I know that many of you like to alter your garments and pursue creative home projects so this week I thought I would share some Green Art Supplies with you. A local retailer, Utrecht, debuted a Green Product page on their website in honor of Earth Day. Here are some highlights of the options they offer.
Eco-Friendly paper: Moleskine products made with "green" papers. Utrecht offers up a variety of folios with a choice of papers. Moleskine offers up the Cahier on their website that is the epitome of eco-friendly - acid-free paper, thread stitching, cardboard cover and kraft paper covers.
Green Brush cleaners: Jack's Linseed soap cleans just about anything - hands, brushes, surfaces. Made from naturally refined linseed oil combined with a special blend of natural cleaners, this soap is safe, non-toxic and low odor.
Eco-Friendly mediums: Turpenoid Natural is an odorless turpentine substitute that can be used to thin oil paint or clean brushes. It is non-flammable, does not irritate skin or eyes and does not emit harmful vapors.
Better choices for your health and the environment - let your creativity run wild.
--till next week Restore, Recycle, Refresh & Renew
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16 comments:
I am definitely familiar with Utrecht through all of my classes, but I have never really thought of looking for greener options for art supplies. I think it is great that Utrecht provides these items. I find it interesting that even something as simple as a journal has a better alternative, like the Moleskines. Also the cleaner seems as though it would be multi-purpose as well as low odor, which is a major benefit when it comes to cleaning supplies.
I have to admit that I have not always thought about the effects on the environment when I washed my paint brushes and all those chemicals down the drain. It seems silly to me now since I make such a conscience effort to improve the impact I have on the environment. It is good to know that there are additional areas in my life where I can have a positive impact.
I wish I had paid more attention to this freshman year! I spent a lot of time painting and drawing for design class. If utrecht had advertised sooner (or if I paid more attention to what I could've been buying) I could have done a lot less damage to the environment.
I love the Moleskin journals, I like the look of them and the variety of colors they come in. I have a few of them and use them often.
This is definitely a smart move on Utrecht's part. They have recognized the needs of their customers and are making "green" products readily available. College students are the most frequent customers Utrecht encounters. Coincidentally, it is this generation that has been fully exposed to the "Going Green" movement. So, if students desperately need to buy arts supplies but are concerned with making Eco-friendly purchases they can now look to Utrecht for the best of both worlds.
I have used turpinoid natural for a painting class that I took this summer, and while it may be better for the environment, it still has an odor that will give you a headache. However, it works just as well as turpintine. I am not a loyal customer to Utrecht, just because I have had less than perfect experiences there. Blick has similar products at lower prices and better customer service in my opinion.
I think it is really smart that Utrecht is coming out with an eco friendly art supply line. I remember when it was a drag to go buy all the art supplies because I knew I would never use it again and I always would run out of paint so fast. I wish I knew about this freshman year because I definitely went through a lot of paint, paper and brushes for my various classes. I would have bought this eco friendly art supplies because all the paint tubes and paper I went through definitely did a lot of damage to the environment.
I suggest that they advertise it more in the sections students usually shop in or the sales associates suggest it to the students, because usually I would ask the sales associates for help.
Another ideas for Utrecht to encourage the buying of these eco friendly goods is to give a discount on them or make them a little less expensive, if possible then the non eco friendly ones. Students are always looking for the best and cheapest price and art supplies are expensive.
During my Co-Op the effects of art supplies, particularly paint, on the environment were a significant concern. Many of the materials we used were actually found in garbage and recycling bins, therefore we wanted to alter them in a way that they could be recycled after the deinstalled or reused for future projects. For example, during the spring display prep we collected hundreds of plastic bottles from all over NYC with the intention of cutting them into flowers and then recycling them afterward. As a result we were limited by the type of paint we could use on the plastic. In fact, after a week of sourcing we could not find a paint that would meet the aesthetic needs and time constraints of the project without compromising the recycle-ability of the plastic. After the deinstall, because the plastic could not be recycled, it was donated to a local school. Hopefully this market will expand and to address the variety of aesthetic needs in design projects while being environmentally friendly alternatives.
It's great to hear that Utrecht is now offering green art supplies. I love Moleskin products and I'd like to check out their green line. I wish that Turpenoid Natural existed back in my design days. At least now I know that there are alternative solutions in the future in order to be more eco-friendly.
These items from Utrecht seem like great ways to improve ones art supplies and still be environmentally conscious. Artists are generally more eco-friendly than the normal human being, like in how they reuse old materials and found objects to create new artwork. I feel that Utrecht participating in the green market will be very good for their business and will be successful among their customers. I wish more companies would follow their lead and integrate simple green products into the workforce jobs.
Because of all the Design courses we have had to take, I have been to Utrecht countless times. I have never really thought of all the chemicals that paint has and how it contaminates the water when we clean our brushes. I think it might be a good idea for Design teachers to promote these green alternative.
Oh good old Utrecht! Its hard to push aside the ill-will towards the retailer given how many hours I spent there freshman year, but this changes my opinion slightly. I'm glad that even they are finding small ways to alter their impact on the environment. I personally don't engage in many crafting projects that would require any of these goods, but it is beneficial to know that they are they should I need them for a future assignment.
My friends and I love to do arts and crafts, but they certainly create a lot of waste. I never really considered the damage our fun could do to the environment. Utrecht's new green line is a great option for local craftsmen, especially since they are usually more environmentally conscious than the average person. This is an example of when being eco-friendly is good for the environment and good for business.
I never thought of using greener options for my art supplies. For my design classes I was given a list of supplies to buy from the store, and in most cases the supplies were already divvied up into packages by the art store for the teachers, so I did not have the ability to substitute any of my supplies for greener ones. Hopefully Utrecht will let teachers know ahead of time what greener options are available so that they can put these items in their class packages. I would definitely consider purchasing the green brush cleaner, it seems like a great alternative as does the green turpentine substitute and the moleskin products. I think that these greener options for art supplies are a really awesome idea and if they are accepted by consumers could really make a difference.
I love using Moleskin notebooks, and was unaware that their products were green. This makes me feel even more comfortable with their higher prices. I think that people in the art community are often conscious of the environment and their impact on it. It makes sense to provide them with eco-friendly supplies.
Eco-friendly art supplies is a great idea, but if they are significantly more expensive I don't know how well they will sell. Freshman year when we had to buy art supplies all the time, I definitely would not have wanted to spend any more money than I had to. Maybe as people get older and become more financially stable as well as educated on the effects their current art supplies has on the environment, these products will become more popular.
I never realized Utrect supplied green products. I would have taken full advantage of this during my design classes, since I was using paint brushes often. This is definitely a smart investment for Utrect, since it is such a popular art store around the university city area, it will surely attract green conscious customers.
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