Cutline Speaks

Because It’s Cool to Be Green

posted by LizM on March 30, 2010

Thinking about "going green" can sometimes seem overwhelming; what can I do on a personal level that will have a positive effect on the world? In this day and age, there are many studies out there that reveal the everyday actions we've been taking for years are responsible for the negative changes we're seeing in the world today. So, it's not difficult to figure out what needs to be changed and how to do it.

What is difficult is shaking bad habits, especially when the recurring thought of "I'm only one person, I can't really be making a difference by recycling this one piece of paper" never seems to go away. It's kind of like that one thing on your to-do list that you can't seem to get around to doing (for example, scheduling a doctor's appointment, cleaning out the closets, doing taxes on time). Our suggestion is to start making any changes on a small scale, and then eventually you can be beneficial on a grand scale.

The Cutline Crew subscribes to the idea of making small changes to do big things. So, we've recently ramped up our "thinking green" skills at the office, and we came up with a few changes that we were easily and quickly able to make around the office. Here's what we've done so far:

• Buying locally grown organic food for the office: Besides the obvious that organic fruit is much healthier for your body without the worry of ingesting pesticides, locally grown fruit has its benefits for the environment as well. By purchasing local produce, you are not only helping out the local economy and supporting small business, but you are eliminating the pollution and energy caused by shipping from other areas.

• Saying no to plastic/styrofoam cups: We all know that plastic and styrofoam cups are horrible for the environment due to their build-up of waste and their inability to biodegrade. But there are also studies revealing the harmful effects of plastic/styrofoam on the human body. Morgan had the great idea of cutting out our purchase of plastic and styrofoam cups. We now use Sigg water bottles, personalized with the Cutline logo. They eliminate waste, and they don't have any harmful chemicals seeping into your liquids like plastic water bottles do.

Our next green move will be to start using a compost bin along with the others in the office for garbage and recycling. We'll be back with more updates on going green at Cutline. In the meantime, what green things are you doing at the office? Remember: it's the little things that count!

Tags for this post: liz