A little while ago, the folks from ReBinder reached out to me regarding their zero waste binders and other office supplies, and they were generous enough to send some over to me to review. In this review, we will take a look at some of their binders, but I’ve also got a few other products from them that I will be reviewing later. It is also important to note that beyond the “green office supplies” classification, these binders are also assembled in the US by AbilityOne, which according to their site:
“Provides employment opportunities to more than 40,000 people and is the largest single provider of jobs for people who are blind or have other severe disabilities in the United States.“
Obviously there are already some great reasons to take a look at the ReBinder products, so lets take a closer look at the products themselves.
The first photo posted above is the 2″ ReBinder Recycled Chipboard “D” ring Binder, and the second one pictured here is the Original Corrugated Recycled 1″ Binder with the ReTab 5 Tab Divider Inserts and RePouch Recycled Divider Pocket Insert. The first thing that really surprised me about these environmentally friendly binders was how heavy the chipboard version felt. The multiple layers of cardboard that go into making up the cover really do a good job at creating a sturdy and durable cover. One of my favorite things about of any of the ReBinder binders is that it is very easy to write on the cover or spine to label your binder using a simple Sharpie or other marker, or you can also pick up some of their recycled printable labels.
The next photo shows how easy it is to remove he metal rings from your binder cover should you need to replace it. All it takes is a phillips screwdriver and about 30 seconds of your time, and out come both screws and your rings are ready to be attached to a new cover. Obviously at this point you will want to put the old cover in with your other paper-based recycling materials too. I’m not sure if I just remember incorrectly, but the rings on these binders seem to open and close much easier as compared to the very stiff and almost bear-trap like three ring binders I’ve used in the past. I just like the feeling of closing the rings and not thinking I might accidentally puncture my fingers.
From my reading on their website it looks like the folks at ReBinder do all of the right things when it comes to using post-consumer recycled product where possible, and using local suppliers to reduce the impact of shipping goods. There really is not any comparison between these ReBinder Binders and the (unfortunately) ubiquitous sticky, vinyl or PVC binders that usually have very large carbon footprints. I’ll refrain from getting into too much tech-green-geek detail, you can check out the full list of benefits and features of their dedication to green production of their products.
Looking at the ReBinder Customer Testimonial Page you can see that they have many high-profile customers that are very happy with the products, so this should give you some level of comfort if you are interested in these unique and very environmentally friendly binders. I think that these binders could easily replace most of the binders that are currently sitting on desks and shelves in offices and schools around the country, although I guess it would be wasteful to just throw those out and replace them since they have already been manufactured…but going forward, these are an EXCELLENT option to begin replacing your old binders with.
Dont forget to check out @ReBinder on Twitter and Facebook because they have some pretty interesting info that they post on each of their profiles there, including product info and giveaway-type stuff. Again, many thanks to the kind folks at ReBinder for generously providing the products here for review, and as I said, I’ve got a few other products of theirs that I will be reviewing shortly.
