"every (raw) vegan--or anyone really--needs a nice binder to put his or her recipes in. You know, the ones you print off blogs or other forums? ... This would make a great gift for someone who has been eying your new healthy diet and doesn't know how to get started."
Earth day has become a consumerist holiday, albeit of 'green goods'.
Naked Binder wants ask you to take a moment in the day to reflect on your favorite untrammelled spots, nature experiences and animal sightings. As a team of people who genuinely care about preserving wild spaces and wilderness areas, the Naked Binder team wants to encourage you to remember what Earth day is really about.
Take a walk outside. Listen to the birds. Ride your bike to a park. Yum.
And from the entire Naked Binder team, thanks for your support, suggestions and encouragement over the last few years. It has meant a lot to us and we appreciate it. If you need us, we'll be out listening to the birds....
The Naked Binder Team
Naked Binder team
We make sustainable, FSC certified 3-ring binders and pocket folders, give to save wilderness areas and wild spaces and generally get all eco friendly.
The Most Environmentally Friendly Binder FOR The Planet
Thrift stores are an awesome source of eco friendly shopping. Re-using something someone else can't use or doesn't want means less waste, less new products on market and less resources in making the same thing twice.
Plus, they are just fun. Who knows what you will find. I'll get things I might not get if they were expensive and new - try new things - branch out. If I don't like it, back it goes to the thrift. When I lived in San Francisco I had the most amazing choices for thrifts. Here in the mid west, it is a bit more limited, but still good times. Plus my three year old grows so fast, we can't keep up. No way I am spending $30 on a pair of pants he uses for a few weeks.
" Leave it to corporate America to take this most harmless of hobbies and turn it against us. According to the Concord Monitor, credit card companies are noting purchases like thrift stores, shoe repair and tire retreading as proof that you're headed for financial ruin and using this as reason to deny, lower and in some cases even harm your credit."
Be thrifty and green = bad credit. Another ridiculous thought process earning a giant raspberry:
It is estimated that 40-60 million vinyl 3-ring binders are sold in the US every year. That is a lot of binders, and a lot of vinyl. Assume that each binder weighs 1 pound. For ease of numbers lets assume the vinyl accounts for 1/8 of that.
Of the 40-60 million pounds of waste these binders create (created to be disposable, they just don't last), that leaves about 5-7 million pounds of vinyl, something that will not break down in nature. Luckily, we are informed it is recyclable otherwise we would have one big and growing problem.
non) Recycling
The multitudes of additives required to make PVC useful make large scale post consumer recycling nearly impossible for most products and interfere with the recycling of other plastics. Of an estimated 7 billion pounds of PVC thrown away in the US, only 14 million - less than 1/2 of 1 percent - is recycled. The Association of Post Consumer Plastics Recyclers declared efforts to recycle PVC a failure and labeled it a contaminant in 1998.
Although vinyl is in theory recyclable, there are currently no vinyl recycling programs available. The vast majority of PVCs end up in landfill or incinerated - and both are environmentally hazardous. Currently 0.1% to 3% of vinyl is recycled (mostly industrial waste) of the PVC that is discarded in the US every year.
Oops. Well hopefully it won't burn because that would release a lot of toxic fumes...
Fire dangers
PVC poses a great risk in building fires, as it releases deadly gases long before it ignites, such as hydrogen chloride which turns to hydrochloric acid when inhaled. As it burns, whether accidentally or in waste incineration, it releases yet more toxic dioxins. PVC burning in landfill fires may now be the single largest source of dioxin releases to the environment. If you see the former entry about recycling, with the approximately 8400 landfill fires every year in the US, this is an issue.
All of a sudden the price you are really paying for that $4 binder is pretty high in municipal costs, fire-fighters and health care for those affected by the fumes, creation and wastes of the industry.
You have options. Naked Binder is one of those options. Naked Binder offers a series of 100% post-consumer waste binders board, eco friendly 3-ring binders that last for years (buy less) and are fully recyclable (no landfill). We use no toxins, no vinyl and no plastics. You can have a healthier office and environment, not to mention a much better working and looking 3-ring binder.
We all know that Law Firms generate a lot of paper. This results in a large carbon footprint as well as a lot of waste. Their site says. "The life-cycle of one ton of office paper, from production to recycling, results in the release of about nine tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)–equivalent gases, which contribute to global climate change; as well as other air and water pollutants."
