I couldn't function without my notebook. Sure I'm addicted to my iPhone and spend far too many hours of the day at my computer. But when I need to make a list, take notes while interviewing someone, or write an opening paragraph, I do so on paper.
I've used leather-bound moleskins, cute-covered ones from Chronicle Books, old-fashioned black and white speckled school ones. But recently, I came across Ecosystem and was intrigued. It addressed one of the concerns I do have about all these notebooks I feverishly fill with deep thoughts and grocery lists: recyclability.
Ecosystem [www.ecosystemlife.com] is a family of notebook products developed with only 100% post-consumer recycled paper. The company states that due to the use of their specially sourced paper in 2009, ecosystem will have saved 3,046 full-grown trees, 1,299,751 gallons of water and 283,974 pounds of greenhouse gases.
The most environmentally-friendly materials or production methods have been used, and because the notebooks are U.S. made, their ecological footprint is minimized. The company even provides a way for you to return the notebook covers for recycling once they've been filled with your particular ramblings and reminiscences.
But here's the absolute kicker: like Tiffany's classic keyring, Ecosystem has a "lost and found" program. Nomad that I am, I've lost my notebooks twice. And while it may sound trivial it can be devastating. Memories and ideas are lost, important information is irretrievable plus you just feel like an idiot for not keeping better track of your things. I made three return visits to a convention center after losing my notebook at a conference. I'd misplaced it after filling pages of notes listening to the environmental guru Stewart Brand and then, inexplicably, they were gone. Looking for a 5 X 7 notebook in a TK,000 square foot convention center is madness. That's why this lost & found program is so ingenious. Each book has an ID #. If you find one, you can register the # at the Ecosystem site so that its owner can track it down, and vice/versa.
It's not easy to imagine that a notebook could be a vehicle for sustainability and community but in its own small ways, Ecosystem is aspiring to do so.
[All image: ecosystemlife.com]
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