City of San Francisco Chooses AusPen Eco-Friendly Markers

After years of researching alternative green products, the City of San Francisco has recently released a database of over 1,000 products and services tested to meet the city’s health and environmental standards. AusPen non-toxic and refillable markers are the suggested green choice for dry-erase markers in San Francisco city departments.  

In 2005, the City of San Francisco was the first in the nation to implement strict purchasing standards that would require all city departments to buy products that met environmental, health and toxicity guidelines. After five years of market study into green products, San Francisco launched its new website, SF Approved, in August 2010, listing more than 1,000 approved green products and services. To eliminate airborne toxins and the solid waste generated by disposable dry-erase markers, the San Francisco Department of the Environment suggests the use of AusPen refillable non-toxic markers.

The motivation to create such a list came from the challenge of knowing whether the claims of a ‘green’ product are actually true or stringent enough to meet city standards. “It is quite difficult for purchasing agents to find environmentally preferable products,” Karl Bruskotter, environmental programs analyst with the City of Santa Monica, California, wrote in an e-mail. “Any vendor can offer a product or service and call it green, and the purchasing agent may not know how to ask the right questions to uncover whether or not the product really is green.”

The approved products list takes many health and environmental factors into consideration, including recycled content, energy efficiency, product reviews from city staff and ingredients used.  Aiming to reduce toxic exposure, researchers used the Berkely-based GoodGuide to assess the hazards of more than 60,000 chemicals. AusPen’s non-toxic ink, which uses an organic vegetable compound, avoids the commonly used chemical xylene, a potentially harmful ingredient.  

 City staff is now required to buy PVC-free office supplies. PVC, another chemical identified by the GoodGuide, releases cancer-causing dioxins and can cause other problems such as high blood pressure, hypertension, nerve disorders and reproductive problems. Since AusPen markers are made of 100% recyclable aluminium, they meet the standards of recycled content and avoid PVC plastics.

While the SF Approved list was generated to serve as a resource for San Francisco city departments, it is also a template for other cities and corporate purchasing agents and consumers who are making efforts to go green. The online database can be used as a quick reference to others looking for unbiased information on eco-friendly products.

The approved list also regulates against products that are not approved. City purchasing agents are prohibited from buying certain products like bottled water, plastic foam containers and nickel-cadmium batteries.

A Sign of the Times

Are you afraid others will come along and toss your AusPen markers?

Here’s a tip for how to get the word out that your AusPen eco-friendly markers in your boardroom or classroom are refillable, that they are not to be thrown out:

Make a sign for the room that explains that AusPen markers are part of your overall sustainability plan. One customer shared their sign with us. I like it because it solicited feedback, making everyone feel like they are part of the process of choosing the right non-toxic and environmentally-friendly office supplies. It read:

We are experimenting with environmentally friendly whiteboard markers in this room. Please do not throw them out when they run low. If you return them to the front desk, we can refill them. We welcome your comments on how they write and erase. Your input will help us determine if we order additional colours.

Others have written to us to say that they have printed out labels for the markers themselves that read, “This pen is refillable – do not throw out”.

Has your school or office come up with creative ways to spread the word about keeping AusPens out of the garbage? Share with us at info@ecosmartworld.com

*Thanks to IRMACS at Simon Fraser University for sharing your sign with us!

Putting the move into the green movement

There I was squeezed into my son’s desk at last night’s parent-teacher curriculum meeting. The teacher was talking about the environmental curriculum which will cover energy conservation and general environmental awareness.

 As I looked up and around the room, it was easy to tell that this curriculum had no practical application at this school, or else, quite simply, previous classes would have done something about these lights, those disposable markers, the overflowing garbage cans…

 I’m wondering what lesson we are teaching our kids if we teach one thing, but we don’t act on it – correction: we act against it ? That knowledge is more important than skills?

 From all the interactions I’ve had here at EcoSmart Products with schools going green, I’ve learned that the application of environmental awareness is the fun part for kids. It’s where the message hits home.

