Ecopaper Present's the Green Blog

You will notice a newly redesigned blog page! I even added a new little tagline. The old blog's design was exactly like the rest of the page which made it hard for me to read so I had to change it.

Also I've decided I'm going to start blogging. There are actually two reasons behind this.

#1: I think it would be interesting experiment to chronicle someones experience in going green. And #2 and more important is I'd really like to become a better writer, so I figure this is a good opportunity. Unfortunately it's pretty late right now so I don't think this post will be long necessarily.

I hope you like the new design! I'm always looking for suggestions, feedback, etc., so I'd love to hear thoughts.

Cheers for now.

I learned the art of fine environmental paper making from Ian & the Siman Family, who have over 70 years of paper making experience. Ian Ratowsky and the Siman family were my first partners in this business. In 1995 Ian and the Siman family and I united to create Costa Rica Natural Paper Company aka EcoPaper.com. Ian and I had a dream to make 100% post consumer paper using recycled library books, old legal documents and most importantly agricultural waste that ends in landfills and rivers is mind-boggling. It gives us great satisfaction to manufacture a full line of natural tree- free paper, journals, notebooks, gift stationery and other office products, using Banana, Coffee, Lemon, Tobacco and Mango agricultural waste.. The Agro industrial wastes from these plantations are the by-products that become our natural tree-free papers. One ton of our fiber saves an estimated 17 trees. We had our work cut out for us in the beginning but through careful thought and good intentions we were able to expand our operations to include Cigar, Lemon and Mango fibers. Prior to this I was with Kinko’s and owned several stores in Los Angeles with in depth knowledge of papers and the lack of environmental papers available that benefit the industry in a positive manner. We are the creators and the original Banana Paper Company. PERIOD. There may be others but they’re poor attempts to replicate something that is truly one of a kind.

When I first started this company it was about doing something that fit my life style as, a surfer who has traveled the globe looking for that perfect place, I found Costa Rica to be that place the waves, people and the natural rural country is what I fell in love with. I was born and raised in Los Angeles (overpopulated and polluted as you know), which seems like a planet in another constellation when you’re engulfed by the enchanting country of Costa Rica. Since the beginning we have strived to restore and improve the eco systems that exude an almost electric aura of raw good which we hope to pass on to the people we work with and donate proceeds to. Over the years I have watched our vision blossom into the future of paper production while at the same time maintaining the companies grass roots mindset. Ours is a company of positive vibes and good times……its just that simple.

Over the years our business has grown through word of mouth and grass roots alone. We convert agricultural waste into reusable paper products that are just as unique and interesting as our customers. We at Costa Rica natural don't believe in just equalizing, we restore and improve our small part of mother earth as well as social responsibilities by making our workers part of the family these are all ingredients to our recipe for your value added products. Please help us continue in our grass roots efforts by sharing about us your friends and family thank you.

The agricultural waste worldwide that ends in landfills and rivers is mind-boggling. It gives us great satisfaction to manufacture a full line of natural tree- free paper, journals, gift stationery and other office products, using Banana, Coffee, Lemon, Tobacco and Mango agricultural waste. The Agro industrial wastes from these plantations are the by-products that become our natural tree-free papers. One ton of our fiber saves an estimated 17 trees.

green·wash (grnwsh, -wôsh)
n.
1. The dissemination of misleading information by an organization to conceal its abuse of the environment in order to present a positive public image.
2. The information so disseminated.

or this

green·wash
noun
Definition:
bogus environmentalism: public relations' initiatives by a business or organization, e.g. advertising or public consultation, that purport to show concern for the environmental impact of its activities ( disapproving )

or this,

green marketing
Definition
Promotional activities aimed at taking advantage of the changing consumer attitudes toward a brand. These changes are increasingly being influenced by a firm's policies and practices that affect the quality of the environment, and reflect the level of its concern for the community.

or this

According to the American Marketing Association, green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe.[1] Thus green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising. Yet defining green marketing is not a simple task where several meanings intersect and contradict each other; an example of this will be the existence of varying social, environmental and retail definitions attached to this term.[2] Other similar terms used are Environmental Marketing and Ecological Marketing.

Costa Rica Natural Paper Company has been making tree free papers with no chemical or additives since 1995, and consider one of the first tree free papers companies and has set the standards for the industry. Now with new “Green Marketing” it seems we have gotten lost in all the new lingo and sales tactics of this "Green" market that we have helped to create. We have been the tree hugger favorite for years, a small successful company that continues to do what’s natural no chemicals or additives. We “walk the talk”; I like to think of us as the Ben and Jerry’s of the paper world with four flavors of paper and more to come.

It’s fairly easy for me to know what fulfillment is in terms of food or other temporary pleasures. But to have fulfillment in the larger sense, to have a fulfilled life, you need to have a sense of purpose, a dream of what a good life might be, I truly enjoy making these papers and enjoy even more our customers response to loving them also.

Never have made a New Years Resolution before so here my attempt at it Blogging, I’ve been told that I should blog more, so I have decided to ask what to you want me to blog about most. My philosophy of life, about tree-free papers, my dogs & cats, travels, you let me know. Will do my best to blog more perhaps Email me harry@ecopaper.com

Hello! My name is Aaron and I am head developer over here at Ecopaper. I work for Mariff.com! It's a great company, you should check it out. Anyway, I realized that I post a lot of changes all the time on Ecopaper but I never talk about it. A lot of it is behind the scenes (read: unimportant) but other times there are some really exciting features for our users. Here are some features that we just added

• Google Checkout: Now you have the option to checkout with google!
• Tell us how you found us!

now when you checkout you can tell us about yourself

• Better user interface: We changed our views from a list to a grid. Also we made the pictures more visible!
• Share! Now its easier to share on social networks such as Digg, or Del.Icio.us! Or you can just email a product to your friends!
• Lots of back-end goodiesthis is exciting because we've made it easier to serve you, our friends!

There are lots of exciting things to come in the future and I'm excited to make it. Here are a list of things to come.
-Community points (incentives for participating on ecopaper.com)
-Wishlist (add to favorites)
-updated frontpage design
-Store listing (find our product in retail stores)
-And something secret I'm very excited to bring out! I'll give you a hint...it has to do with saving trees!

And just for reading this blog, be sure to check out my coupon just for the blog readers! 10% off any order!

Coupon code: ecoholiday

Enjoy

-Aaron

Today we were featured on alternativeconsumer.com! Check out the article here:

http://www.alternativeconsumer.com/2007/11/02/tree-free-paper-from-ecopa...

Thanks alternative consumer!

Over the years we have made many types of our tree free gift stationary and I have been ask many times which of the gift stationary products is my favorite. Very hard to say I like the florista writing set alott with the embossed envelopes & the colors used in the design but perhaps its cause we enjoyed making that set of gift stationary so much. Currently I have been journaling in the Dana Lemon journal perhaps that my favorite now, but when I fill the pages will most likely start journaling the dolphin essence journal. It so hard to decide really which gift stationary I like most its the paper I love and how pen takes to the pages.

Making tree -free papers gives me lasting joy, one must stop
asking “What’s in it for me?” and start asking “Who can
I serve?” The Law of Egolessness could also be
called the Law of Selfless Service.