To the editor:
I was pleased to see a recent article in the Daily concerning the Stop Staples campaign and its progress in the Boston area. I thought you provided a deserving challenge with the inclusion of both sides of the story. However, I would like to voice two additional opinions regarding the Stop Staples campaign.
Staples is an $11 billion company, quickly growing as the world's largest office supply chain. It represents tremendous resources and unprecedented power in the world of paper and our nation's forests. Staples claims that it is already a leader in the environmental movement. With paper products composing 50% of trash in typical landfills, I feel a massive supplier of these goods, like Staples, is certainly the most appropriate candidate for such a position of leadership. But why then is 97% of the paper sold at Staples produced from virgin tree fiber? Staples has the power to change this.
Sadly, corporations as successful as Staples rarely have internal police geared towards ensuring environmental sustainability. But as students and citizens of this planet, we have been charged with that challenge. If you enter a Staples, try to purchase their newly added line of Living Tree Paper, a 100% tree-free paper product. In addition, speak to a manager, asking her or him how Staples plans to help ensure the sustainability of our nation's forests. Together we can send a message to Staples about the future we want to see.
I very much doubt any long-term sustainability of our species on this planet. However, were any such sustainability to possible, I think the Stop Staples campaign is a good place to start towards a future of more responsible corporations and more responsible consumerism.
Simon Goldberg
LA '04