 As for me, what would I be teaching my kids by working for an environmentally-minded company yet not taking initiative to help the class mobilize their knowledge into action? My life just got a little busier…

Accidents can happen

Why bother choose a natural, non-toxic cleaning product? It’s not like you’re going to drink it…

 Unless you’re my mom.

 While sipping her afternoon tea, my mom noticed a bitter taste – overpoweringly bitter, in fact. Then she remembered that she had started to clean her kettle by soaking vinegar in it. A little while later when it was tea-time, she just turned on the kettle and made her tea with the ‘water’ already in there. It’s a good thing she wasn’t cleaning with a toxic cleaner. Always one for a good murder mystery, my mom got a good laugh out of that close call.

Going green and choosing healthier, non-toxic products just makes sense because you never know where they might end up or how they will enter our system. Luckily for us, non-toxic cleaning supplies were already my mom’s cup of tea!

Classrooms in a fog

A teacher friend of mine asked her high school students throughout each period of the day who would still be asleep at that time if they were still on summer vacation. Hands went up until at least mid-afternoon. Finally, before the end of the day she would find her first class that was fully awake.

 But while students take their time to slowly come around to the living, the build up of fumes from dry-erase markers in a poorly ventilated classroom silently contributes to “brain fog”. Many teens progress through their school day from sleepy to foggy.

 Here’s what a mom wrote to us about brain fog:

 When our daughter was unable to stay in her Grade 7 classroom because smelly white board markers gave her horrible “brain fog”, the school secretary ordered AusPens. Happily, she has never left a classroom again because of brain fog thanks to AusPens. She now has her own AusPens for those who don’t know there is a healthy alternative to the toxic, smelly other white board markers.

AusPen non-toxic markers do help lift the fog so that students can wake up and smell…cleaner air.

Teachers.net Exclusive Offer

Welcome Teachers.net Members!

 

Thank you for visiting our site – the place to learn more about AusPen refillable, non-toxic markers

AusPen Kit, equivalent to 246 markers $39.95 for Teachers.net!

Receive a 20% discount on all AusPen products

Use discount code: Teachers20

 Order Now!

Why use AusPen dry-erase markers? We have 3 good reasons:

1) Non-toxic ink

• AusPen’s specially formulated ink is derived from an organic vegetable compound, and is certified non-toxic
• Proven safe for people with reactions to ink in regular disposable markers
• Protect yourself and your students from harmful exposure to toxins
• Ultra-low odor markers won’t smell up the room

2) Reduce Waste!

• AusPens are made of recycled material – and no PVC plastic!
• Refill your marker with a few drops of ink and never throw another dry erase marker into your local landfill
• One kit of 6 markers and their refill inks is the equivalent of 246 disposable markers!

3) Cost!

• Save approximately 70% of the cost of disposable dry erase markers
• Enjoy an additional 20% off for being a Teachers.net member
• One kit is regular $49.95, or $39.95 for Teachers.net members

Order online now (http://www.ecosmartworld.com/order-auspen) with your Teachers.net discount code: Teachers20

Or call the EcoSmart Products Office: 1 866 328-7736 (toll-free)

How to Green Your School in 5 Creative Steps

 

If your school’s environmental activities seem a little boring, formulaic, or under-achieving, read these ideas for going green at school. With an emphasis on fun and community, these 5 creative steps will get everyone involved in activities like creating awards, choosing non-toxic school supplies, and working within a tribe to make your school more eco-friendly.

If there has ever been an idea whose time has come, it’s the idea of taking steps to green our homes, schools, workplaces and bodies. Greening your school can not only improve the health of your students and staff and lessen your impact on the environment, it can also create a great sense of school unity and pride as everyone works together to put ideas into practice. Posters, t-shirts and bumper stickers beckon us to follow Gandhi’s words to “Be the change you want to see in the world.” What better place to create change than schools teeming with youthful energy, optimistic minds and helpful hands? Listed here are five simple, practical and creative tips to help your school step it up in going green.

