would a French fry boycott undoubtedly help me to shed some pounds and feel better, but think of all the Styrofoam containers I wouldn’t be tossing to wind up in landfills! Of course, this would require me to use those weird contraptions in the kitchen (you know…appliances) and cultivate my as-of-yet non-existent culinary abilities.

Do you think they would print Cooking for Dummies on recycled paper?

Recycled Paper Greeting Cards Really Speak to Me

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.

Birthday Cards Can Say More Than Happy Birthday

Corporate birthday cards are a part of my daily life because I work at a greeting cards company.  I love each and every birthday card we sell and lately, I’ve been comparing every birthday card I see in stores to our own premium quality greeting cards. Every time I go to a stationery store to buy a birthday card I cannot help but notice that most of the birthday cards are not as high quality as ours.  I compare everything from the greeting to the designs to the foils and the envelopes, and in my mind, GalleryCollection.com birthday cards always prevail.

Of course, the purpose of sending a birthday card is to wish someone a happy birthday.  But besides that, the quality of the card can send another message.  To me, one of the most important features on any birthday card, but especially corporate birthday cards, is the paper the greeting card is printed on.  Thick and beautiful paper says so much about the high standards of the company producing the birthday cards.  Sending recycled paper cards or greeting cards printed on FSC certified paper also sends a message to the person you are sending the greeting card to that you care about keeping our planet as healthy as possible. That is perhaps the most important message we can send to anyone, but saying “Happy Birthday” with a quality, unique birthday card design also says quite a lot whether it is on a personal or business-related basis.