So there I am carving a binder an night.  My child confused, but not so much. At two and a half most things seem new to him.  What is a scary binder to him?

For a long time I have been thinking that these binders would be great with designes carved in them. As a bare board binder, you don't have layers of vinyl or plastics to cut through, so you can get a clean cut. If you have marketing materials or art proposals, you could design the binder and amterials together to really show off.

If you have the time and money, those very cool laser cutters will work with this material also. You could have super precise intricate designs on your binder.

All this I am thinking as I cut away with what apparently was a much sharper blade in the past. I dutifully recycle all the cut out parts and show my now eco friendly halloween binder to Child.  He looks, giggles and wants to go jump on the bed.

I guess I need to work on my scary carving skills.

Buying office supplies demands cunning and prescience to get the best deals, the best products at the best cost.

In a 3-ring binder, you want a product that will last, hold paper and can be labeled. Depending on your need, it's green qualities will matter (LEED certifeid buildings will benefit fro these as will governement offices who are mandated to cut back on waste).

Actual Value.

strength.

Naked Binder offers the strongest binder on the market.  Most binders fail at the spine hinge because they are made of three pieces of board with a thin piece of vinyl holding it together. Naked Binders last because they are made of one piece of 110pt board with the  hinge pressed directly into the board.  There are no weak spots.  Tested to 50,000 flexes (over 9 years of 20 uses a day) with NO change, these hinges will not fail.

Better rings.

On our 2" and 2.5" binders we use the best ring available so the weight of 450 sheets of paper doesnt open your binder and spill out on the floor.

Actual costs.

A $4-$12 vinyl binder will last about a year if you don't use it much.  If your  $7-$10 Naked Binder only lasts 5 years you will save at least $13 per binder.If your company uses 100 binders a year that adds up

Another cost is disposal.  For larger firms having large amounts of vinyl binders to dispose of is an issue. A toxic and expensive issue. One company has 30,000 in a warehouse and no way to dispose of them.

Environmentally friendly.

Most companies and a whole lot of individuals are concerned about the environment.  While buying one recycled binder will not change very much, consider that 60-80 million vinyl binders are bought and thrown away each year in the United States. Most of these end up in landfill. This costs you and your company in taxes as the county, state and federal government scramble to find room for more landfill. 

Percieved Value.

Environmentally Friendly.

These binders look great, work well and make a great impression. 

Naked Binders have been used for meetings of Sustainable Business Councils, in house use and props for high end furniture companies, architectural proposals, and art portfolios.

The benefit of your attention to details in a proposal, in your LEED certification, or even in in-house use can push your image higher as high as your actual concern for the environment.

Recycled Naked Folders are here! 

Our line of 100% recycled and recyclable environmentally friendly folders.  There is no virgin wood in these folders: also no chemicals, no dyes, no toxins. These are elemental, beautiful alternatives to the plastic, vinyl and laminated fodlers you have been using.

The Naked Folders are not only beautiful, but an amazingly sustainable alternative to other folders.  100% recycled, 100% recyclable and very practical. Great for presentations, around the office, school and perfect for a grant for the arts.  Easily personalized with labels.

For those of you using tabloid sized binders, you have a new option!

Naked Binder has now added a new color to our 11 x 17 architect binders!

These sustainably manufactured 11 x 17 binders are made with 100% recycled board, unbleached. Of this board 97% of it is post consumer waste, 3% is post industrial. Naked Binders are made from one piece of 110pt binders board with the hinges pressed directly into the board for strength.  Never again will you have to tape your binder together after a few months use. Naked Binders are designed to last ten years.

Go and check them out.

Stronger.

Sustainable.

and lets face it, Sexier.

Naked Binders eco friendly 11 x 17 Architect Binder. Simply the best you can get.

November 1st will be a big day. Naked Binder is releasing it's new, improved line of recycled sustainable binders.

What is going on, you ask?

More sizes:

All Naked Binder products in all colors will now be available in all sizes from 1" to 2.5" d-rings.  The Architect Binder - our 11x17 binder will be available in a 1" and 1.5" D-ring.

New colors:

We have modified a few of our colors to be richer and added a ntural linen/cotton fabric.