 1.  Create an inspiring school-wide movement

An environmental club or eco team can serve to motivate students into action. Better yet, why not get the whole school involved? The student body can be divided into ‘tribes’ with unique areas of interest such as earth, air, water and fire. The earth keepers can focus on initiatives around waste and composting or school yard greening; the air keepers can source out ways to improve indoor air quality and increase school yard shade; the water keepers can target water conservation and those wasteful water bottles; and the fire keepers can ensure that energy from lights and computer labs is being conserved. Pep rallies, student assemblies and school-wide friendly competition can really create a movement that is active, diverse and unifying.

 2.  Embellish the school halls

An environmentally-active school is a visual feast. Creative bulletin and display boards proudly demonstrate plans, goals, achievements and photos, while student-created signs adorn the halls and classrooms. Doorknob signs can remind students and teachers to turn off lights and monitors, and ‘No Idling’ signs urge parents not to leave their car running in drop-off zones. Large thermometer-style visuals will help the whole school community stay on task to reach their collective goals.

 3.  Buy safer products

Give the students, teachers and staff healthier products to work with. Non-toxic school and office supplies reduce unnecessary exposure to harmful chemicals, and communicate that the school is truly committed to taking care of its students, teachers and staff, as well as the environment. Non-toxic markers, art supplies, cleaning products and pest controls will improve classroom and office air quality, a key component to thinking and breathing clearly. Not surprisingly, many green products accomplish several goals at once. For example, AusPen eco-friendly markers use non-toxic ink, they have recycled content (100% recycled and recyclable aluminum), they reduce waste since they are refillable, and they are cost-effective.

 4.  Reduce waste and energy

Start the year off with an energy audit to assess energy use patterns. Carry out a waste audit to calculate how much wet and dry garbage is being generated. Set goals to reduce waste and energy. Create a litterless or boomerang lunch campaign. Some schools have created a mock Hog Trophy, awarded to the classroom that has left on its lights or computers. The recipients would then be on the lookout to pass their unwelcomed award on to the next energy hogs. Other schools have presented a Golden Garbage Can Trophy to the class that has shown the greatest leadership in the 3 R’s.

 5.  Create a culture of community

Electronic communications, community-wide invitations to green the school yard, and initiatives like walking school buses will tell the neighbourhood and parents that yours is a green school, and that everyone is welcome to take part. Selling customized water bottles or safe lunch containers can help raise funds for other environmental activities. Of course, taking part in global initiatives and drives such as raising money to contribute towards clean water in another country will teach the students about world citizenship and the value of the resources we have in such abundance.

 What valuable lessons the school community will learn in walking together towards a greener school.

AusPen launches its new Giveaway Program!

 

AusPen Giveaways

Where it pays to go green

 Welcome to EcoSmart’s giveaway page where your “Green” stories can get you great free eco-friendly products!  

 Each month we choose a theme, welcome your input, and have AusPen draws throughout the month, ranging from AusPen starter kits, to marker packs to accessories.

 September Theme: BACK TO SCHOOL 

Is your school or office going green? Tell us what activities you’re up to. Litterless lunches, walking school buses, eco assemblies, and recycling programs are all exciting steps towards treading lighter on the earth.

 Email us at info@ecosmartworld.com to share what you are doing this September to be greener at school or work. You will be automatically entered into a draw for AusPen Giveaways!

 Your stories do not have to be limited to your experiences with AusPen eco-friendly markers

A Clean Start

In the early days in North America, people would send or leave messages etched in bark to communicate their whereabouts or plans. Then this piece of bark would be rubbed smooth and a new message would be etched in its place. The unique property of bark is such that old messages can never totally be erased: remnants of past messages can still be made out. Sitting in my history class, I loved this image of messages peeking through and overlaying each other through time.

 Not so for the modern mathematician. What could be worse for a mathematician working on secretive equations than to find out that the whiteboard doesn’t wipe entirely clean! A loyal user of AusPen markers was explaining to me that in her math department, only AusPens will do as they wipe clean from the board, leaving no trace of previous mathematical genius.

So I can fairly say that you get to  wipe your slate clean with AusPen markers.