They are encouraging Law firms to print double sided, use at least 30% post consumer waste papers, and to recycle waste papers.
Considering the amount of paper generated in the Legal industry, this could potentially reduce carbon outputs, save a lot of forest and even reduce costs for firms.
Win win win.
Naked Binder would like to suggest one more step. These same firms use a lot of binders, A LOT of binders. Traditionally these are vinyl ( what else was there a few years ago?). By switching to a recycled and recyclable binder, eliminating the toxic vinyl and getting a much stronger longer lasting product, Law Firms could save even more.
David Carson commented that there is no away any more. We used to throw things "away".
Where is that? The landfills are filling up, the ammount of stuff we throw "away" has exponentially increased. Products that tout convinience are wrapped in plastics, packaged, wrapped again and sold 10 times the size of the product. New products come out making the one you bought last month obsolete.
So where does all this stuff go?
If you are in Cairo, this section of town where the locals recycle, fix and repurpose and...let it sit. All this is garbage. In most places in the US, Canada and Europe you will never see this because your garbage is carted away and sealed into a dump. Or sent to far off places. Some of it goes on ocean journeys (remember the NY garbage barge in the 80s?).
Out of sight, out of mind is a theory that works to a degree. Yes, your city is pretty clean. Yes, you can keep doing whatever you want and buying whatever you want and throwing "away" whatever you want... or can you?
As our landfills fill and new ones are harder to open (do you want to live next to one?) we must address a few key issues. Recycling is foremest.
Some say that 14 percent of landfill space is taken up by newspaper alone, 41% of the total landfill is paper. 8% or so are plastics. Only 3% of plastic is currently recycled. Yard waste? About 21%. Glass? 11%. Metals about 12%.
By a quick calculation, about 85% of landfill is recyclable.
Hmm...
So, start composting and recycle. Buy products that use less packaging, less toxic materials and are easy to reuse or recycle (or both). Be careful what you throw away - can it be used by someone else? An old chair may be just the thing for the person down the street. Magazines? Does the Library need them? Clothes can go to shelters, goodwill or perhaps you can just have a clothing swap (my wife has these with friends and I hear they are super fun).
Be concious about your life. There is no "away" anymore, so you need to take responsibility for your own waste.
We at Naked Binder keep talking about plastics and the Pacific Gyre. And we aim to keep talking about.
Today, we stumbled on this post by DK Designsblog, a design firm out of my old West Oakland neighborhood (go dogtown and lower bottom!). They do a log of great eco-friendly design and you should be checking them out. DK Designs. Really. Check them out.
Their post:
Great graphic from Good Magazine that breaks down the plastic gyre in the pacific ocean.
How you can reduce the growth of the plastic gyre:
• STOP using plastic bags. No more plastic bags from the grocery store. No more products packaged in plastic bags. No more zip locks. Reuse the ones you have. I haven’t bought zip locks in 2 years and still have a drawer FULL.
• Recycle ALL plastics you do use. Remember, plastic bags can NOT BE RECYCLED.
• Pick up plastic trash when you see it. The plastic bag on the side of the road will end up in our waterways. Pick it up.
• Tell everyone you know to stop using plastic bags. It’s toxic.
• Carry a bag with you at all times. Put one in your car, put a small one in your purse or backpack or bike bag. Never ever be in a situation that requires you taking a plastic bag. Fast food companies are a big problem. Give them a bag to put your food in."
End of their post.
And dare we add - stop using "disposable" vinyl binders. Same story there, folks. Same story there.
We are linking you to a video called 'The Secret Life of Paper' today. We want to thank Inform for putting this out and encourage you to check out their site.
Americans use more paper than anyone else in the world, and yet paper is super resource intensive, water intensive and takes a lot of trees if it isn't recycled. Naked Binder wants to encourage you to look at what you use and choose recycled paper. Print double sided, recycle and reuse also. Our forests are finite and we need to protect them.
What has Naked Binder done lately?
Naked Binder has changed to an FSC certified board, and the Classic binder is wrapped in FSC certified paper.
How much more environmentally friendly is recycled paper compared to virgin paper?