These new colors on the project binders

New Binders:

Our new line of Classic Binders. 9 colors, wrapped in FSC certified black paper.

Not to mention our new eco friendly folders!

November 1st.  Go check it out!!!!

A 3-ring binder. Quick impressions:

high school, falling apart, ugly, cheaply made, kid stuff - there is an urge to stay away from them - they are the dorky way to carry papers.  They look cheap, stupid and make you feel like you are in high school  again. What could be worse than that?

But, really? Does it have to be that way? What if you had a 3-ring binder that was more of a fashion accesory?

Naked Binder makes binders that are more that the sum of their amazing green parts.

• 100% recycled board, 100% PCW

* FSC certified paper and board

• strong (like Fauxnique next to these words) - tested to 50,000 flexes, run through dishwashers - designed to last 10 years

• 9 beautiful colors

These are more than just a great way to hold paper.  These bare board binders are a fashion statement.  They say things.

"I care"

but even more.

These are more than a binder, and a green product.  These are beautiful, objects of art and design.

More than a way to carry paper.

More than a functional object.

This binder is going to last you ten years so it has to stand out.  This is fine furniture. A way to accessorize your life.

A recycled binder. yes.

A recyclable binder. yes

A sustainable product. oh, yes.

But look beyond that. This may be the greenest binder on the planet, but it is more. 

Design.

Art.

Functionality.

Style.

A binder that takes you out of High School and into the world you want to be in.

 By the way, Fauxnque ( the first photo) will be performing in San Francisco November 7 -8 - Luxury Items at ODC Theater. She is amazing and should not be missed.

For many people E-books are the way to go - paperless, cheaper and instantly available.  While you can't get Harry Potter on e-book, there are over 2 million free e-books available including educational texts (as of August 2009).

E-books save money, they save paper and they are convinient.

But there are times when you need to print them. Perhaps you need to print a chapter of a text for school, or a whole book to allow you to read anytime (say during the blackout of a storm - winter is coming...), or if you are me, I need physical print for anything that takes too many brain cells to read. 

In order to keep your impact on the planet as low as possible, print double sided on recycled paper and then clip it in a Naked Binder.  If you can get 100% recycled paper, you can print a book and never have harmed a tree.

Your Naked Binder is 100% recycled paper (97% Post consumer waste) and uses no plastics or vinyls so there is not toxic disposal issue (or toxic creation issue).  You can easily label your binder with our new labels so your books are easy to find. One binder can hold a LOT of books, especially if you look at the larger ring size binders.

Check them out and save paper, save trees and save money with E-books!

Naked Binder says over and over that we don't use plastics or vinyl. The reasons are many, but here is one. Plastic does not disappear.  It degrades into smaller and smaller pieces which are then eaten by fish and birds.  Unfortunately, there is no nutritional value in them and so they merely harm the birds/fish which get eaten by other animal/birds/fish.

These pieces will kill the animal that ate them, and then go right back out and do it again.  they do not disapear at a rate that makes any sense.

Chris Jordan has been photographing the huge mess that is the Pacific Gyre - the immense patch of garbage floating in the Pacific ocean. He provides unstaged, untouched proof of the damage to birds in his photos.  These are baby albatross who have eaten a whole lot of plastic pieces and died.

These problems are not limited to Midway where he is photographing, but are everywhere.  Every step you take to eliminate the use of disposable, plastic items helps. And when you do get rid of them - recycle. Keep them contained in the system. We all recognize the benefits of plastics, but it is time we recognize the harm it does also.

We recently added the Naked Folder to our website - 100% recycled and recyclable folder that not only says green, but is an amazingly sustainable folder.

We talked about adding new colors on our Project binders, and now we are introducing the soon to be released line - The Classic Binder.

FSC certified, beautiful and durable, these binders do it all. with the same 100% recycled board inside (100% post consumer waste) covered in ecological fibers black rainbow paper with a book cloth spine.  These binders also have a finger pull for when you have packed bookshelves and can't get your hand around the binder.

Naked Binder is introducing new colors in November!

While you were happy with the most environmentally friendly binder for the planet in all its rainbow colors, we are constantly striving to make them better and better.  The Binder is still 100% recycled and recyclable, and now part of our line is FSC certified! If you haven't seen, we now have the most environmentally friendly FOLDER for the planet, too!

