PVC  Binders,“Green”, and PVC free

I will first qualify this by telling you that, vinyl binders have been our business for over 30 years, There is no real reason to change them  But……………..have we seen changes……

Why PVC ….. Vinyl [PVC] ring binders have been the clear winner for students, professionals and virtually anyone who needs to get organized! And it’s a snap to customize, stack and store neatly anywhere you need it and is generally cost effective. There is/was and will always be a use and a need for Vinyl/PVC binders, but….

Why not PVC??? People  and organizations are jumping on the “green” bandwagon by asking for a “green” product.

Well there is no simple answer to that question and I am hoping to give you something’s to think about.

You need to decide what “Your shade of Green” is, is it something that is

Sustainable?  •  Recycled?  •  Recyclable?  •  Economical?  •  Eco Friendly?  • Better?

What is it you are looking for? In the mash-up of words and concepts, we have lost the fundamental meaning of Green. The terms Environmental, Green, or Sustainable now blur into that ugly green

The word “Green” is not the Omni-term for anything environmental although there is the tendency to substitute the word “Green” for “Environmental.” Environmentalism is to grand topic that has several subdivisions. Under this grand topic of environmentalism, we will find Green, Sustainable, Pollution, and Conservation. Sustainability is also badly morphed into many applications, but essentially deals with the management of our resources. This is a complimentary issue to Green

Okay, so you are looking for a “green binder” / an “eco binder” what does that really mean.

What is your shade of “green” ??

What do you really want, and at what cost?

The question needs to be asked …..

Are you/is your organization looking for

• A  Binder that is produced in an environmentally friendly manner/method???

• A  Binder that uses “green” raw materials????

The board used in our binder’s flats are FSC recycled/certified. The ring metals are generally produced using a high content of recycled steel and nickel

• A binder that creates a smaller landfill footprint

• A binder that is recyclable, “where facilities exist”

What does “where facilities exist” …………… mean, just sending it to recycling, does not necessarily divert it from landfill. What portion of the board, paper, metal that may be placed into a recycling bin, actually gets recycled, or re-used? Garbage to a Landfill, garbage to “Offshore” neither is really sustainable

• A binder that is made from recycled materials, a binder that uses a high content of recycled material in processing and packaging

• A binder that is produced in an environmentally friendly way?

A lot of binder products and styles are durable and environmentally responsible. You can choose Light-weight binders or Heavy-weight binders made from chipboard, paper, and poly and more, some examples are

• Chipboard [binder board]/Cardboard, plain/natural/ naked,  are great for archival and storage, can be customized, screened, stamped

Heavy duty, [90 pt. board]            we can screen print your company logo and cover artwork directly on chipboard binders, Self-adhesive pockets can customize this style

Light weight [20 pt. board] binders, of natural cover stock that can be screen print the binder covers. This type of binder can have fold over pockets on the inside front and back covers, as well as die-cuts for a business card…

Spine wrapped/strengthened, the wrap offers easy identification on a shelf as well as protecting the spine from wear.  Available as FSC certified Binding tape for spine strength

Everyone is thinking “green” these days. When it comes to eco-friendly binders, chipboard (recycled paperboard) offers two main advantages: it is inexpensive and environmentally friendly. The raw chipboard can be decorated by screen printing/and/or foil stamping. The binder covers have an earthy look and feel.  To finish your custom binder, we simply assemble a ring metal in position. You may get inventive by combining other decorating materials. You will be surprised at the artistic designs and spectacular custom binders available within a “green” environment. The possibilities are endless!

As well as recycling, it is important  to buy products made from recycled material. This will increase the demand for recycled products as well as create a good recycling loop. Recycled products are widely available

• Casemade/Paper wrapped

Allows for print customization Traditional Casemade binders, can be produced to give the same look and feel, but can be made using environmentally friendly recycled paper, instead of conventional non-biodegradable cover and liner materials

Ø   Paper Based Products

There are a few options in paper based products and a new trend has been towards litho printed stock which has a single sided thin laminate applied for strength and is then adhered to the pasted chip board with the animal based glue.  Some of the new products are even doing away with the laminate and going for a plain paper cover.  The laminated paper stock option has recently evolved into a good alternative, and in terms of cost and longevity with the added advantage of allowing the use of colourful and creative graphics to create eye catching items paper based products are a lot more environmentally sound.

Ø   Cloth Covered Products

The fabric used in these products is a naturally renewable resource being based on 100% cotton to make the drill base.  The cloth then has a coating applied.  Originally a pyroxlin coating, this has been changed to a new environmentally acceptable aqueous coating by the manufacturers over the past few years to the point where it is no longer possible to get pyroxlin coated stock anymore.  During manufacture the cover material/s are adhered to the pasted chipboard using hot based animal glue which is a biodegradable, non-synthetic product, and made from waste animal protein.  Lining on cloth covered products can be either the same cloth or a paper based product, again a renewable and environmentally friendly resource.  Fabric covered pieces, although initially more expensive, are cheaper when viewed in a life cycle analysis.  We  promote Casemade products because they are an environmental friendly product that are bio degradable as well as being a more durable with an extended life when compared to some other products.  This increased longevity means reduced demands are made on the supply of raw material requirements over time, another benefit to the dwindling earth’s natural resources.

• Polyethylene [HDPE], [a polyolefin]

Durability, strength

High density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PE) and polypropylene are alternate materials which are durable & cost effective substrates that are also used in the manufacture of binders.   HDPE and PP are manmade plastics based upon non-renewable petroleum derived sources, but some suppliers of these products do have recycling programs for the excess plant waste generated during the manufacturing process which we all should fully support.  This primary waste is recovered and recycled back into the base products

Many are available in many standard capacities. Most are durable enough for rigorous professional use yet economical for storing, filing, presenting and sharing in home, hobby and school applications. Most binders are produced for “letter size sheet” [11 x 8 ½”] they are also available in mini [8 ½” sheet, 9 ½” sheet, as well as A4 Metric and legal sheet sizes

A polyolefin is a polymer produced from a simple olefin (also called an alkene with the general formula C_nH_2n) as a monomer. For example, polyethylene is the polyolefin produced by polymerizing the olefin ethylene. An equivalent term is polyalkene; this is a more modern term, although polyolefin is still used in the petrochemical industry. Polypropylene is another common polyolefin which is made from the olefin propylene.

Binder Accessories, a paper product

Pockets, divider tabs and protective pages can truly customize any organization system and are colourful and easy to use. Binder pockets are available with easy-to-label tabs or with no tabs, and all have slots to add business cards or discs. The dividers feature index pages with titles that are always visible and easy to create.

Environment All the board and packaging products that we use are made of post-consumer waste. FSC certificate FSC recycled label for binder board Eskaboard and Newex [our 2 board choices] are entirely made of post-consumer reclaimed fibres and therefore both have acquired the FSC-recycled label. This does not mean that the fibres used to make these products can be traced back to well-managed forests. But by making use of post-consumer reclaimed fibres these products do not require newly harvested wood and therefore “support responsible use of forest resources’.