• Recycled paper saves 60% energy vs. virgin paper1
• Recycled paper generates 95% less air pollution: each ton saves 60 lbs. of air pollution 1
• Recycling of each ton of paper saves 17 trees and 7000 gallons of water 2
Every year enough paper is thrown away to make a 12-foot high wall running from New York to California
1 Center for Ecological Technology 2 EPA
According to these numbers, Naked Binder has currently saved:
• 595 trees • 265,000 gallons of water • 2100 lbs of air pollution
Our Materials
Board
Naked Binder uses FSC certified 100% post consumer waste binders board. This unbleached board is created from household and office curbside waste. When the binder is finished, it is 100% recyclable.
Book Binding Cloth
A durable library-grade 100% cotton book binding clorth which adds protection and color to your binder. This is the same cloth as all of the books on you bookshelfs
Papers
Naked Binder uses three different papers.
For the Classic Binder we use the FSC certified Ecological Fibers Rainbow series papers. These papers are acid free, carbon free, lignin free and archival. The facilities which makes them only discharges clean process water, recovers coating waste materials which are recycled into an ingredient in potting soil, uses recyclclable scrap paper to manufacture new raw materials and converts non-recyclable waste to energy through incineration.
The Wrapped Binder uses Neenah Eames paper in the graphic grey. Neenah Eames papers are Green Seal certified, meaning they are at least 30% post consumer fiber and that mill processes, including packaging, are environmentally preferable. Green-e identifies products made with certified renewable energy, including but not limited to wind power, solar power, low impact hydropower, and biomass.
The interior of the Wrapped Binder is lined with acid-free book end paper from an FSC- Certified mill. This is the same end paper that the Library of Congress specifies to protect their bound volumes. If you have old paperbacks or newspaper that has yellowed and decayed, you have seen what acidic paper can do. An archival acid-free paper will protect your contents and also lasts much, much longer than other papers.
Our decision was to go with the acid-free paper over a recycled content paper at this time. If we can find a paper that has both attributes and works well when we flex the spine, we will gladly switch. This is on the list of things we are working towards.
“None of this small stuff that I am doing is making a difference, so why bother doing it at all?” Heard that before? I hear it all the time, so it never surprises me when I hear it again. Seems that there are many people who only see positive events when giant corporations or industries make changes, without taking into the account what happens when the collective “we” make millions of small changes. Just because you cannot see what each person is doing in their own life, doesn’t mean it isn’t making a difference.
Each and every single little thing you do helps. Every single little thing."
For corporations intent on marketing big dramatic gestures create the biggest stir and get noticed. But conservation is not about having people think you are the greatest, but about actually conserving. And everything you do adds up.
Turning off lights, unplugging appliances, recycling waste, changing to better bulbs, eating organics, not eating meat every day even in moderation the effect is felt in the energy saved, pesticides not used, and conserved water/corn/pesticides/resources. Each time you don't buy a new plastic item, someone needs to make one less, order one less leading to resources conserved and toxins not generated.
So it is time to recycle your bare board binder. You are looking at it. What now? You know it is recyclable. Can't figure out how to get a ring out of a binder?
Naked Binder can help. We put our top experts thinking caps on and came up with this. Tools you need: Naked Binder. Screw driver or other pry device. Your car jack would work, or a crow bar. Really, you can do this with out any help, but it is more fun this way.
Having moved to the midwest recently to start Naked Binder, I found myself missing the dramatic landscapes of the mountains, deserts and oceans. The trade for rolling hills and farms seemed to lack a bit of flair.
So here I am driving from Des Moines, IA to Madison, WI. Thunderstorms are all around and farmers are working to get fields planted, there is a nearly full moon and the sun is setting. This is great - Norman Rockwell meets Eva Hesse.
I can't help but thinking about the planting cycle - a true recycling of seasons, work, soil and seeds. Much like recycling of paper, there is something lost - energy, soil nutrients, time.... But the cycle continues. Eventually, both cycles will wear out. Soil will grow weak with lost nutrients unless replenished. Paper fibers will break down after numerous trips through the recycling process until they no longer hold together in the same way.
This tie to the growing cycle should, it would seem, makes me think that we should be considering new ways of dealing even with fully recycled products. This is still a limited resource. We need to find ways to make our products more sustainable, use less of them and extend their life in the recycling process. Find ways of adding new fibers - fertilizing as it were.
While we think over these things, I am going to enjoy the storms.
There are many times that you see something on the internet and think - "wow, that is cool", and print it so you can read it later. If, like me, you bookmark too much, you know they get lost in the great mass of bookmarks.