While some colors will remain the same, Naked Binder is introducing some new colors for the new year. For those of you who love your old colors, don't worry!  We will be phasing them out over time, but not all at once.

 New:  Cotton /  Linen blend - 'Oatmeal' - A fabric with a more natural feel and look.

 Lime Green:  Stays the same!

New:  Bright Red - 'Flare' after hearing that our older red was too orange, we shifted to a real red

New: Bright Blue: 'Cobalt' a bit more subdued than the baby blue, and a really rich color

New: Dark Green - 'Fern' Less color coverage leaves the fabric texture while offering a rich, full color

New: Dark Red 'Chilli Pepper' - a rich color with lots of depth

New: yellow - 'Aztec Gold' - A bit more red than the pure yellow, rich and warm.

Navy Blue - Stays the same! Rich and full blue, impetuous but with maturity.

Black - Stays the same! Everything goes with black, and this one is full bodied.

 These spine wraps are cotton book cloth, offering extra strength and protection for the spine of your Project and Classic binders. The color adds aesthetics, easy location and matches branding of products!

It is Official!!! Naked Folders are available!  We are super excited to offer a new line of recycled, recyclable environmentally friendly folders.  There is no virgin wood in these folders: also no chemicals, no dyes, no toxins. These are elemental, beautiful alternatives to the plastic, vinyl and laminated fodlers you have been using.

The Naked Folder is a beautiful 100% recycled and recyclable folder that is 97% post consumer waste. Made from the same material as our binders, they are strong, look great, and match our binders!

We offer labels to easily and quickly customize your folder off of you own printer.  We have 4 styles of folder including a binder pouch - a folder that clips into your binder, one and two pocket options and a tri-fold folder.

Naked Binder makes a beautiful product.  Handsome, recycled and strong. With the different styles of binders and now folders (as of 10-12-09) you have a lot to choose from.

Now we are making it easier for you to customize your own binders and folders to make them uniquely yours. Naked Binder is offering a labeling system that allows you to pick and choose options. From half sheets to different spine labels, you can add labels to your order and print them in your office or at home.

All the labels are full bleed labels, labels you can print to the edges.  Your only limitations are your imagination and, possibly, the rules of where you work.

When I slow down enough to look at my life it seems like a non-stop barrage of stuff that I do and have.  I run Naked Binder - a constant and tempestuous love affair between good design, an everyday object and the planet. I am a dance choreographer and have pieces going up locally and on the west coast (as is my wife who also has her work going up in other venues).  I have a son who is two and a half - an amazing and frustrating age. We are also rock climbers, back packers, runners .... OK there is a lot.

I am constantly looking for ways to simplify and do the things I love. When I see a great idea I jump at it.  What struck me today was a furniture set that is collapsable, cool and funny.

With this, you could store furniture in a closet until you needed it. easy to move, fun to see and a DIY project all in one. I especially like the lamps.

Ok this may not be the answer to my life issues of over committing, but it is a fun way to condense and simplify your sitting needs.

You were worried about the longevity of the Naked Binder.

We said they are strong. You say, "how strong?".

So, we had them flexed 50,000 times. They didnt change. You said, "That's nice. What about water?".

We set them out for 3 hours in the rain.  They were fine.

We set them out for a weekend of rain, they were fine.

You were still sceptical.

 So we put them through a dishwasher. Normal cycle, with soap (have the coffee cups in there too. We are not wasting the run) and the dry cycle. You know how hot the dishes get when you take them out of a fresh drying cycle? Try that with vinyl when you are getting rid of your machine.

Time passes.

The middle one was facing down and the water scootched it back and forth a lot (technical term).  They are a bit soggy, causing the bare board to sag. They are clean, though.

Bear in mind that these are bare board binders. No plastics, no vinyl, 100% recycled material, 97% post consumer waste. Admit it. you didnt think they would last at all. Neither did everyone here, though they are also worried about the coffee cups too.

So here is what happened when they dried out:

There is a little warp that can be easily straightened (these are "as is" - exactly as they dried).  The main problem with washing your binder seems to be that the constant rubbing when wet can leave scuff marks. We still don't recommend this, but it does show that these binders are strong.

What else would you like to know?