Giveaway: 1-Month Supply of Marcal Small Steps Paper Products

Giveaway has ended. Congratulations to Cathy!

Earth Month was in April, but there’s really no reason to not go green every month, is there? I try to help myself and my family be as green as we can be (while still maintaining my sanity – I can’t handle cloth diapers!). We recycle everything we possibly can, we compost, we reuse products and I especially try to waste as little as possible in everything I do. Some use and waste, however, is non-negotiable for me. Toilet paper is one of those things. I know there are some alternatives, but my family is definitely going to use TP!

It’s nice to know, however, that there are a few eco-friendly options that allow us to lessen our impact while still using toilet paper! Marcal Small Steps makes toilet paper, napkins and paper towels from 100% premium recycled paper, not trees. Why the name “Small Steps”? It may seem like a small thing, but using 100% recycled products (like Marcal Small Steps) really adds up. If every household in the U.S. replaced one package of traditional toilet paper with Marcal Small Steps, together we could help save nearly one million trees. And, in your own home, a family of four could save two trees a year (17 trees over 10 years) just by switching to paper products made from 100% recycled materials. That’s incredible! Marcal Small Steps sent me some samples to try out their products, and I’m happy to say that I like them! Marcal sent me toilet paper, napkins and paper towels to try out.

Overall, I have to say that the products do their jobs. I usually buy the budget, single-ply, big rolls of toilet paper, because I’m just not picky about that sort of thing. The Marcal toilet paper was very similar, so no complaints there! The napkins were the same story. They’re not restaurant-quality napkins, but they worked just fine to clean us up while we were eating dinner, so these products get my vote, too! I do have to admit that I’m not a big paper towel user. In my effort to reduce my own waste, I tend to use rags for almost everything, so I can’t really compare the paper towels to the performance of other products. I did, however, find that they worked just fine to clean up a secondhand bread machine I picked up a few weeks ago. They didn’t shred or fall apart, and the machine cleaned up beautifully, so I’d recommend the Marcal paper towels, too!

I think one of the best things about Marcal is that their products are environmentally-friendly without the “green premium” that’s often attached to other eco-friendly products. I actually learned that Marcal products typically sell for less than their competitors tradtional paper goods that often have dyes and chemicals that Marcal doesn’t. Plus, those other products aren’t made from recycled materials! Also, I often find coupons for Marcal products in my Sunday newspaper so I can pick up the product for even less than their regular low price. A green product that I can get for a fabulously low price? I’m a convert for sure!

Want to know where to buy Marcal Small Steps products? Click here to find a store near you!

Giveaway

Marcal is so fabulous, they’re providing a 1-month supply of paper products to one lucky Baby GoodBuys reader! Here’s how to enter:

Leave a comment letting me know a “small step” you’ve taken to become more green.

The above entry is mandatory. If you’d like additional entries, you may do the following:

Subscribe to the Baby GoodBuys feed either in a reader or by email. You can do this by clicking here and adding this site to your reader, or you can enter your email address in the box near the top of the page on the right. You must click the confirmation link in your email if you choose to be an email subscriber. (Leave a comment letting me know you’re a subscriber to get your extra entry for this option)
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Sign up for Ebates by clicking here. (Your email address will be verified by Ebates, so leave a comment letting me know you signed up and I’ll validate with your email address that’s not publicly displayed in your comment)

Contest Details: Contest ends on 5/28/2010. United States residents only. Valid email address is required. All entries without a valid email address will be disqualified. Duplicate, fraudulent and/or invalid entries will be disqualified. Winning email notification must be responded to within 48 hours or that winner will forfeit the prize and a new winner will be selected. Winner will be selected with the random integer generator at random.org. Screen print of Random.org selection will be saved and provided upon request. Winner’s first name will be posted on this giveaway/contest All questions should be directed to babygoodbuys(at) gmail(dot)com.

FTC Disclosure: This was not a paid post and honest opinions were expressed. Many thanks to Marcal Small Steps for providing the products for my (very!) personal use and additional products to give away.