So there is an answer. A beautiful answer. htm2pdf will convert your favorite eco green enviro cool Naked Binder webpage into a PDF file. Read it, Photoshop it, send it to friends. It never has to touch paper.
We all need more pocket change (unless you cashed in big on a huge bonus during the first bailout), but where to get it? Work yet another job? Don't eat? Wait! there is a better way!
Dumb Little Man has a list of 16 way to save money that won't cramp your style. They claim you can easily save $12,410 a year (after taxes!!) by using a thermos and making your own coffee, car pooling eating less (or no) meat...more more more. Look if you save $4 a day on a latte, and only drink them when you work that is $1000 right there. Take out some for buying your own coffee and you still have $850 bucks.
This idea of less is more goes far beyond not doing things. Lets be creative. Do things. Make things instead of buying them. The more you make, the better you get at it and the nicer your things are. check these out: as seen on design sponge
It is time to look at those object that you are thinking of throwing away. Maybe it would be a nice lamp? A new knob for the dresser? A fancy, if fragile bookcase?
The benefits of such past times are endless (especially in the case of the bookcase). You get creative with your refuse, gain skills in construction, save landfill, water, energy and resources needed for recycling or making things, save lots of money and are the envy of all your friends who thing you are the coolest thing since Milli Vanilli.
Naked Binder is interested in expanding our knowledge of ways to reuse and recycle products. As our illustrious team wanders the world, they bring in thoughts and ideas. Some we use in our products and packaging. Some we try at home, and some we just eat our heart out that we didn't think of it first.
In the interest of recycling, here are some ideas to spark your creative urges.
Here is a video that will teach you how to make your own cardboard furniture. This group, Gomi Style is out of San Francisco and are masters of rethinking trash. This is the second link to a cardboard furniture DIY that we have posted, so we want photos of your attempts.
Higher on the "wow, nice furniture" scale, but also all scrap is a recycled wood stool. Uhru Design seems to have a pile of reused and recycled material furniture that can knock your socks off. Also makes you think about trying similar projects around the house.
And then, for fun on the bus or train to work, learn to knit giant poofs! These flocks makes many things that may not be completely reused and recycled materials.. but open up possibilities for you to create. Also, fun website.
If you have a lot of things around the and an urge for electricity, Garbage V-spot makes some amazing, beautiful and whimsical lights.
Lets say that you have read a book. Lets just say. Now what. If you put it on the shelf, it'll stay there for years before you forget you read it and pick it up again. On the other hand -Wow! - that was a great book. You could sell it to the used bookstore for a few pennies, but you think there must be a better way to get this out into the world.
(are we talking about me?)
Now there is a great way to pass on you books. BookCrossings is a sneaky way of passing and getting books. You leave a book somewhere and post it online. People who look, and people look, can go and pick up your book where ever it is. They post that they have it which means that you can track you book. Very cloak and dagger. Very fun. Assuming it is not raining, this leaves a lot of ways to be creative.
737,544 people in over 130 countries are sharing books this way, so vacation is no reason not to catch up on some reading. As a way of recycling - freecycling dare I say? - this is fun, creative and somehow connecting you to the readers in the world. You can join forums to discuss the books at their site also.
Naked Binder suggests to the authors out there that putting your manuscript into a naked binder and putting it onto Bookcrossings would be a great way to get feedback without the tension of watching your friends/editors reading it while biting your fingernails off.
What are we talking about here? Naked Binder is a bare board binder using a 100% recycled board which is 97% post consumer waste.
Post Consumer Waste. The Gold Standard for many recycling users. This means that a material or product has been used by an end user (you for instance) and recycled. This material is then remade into, lets just say, a Naked Binder. The actual definitions of post consumer waste seem to vary - if a newspaper is made, sent out, never read and recycled - is this post consumer? Who is the consumer? If it was made and recycled at the plant? All of a sudden we are talking philosophy. Which is great since once upon a time I got a degree in it.
For Naked Binder it is pretty clear. Recycled household and business waste paper is collected in the state of Connecticut and made into our board. All of the content comes from this process. So why are we not 100% Post consumer waste?
Recycled content is a slightly different story. Recycled content is recovered material that would have been disposed of in landfill brought to life in another use. It can be a combination of post-consumer waste and preconsumer waste (packaging, manufacturing wastes etc).
