autumn office Heather Stillufsen

Heather Stillufsen

If you work from home, make the effort to create a little office, even in a bedroom or spare room. You can buy desks that fit flush against the wall when not in use (better for your back and neck). Or use a bamboo laptop stand, which helps keep your bones in alignment, if you have to work at the kitchen table.

If you use plants in your office, know pet-toxic houseplants to avoid (sago palm, lilies etc). And remove if hot-desking with others. Don’t face indoor foliage to gardens, to help stop birds flying into windows

Go for leather-free swivel chairs, to save cows. IKEA and many other stores sell leather-free alternatives, along with affordable desks made from sustainable wood. Or go to secondhand stores (there are many online) that offer used office furniture, to stop it going to landfill.

You can buy recycled office furniture from Reyooz, to help save on quality items. 80% of office furniture goes to landfill or is burned, when most is in good condition. You can donate unwanted office furniture to CollectEco, which passes it onto good causes.

Feminine Recycled Office Accessories

recycled file folders

Karenzo & Co is a lovely little company, which produces beautiful office accessories in all kinds of colours and styles (mostly ‘pretty pinks’ but there are also some darker paisley designs for less feminine offices). Nearly everything is made from offcuts from the fashion industry, helping to upcycle items from one of the most wasteful industries.

The range includes pen holders, waste bins and file folders, along with notebooks made with recycled paper. The designs are handscreen-printed and finished with plant-based eco dyes and glues. Hedgerow designs are printed on mulberry paper with images of native birds and florals. Moody Hues features dragonflies, ladybirds, bees and butterflies.

Office Accessories (from recycled newspapers)

recycled newspaper pencil holders

These office accessories are all made from recycled newspaper, a great way to use up waste (the horrible smell at landfills is usually due to rotting paper).

The pencil holders are also randomly unique, but you can ask for a colour theme and they will try to match it to your office. Handmade by a social enterprise in Sri Lanka, these are perfect to stash all your pens and pencils.

The photo frames are in 2 sizes, with an attached stand to place the photos on portrait or landscape or a flat surface. There is no glass/plastic cover, nor fiddly hooks, just slots to slip photos in.

Office Accessories (from elephant dung!)

elephant dung writing sets

Here’s a great idea. These office accessories are all zero waste, as they are made partly from recycled paper. But the paper is then blended with elephant dung! Let’s learn more, and why!

Elephants are endangered, but are big risk from hunting and poaching. But another threat is that (due to loss of habitat), many elephant herds end up visiting villages to find food and water, and end up trampling crops. This has caused some villagers to shoot them.

This company pays local villagers to collect elephant dung (the typical elephant friend eats the same as us munching 365 cans of baked beans a day – so that’s a lot of dung!) Elephant dung is also full of fibre (they are vegetarians) producing wonderful unique ‘flecks’ in the paper. Each item is unique, depending on what your elephant friend ate that day!

So all of these products are not just beautiful and unique (and save trees, due to recycled papaer). But they literally help to save elephant lives, as local villagers now see visiting elephants as income rather than a threat. Read more on how to save critically endangered elephants

elephant dung notebooks

  1. Writing sets (10 sheets of A5 paper & 5 un-gummed envelopes, tuck the flap inside or use paper tape to secure).
  2. Note holders (ideal to keep by the phone, with 60 different coloured pages, using natural dyes).
  3. Unlined A5 notebooks (in 5 colours), also in A6 size

elephant dung noteholders

Use with plastic-free ballpoint biros (made from recycled newspaper, just soak in hot water for a few minutes to unravel the paper shaft, then recycle the stainless steel ink chamber). Keep pens & pencils away from young children & pets. 

elephant dung noteholder

If you prefer more neutral colours, the same company offers naturally cream elephant dung office accessories, adorned with beautiful brass elephants:

elephant dung notebook

  1. Notebooks
  2. Noteholders
  3. Writing sets

elephant dung writing set

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