Giveaway alert! One lucky reader will win a sample pack of products from Marcal Small Steps for making small changes to green your life. Giveaway closed – ECO-ngratulations Stephanie R.
When companies send me products to review I don’t always write them up immediately – I’ve had my Marcal Starter Kit (disclosure) since April and I’m finally inspired to tell you how I feel about their product. It’s usually better if I hold off and really review the products because I can give you a full and honest description of the products.
The only thing remaining from our starter kit is a partial pack of napkins. We don’t use disposable napkins often – we either use reusable cloth napkins or paper towels. We normally shop at Publix grocery store and buy their own line of green recycled paper products – the only place locally that sells Marcal is SweetBay and we don’t (normally) shop there. On occasion we will buy our paper products at Wal-Mart or Target but I’ve never seen Marcal there either.
Compared to the Publix Greenwise products the Marcal products are fairly similar. Here is my comparison and comments by product:
Paper Towels - I couldn’t really tell much difference between the paper towels. They picked up the wet messes just fine. I’ve never been a picky person over absorbency with paper towels – I don’t normally have large spills to clean up.
Tissues -I normally avoid the recycled nose tissues because we all know that they are rougher than those soft luxurious Puffs. I have to say I wasn’t too impressed with the Marcal Small Steps tissues - they were not soft at all and if I had been sick or used them regularly I’m sure my nose would have been raw. For the everyday tissue – they would probably be fine if you didn’t care too much about the softness.
Toilet Paper -I tried two different TPs; one was a single ply and the other was double ply. Compared to the Greenwise the double ply was about the same. The single ply was very thin and the roll emptied pretty quick.
Napkins - Like I said I don’t normally buy napkins but I don’t really see a difference from brands that I’ve used in the past. They are great to have around at dinner time if I’m not using the cloth napkins.
All of the Marcal Small Steps are made of 100% recycled paper. They don’t use chlorine bleach or dyes to make the paper ‘pretty’ and white. Their products are all fragrance free too.
Would I buy Marcal Small Steps? I would buy the paper towels and 2-ply TP ’if’ it were sold where I normally shop and if the price was comparable to what I already buy. I won’t go out of my way to find a place to purchase it because it’s not really that much different from the brand I already use.
If you don’t already purchase recycled paper products I would recommend taking ‘Small Steps’ to change your buying habits. The easiest products to start with are the paper towels and napkins – followed by the TP. Environmentally speaking – there is absolutely NO reason NOT to purchase recycled products if they are available. I honestly have no idea why paper companies still manufacture them from virgin materials – i.e. Trees! At Marcal they manufacture more than a MILE of paper every minute - that’s a LOT of paper – thankfully they are using our waste paper and not trees.
Does your local store carry Marcal Small Steps? Have you tried any of the Small Steps products? What were your thoughts? To find a store nearest you enter your zip code on their website.
Want to win a starter kit of Marcal Small Steps products? Leave a comment below after you visit their website and tell me one thing you learned – this can be about your local store, a specific product, or an interesting environmental fact – it’s up to you.
Extra chances can be earned by following Marcal on Facebook and Twitter (1 entry each by leaving a separate comment below).
Contest Rules:Must be over the age of 18 and the contest is open to anyone living in the USA. Marcal will ship directly to the winner. Giveaway will close on June 30, 2010 and I will randomly choose one winner. Winner will have 48 hrs to claim their prize (I will email the winner) before a back up winner is selected. Good Luck!
Giveaway closed – ECO-ngratulations Stephanie R.
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I learned that Marcal also has a full line of 100% premium recycled paper products that are great for the office, as well as for commercial use.
bekki1820cb at gmail
Marcal Facebook fan: Bekki Orr bekki1820cb at gmail
Marcal Twitter follower: @bekki1820cb bekki1820cb at gmail
I have actually been unable to find these- so I did the “find a store” thing and found them at a local food 4 less!!
pestkaj(at)yahoo(dot)com
I like Marcel on FB (j. Pestka)
pestkaj(at)yahoo(dot)COM
I follow Marcel on twitter as @pestkaj pestkaj(at)yahoo(dot)COM
we use the toilet paper (2-ply) and occasionally the paper towels (we only go through maybe one roll every couple of months). they sell the small steps stuff at some costcos.