Household and office recycling is only the tip of the iceberg of recycling. Manufacturing, building and businesses all generate a lot of waste. In our case, if there is a problem in the board manufacturing process, the 'bad' board can be reentered into the process and made into good board. There will always be some variance in the actual PCW v. recycled content of a product unless the manufacturing waste is not reused and either tossed or recycled somewhere else. Which is silly. So even Naked Binder 97% PCW will vary somewhat.
This brings us to 100% Post Consumer Content products. I would suggest that this is nearly impossible unless waste from the process is being thrown out. I haven't found any board manufacturer who will claim that, and believe me I have talked to a lot of board manufacturers.
So there you have it, this is where the Post Consumer fits into the Recycled world.
At Naked Binder, we feel a kinship towards recycled projects that have great design properties and simple materials. So here is a site that offers a little something for the kids and you and your recycling bin. You need to be a bit handy, and have a few simple tools, but you can build a stool, chair and rocker form cardboard left over from, say, Christmas. If you really get excited, you'll be haunting your neighbors recycle bins to make more.
Foldschool has three designs you can
download to make cardboard furniture for your little ones. The
furniture available through foldschool is designed by Swiss-based
architect Nicola Enrico Stäubli.
He is living and working as an independent architect, designer and bike
messenger. Foldschool is his first mass product, cardboard furniture
hand-crafted by the consumer.
As a test, Foldschool offers a small sample to make at your desk. Now that your confidence is high from the success and glue fumes, you can get into the large scale items for the kids. The downloads are free, though there is a donate section of the site. Don't be cheap, folks. You now have an awesome piece of furniture for you kids.
While the tools involved in this are not for children, they can definitely be part of the process. My little guy loves to help in everything. I keep him away from sharp, sticky, dangerous items but he still gets the feeling of having been there and made something.
Trash. Burn it, landfill it, recycle it. Of these three choices one stands out as a better way to go.
quick quiz: which one?
So how much do we recycle in the US? How do we compare? I know I was surprised by this.
Plastic Bottles. The ubiquitous water bottle and all it's cousins. In the US, we recycle a whopping 31% of them. Japan is up to 62% and Brazil 51%.
Paper. You know this is near and dear to the Naked Binder Team. We live for recycled paper. We are recycled paper. Survey says: US recycles 52% of its paper. (about 30% of our landfills are paper waste). On this we are about even with the rest of the world. Brazil - 45%, Japan 59%, France 55%.
Aluminum cans. With Brazil at 94% recycling of cans and Japan at 91%, you know the US can't be far behind. Well, OK it is only 45%.
Glass. The US recycles a measly 25% percent of its glass as compared to Brazil at 46%, Japan at 65% and France at 62%.
There is good news here (as well as all those raised eyebrows from those of you who recycle EVERYTHING). Recycling in the US is twice what it was 20 years ago. Programs where people get a nickle for each bottle returned (Oregon, Iowa and more) mean a lot more gets recycled. If more and more people start working towards full recycling our trash output would drop dramatically (not including industrial waste - Trash is considered a household thing).
It is possible to reduce your waste to zero. Some have done it, not always with the appreciation of the trash collectors. One guy was sued for canceling his trash service. You probably heard about that. I say we should all try to get sued for canceling our trash service. Get down to zero waste. Compost, recycle, find ways to not use products with excessive packaging, avoid bottled waters and reuse products.
You have the numbers. Now it is in your hands! Recycle! Reuse!
So you are conscious of what you buy - organic fruits and veggies, used books, things with less packaging. You recycle when you can. But what does happen to all the stuff you throw away? Inquiring minds want to know.
In the US, 32% of municipal solid waste (trash to you) gets recycled, in large part because of the 8550 curbside recycling programs in towns everywhere.
Just under 16% gets incinerated. This produces energy for the neighboring communities and reduces the volume of waste by about 30%. However, this is not without controversy itself. Burning things pollutes the air and this is an issue. Some of those things are toxic. Rules are set on how high those emissions can be, but emissions containing some bad things are still being released. There are some very vocal groups speaking out against this. . Also, the trash mountain that goes in is reduced to about 30% of it's former self and that ash still has to be landfilled.
