These zero waste office supplies are ideal for the home or work office. The average home office or standard office contains heaps of junk, from plastic files to unused computers to toxic cleaning products. Having a real clear-out and giving your office an eco makeover, can really inspire you to make a cleaner, greener and more creative space to work in. Switch to plastic-free packing tape and recycled paper notebooks.
If you work alongside pets, see a beginner’s guide to houseplants, to know toxic ones to avoid (like lilies, cheese plants and sago palm – even brushing a tail alongside can harm). If you hot-desk with others, remove plants when you leave, to make shared spaces safe for dogs.
Envelope Reuse Labels (to help hedgehogs)
Catriona Hall for Green Pebble
Use British Hedgehog Society Envelope Reuse Labels, to easily reuse envelopes. Just slap a gummed label on any envelope, and send it on to somewhere else. As well as saving paper, the envelope labels are sold by the charity, which offers instant telephone and online help, to preserve our prickly endangered friends. The cute design also alerts others, who may also be inspired to order some too, and this creates a viral loop of saving both hedgehogs and trees. See greening up our post office on the campaign for Royal Mail to stop using rubber bands (which when dropped, harm and kill hedgehogs and other wildlife – ducks think they are worms, and feed them to their chicks).
If you send a lot of internal mail, Lopees (Australia) make organic cotton reusable envelopes. Ideal for to-and-fro mail and internal mail, these have zips and name labels. Just one order could last years, if you don’t lose them.
Zero Waste Office Supplies
You can find the prettiest recycled office goods from Hampshire’s Heart & Parcel. Everything (bar the inside pages of their notebooks) is made from cotton off-cuts from the fashion industry. This is better than sustainable forestry, which still results in trees being chopped down. Made in Hampshire, the boxes are plain inside with a simple magnetic closure. They are also good to store photos and keepsakes.
The range is in gorgeous designs – whether you like pastel or moody purples, and you can mix and match to accessories your office. The range includes:
- Magazine holders
- Pencil pots
- Pencil cases
- Waste paper bins
- File storage
Consider a Cardboard Desk
Pack a Desk Junior Cardboard Desk is a CE safety certified desk for children over 48 months, adults should assemble due to sharp edges and note it’s flammable. An ideal play-from-home station, this pop-up desk is good for colouring, art and suitable for children age 3 to 8. Contains choking hazard parts. Made from recycled cardboard. Rigid cardboard tends to be as safe as wood, just use inside to avoid humidity. Do a fire risk assessment and if used by adult smokers, use a Boodi personal ashtray.
Dragonfly Laptop Stand sets up in seconds to provide a way to use your laptop without a desk, without giving you neck, back or shoulder pain. Invented by a digital nomad, this is made from bamboo, with two height settings, to adjust to preference. Ideal if your ‘desk’ is the dining table (so the wrong height for your laptop and your head)
The Dragonfly collapses into a small package, to fit any bag. It’s remarkably strong, yet lightweight. Now you can work anywhere, without sacrificing posture. Just adapt it to your body, work station and preference.