According to their “Tree calculator”, my household could save 1 tree in 1 year by using 100% recycled paper products. They say that this number is based on “average 50 lbs tissue paper / person / year usage and Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 mature trees”. I checked on the EPA's website and it looks like this is a fairly good estimate. Thank you for the giveaway!
According to their “Tree calculator”, my household could save 1 tree in 1 year by using 100% recycled paper products. They say that this number is based on “average 50 lbs tissue paper / person / year usage and Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 mature trees”. I checked on the EPA's website and it looks like this is a fairly good estimate. Thank you for the giveaway!
I learned that their products are hypoallergenic.
bcgood83@yahoo.com
I learned that their products are hypoallergenic.
bcgood83@yahoo.com
I am a fan of their Facebook page – find me here: http://www.facebook.com/BeebAshcroft
I am a fan of their Facebook page – find me here: http://www.facebook.com/BeebAshcroft
liked Marcal on fb
bcgood83@yahoo.com
liked Marcal on fb
bcgood83@yahoo.com
I follow them on Twitter – find me @hardertobreathe !
I follow them on Twitter – find me @hardertobreathe !
following Marcal on twitter
bcgood83@yahoo.com
I learned that they've been doing this for 60 years. Didn't realize people were earth conscious back in the 50s.
I learned that their products are hypoallergenic, virtually lint free, and whitened without chlorine bleaching
Audriannasmamaw(at)aol(dot)com
I liked marcal small steps on facebook
Audriannasmamaw(at)aol(dot)com
Following marcal small steps on twitter
Audriannasmamaw(at)aol(dot)com
I found at that they are sold at 3 of my local Fry's stores (within 5 of my house). That's great.
mommieseatsoggycereal at gmail dot com
I learned that they've been making paper from recycled paper since 1950.
I learned that by switching to recycled paper products my family can save 2 trees in a year and 26 trees over the span of 20 years! That's a lot of trees!
Stefibeth @ aol.com
I learned that you can replace toxic home cleaners with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar!
stephanierosenhahn at yahoo dot com
I am following Marcal on Twitter!
@asthepotter
I like Marcal on FB!
Username: Stephanie Rosenhahn
I learned that the krogers newar me sells these products
vrtheriot@gmail.com
I am following Marcal on twitter – mommatori82
vrtheriot@gmail.com
I found that we could save 9 trees in 10 years by using recycled paper
vlbsweeps at gmail dot com
follow Marcal Small Steps on on Twitter vlbsweeps
Like Marcal Small Steps on Facebook Vickie Bartlett
I've seen these in the coupon section of the paper but overlooked it until I saw your post. There website says my local grocery has them, so I'll be on the lookout!
So i did not know these proudcuts where out there so easy to get i live in a small town that does not have this stuff. Im excited to tell my husband about them and look into getting some and trying
deanna_roberts85@yahoo.com
I learned they have been in business since 1950.
I like them on Facebook. Username : Kathleen Bunn
I am following them on Twitter. @KBunn
I found out the local grocery store where we're moving to later this summer carries marcal, too!
I agree…the 2ply is so much better than the 1ply!
~eunice b
rsmile2u @dejazzd .com
follow on twitter
~tigergal01
rsmile2u @dejazzd .com
follow via fb
~eunice b
rsmile2u @dejazzd .com
I learned Marcal is very active in the community. Serving as sponsor for several Green Fests including most recently Green Fest in Seattle, WA earlier this month.
I follow @marcalsmallstep on Twitter.
tclarkusa at gmail dot com
i learned a store near me carries marcal
I learned they have been around since 1950! Who knew!
I learned that they have been around for 60 years.
nbellowsdove at gmail dot com
I learned that Marcal doesn't use chlorine to bleach their paper.
Marcal is one of the oldest environmentally friendly paper companies in the us (since 1950) — making small steps toward a big difference
follow Marcal on twitter @skgaff
following marcal on twitter. @letsshop2gether