Just over 52% of your trash goes to landfills. Ah the Dump. Landfills are, of course, time honored ways of getting rid of trash. Middens, as the archeologists like to call them, are great ways to find out about a past culture. There is a midden in Namu in Canada (BC) that is over 27 feet deep and was used over a 10,000 year period. The modern landfill gets filled much more quickly.
There are other methods of disposal. Ner Jersey used to like to dump medical waste 20 miles off the coast in the ocean. Fun for all the kids after a storm, and yes, I was there. New York once tried the novel put-it-on-a-barge-and-hope-someone-takes-it in approach. It became a joint embarasment and geography lesson.
Next we discuss how much of the recyclable materials really get recycled and what can be done about it. Oh, boy!
How much more environmentally friendly is recycled paper compared to virgin paper?
This is the question.
Naked Binder uses 100% recycled binders board, which is 97% post consumer waste. Our boxes are recycled, our packing materials are recycled waste from a machine down the way which makes spine strips for book binding (before we snagged it, it was being sent to recycling - so we are adding one more use between recycling).
All seems like the right thing to do. But why? Glad you asked.
First off, we love our forests. Forests are home to huge amount of species, protect against erosion, clean our air,brighten our life and make us healthier.
Secondly, processing a tree to paper takes a lot of resources - 60% more energy, 95% more air pollution, huge amounts of water. I'm not making this stuff up - the EPA and the Center for Ecological Technology are places to look for more information.
Naked Binder has currently saved 340 trees, 160,000 gallons of water and 1200 lbs of air pollution by using recycled paper. Not bad for a young company.
Added to this this whole equation is that this paper waste would be put in landfills if not recycled. Americans generate enough paper waste each year to build a 12' wall across the country. Lessening impact on the forests, the land fills, the air, the water, the animals, birds and plants in forests add up to a really good reason to go with recycled products.
One way to lessen impact on the planet it to reuse things. Not everything needs to be brand new. Perfectly good things are looking for homes - clothes, furniture, books, pots and pans, boxes for/from a move, a car, knick-knacks, sports equipment or even 3-ring binders. These could be recycled, but what if they have more life in them as they are? Before buying a new item or throwing one out, try posting it. Even if you think it might not be useful to people, you would be surprised.
Freecycle is national phenomena that allows you to post things that you want to get rid of, but may have worth. True, you can’t ask for money, but you were going to throw it away anyway.
Craigslist has both listings for money and a free stuff area also which is very effective. Millions of people use this site and I’ve had great luck with it.
I have also stumbled on the site Throwplace, an international site where people from around the world can pick your stuff. According to their site, Throwplace “encourages donors to list functional items in good condition in the Charity section. Goods with reuse or recycling potential can be listed in the Business section, along with items needing refurbishing or parts for recycling. Items of low value but with creative use potential like bottlecaps, corks, or even egg crates can be listed in the Up-For-Grabs section.”
All of these can be casily customized with our labeling system.
Naked Binder - Designed to Simplify
We believe the products you use should go out of their way to improve the environment. To that end, we donate a part of our profits to preserving wilderness and keeping wild spaces open. We designed our products to be safer and healthier to make, use and dispose of.
We believe the products you use should be better designed to last, inspire and do better in the world and the workplace.
Stand out in a crowd with truly sustainable products, 3-ring binders, pocket folders and tab divider sets from 100% post consumer waste paper. Elegant, sturdy, unique and working for the environment.
our materials, our testing - strength, phthalates, sizing your 3-ring binder, how to recycle a 3-ring binder, labeling to customize a binder,
Reasons to switch from PVC and vinyl binders.
Naked Binder Story
The Naked Binder was born over a glass of wine at a family holiday dinner. First, some background. Our family businesses started in 1868 and are involved today with book binding, archival products, presentation materials and binders. One of our companies, Corporate Image, was the first American company to offer a viable alternative to toxic vinyl binders. Our famous FlexHinge binders have a core of sturdy board made from 100% recycled fiber of which 97% is post-consumer waste. These binders are covered with printed and laminated paper .or with fabric. Who could improve on that?
Naked Binder Around The Internet
Company Blog: Information on recycled binders, eco news, naked binder product information and specials
Facebook: Become a fan, share photos, hear about .news & events
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"every (raw) vegan--or anyone really--needs a nice binder to put his or her recipes in. You know, the ones you print off blogs or other forums? ... This would make a great gift for someone who has been eying your new healthy diet and doesn't know how to get started."
A Bitt of Raw