Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. That’s the order of operations in the world of conservation – and for good reason. Recycling takes a lot of energy. And most products can only be recycled a limited number of times, if at all. That’s why, when aiming for a greener lifestyle, it’s best to first reduce your consumption – and if you can’t always do that, to reuse products again and again.

That concept is one of the core tenets of ReProduct, a Pennsylvania-based company started in 2006 by philanthropist Bernard David. David identified a waste problem—the 7.5 billion greeting cards floating around this country at any given time, most of which wind up in landfills—and decided to start a company to help solve it. The idea behind ReProduct is simple: The company makes and sells greeting cards that come with their own pre-addressed stamped envelopes (much like Netflix) that ask the card’s recipient to send it on to Shaw Industries, a leading carpet manufacturer, when they’re finished enjoying it. One of ReProduct’s growing number of corporate partners, Shaw then melts the cards down and uses them for carpet backing, which can be recycled over and over again. ReProduct has also expanded this concept to all kinds of other paper products, including corporate reports, flyers and magazines.

“This can apply across the board. From the smallest neighborhood flyer to a Time magazine,” says Patrick Fitzgerald, who took over as CEO of ReProduct in July. Fitzgerald was the former CEO of Philly-based RecycleBank, another young company aiming to make a major impact on the environment. (See my previous blog post on RecycleBank here.)

“Our goal is to create products with zero waste,” Fitzgerald says. "The ultimate goal is for our products to be implemented across the board in all industries and for all purposes.”

Brad Pitt used ReProduct to make the paper products for his Make It Right foundation to rebuild New Orleans, and John Kerry is a repeat user of ReProduct’s holiday cards. Fitzgerald says companies nationwide are also embracing the ReProduct concept.

“One thing people seem to grab on to is it’s more of an actionable environmental item,” he says. “Usually, if you get a card or magazine, you read it and throw in the recycle bin, but with this you’ll always remember it, since it’s a unique system. You remember what company sent that to you or who sent you that greeting card, so I think companies have really responded to that.”

So for this year’s upcoming batch of holiday cards, keep ReProduct in mind. Some other ways to save paper other than recycling include:

-          Select to have your bills sent to you electronically, rather than through the mail.

-          Use sponges and towels instead of paper towels in your kitchen and bathroom.

-          Bring your own cloth bag to the grocery store and the mall.

-          Take notes on a laptop in class, rather than in a notebook.

-c