Envirocard 4

Many people spend lavishly on printing their name (calling) card on fancy cardboard to create a good impression. This can create more demand on existing stocks of paper and cards and more fodder for the dumpsite eventually. What if one print one's name card on reused paper (waste paper printed on one side and blank on the other)? One then practice thrift and also engage in environmentally friendly practice. Only drawback is the possible bad impression that this might create. But what if one can turn the thing upside down and make this practice prestigeous by calling this name card Envirocard. One can make a rubber stamp PRINTED ON ENVIROCARD or PRINTED ON ENVIROPAPER and stamp it on the namecard in red. Receipients may give giver extra points for engaging in thrift, environmentally friendly practices and one also help spread the message that our environment needs help at the same time.

And now, the best: ENVIROCARD 3

Reusable card printed using conventional cardboard with a replaceable insert is good. However, it get passed around. It get soiled. Eventually it too must be discarded (meaning landfill usally). Plus it need to overcome the snob barrier. Receipients may not like the idea of getting a second-hand card or third, or even fourth-hand card.

Well, Envirocard 3 stay with the receipient. Not not only that. The memory stay with the receipient too.

What we propose for Envirocard 3 is a greeting card that transform into something else at the end of its life as a greeting card. In fact, it would be justifiable to refer to Envirocard 3 as the Transformercard.

It work this way. Let's take a piece of textile the size of a handkerchief. Let's print our greeting card design and greeting messages on it. Let's add a stiffener and process it into shape and consistency of a standard conventional greeting card. The stiffener may just consist of starch. Boil tapioca flour in water. Saturate the textile with the starch, predry it, then fold it into the shape of a conventional greeting card and iron it flat with a hot iron. Now the sender may even write the name of his receipient on the textile with a permanent marker, and sign it with the same marker.

The receipient receive the card. He proudly display it on his mantel. He gets fed up with it. But the big difference is, that card do not end up in the dustbin. (Would you like your name to be thrown into a dustbin?) He put Transformercard into a washing machine. Washing machine cyckle finished and presto - out come a handkerchief. He dries and iron it. It goes into his pocket. He sneezes. Some goo come out his nostrils. He reachs into his pocket. What would he see. He see the name of the sender! Ah! Sweet memories!

Isn't that a great environmentally friendly greeting card? No landfill, no treatment chemicals (for paper recycling), no secondary pollution (ink), no great demand on the power generation company for electrical energy, and therefore no contribution to the green house gas emission! And a bonus. A constant reminder of the sender each time the handerchief is used!

Well, it need not always be a handkerchief. How about a dish or car washing cloth? Wonder what the sender emotions may be to know that his name is contributing towards the polishiing of a bright shinny Mustang.

Or keep a collections of the transformercard. Then turn the collection into a quilt.

We have tried making greeting cards this way and it works. Only problem is, with conventional fabric, the edges of the fabric frays. On the other hand, if one use nonwoven fabric, this problem of fraying at the edges would not arise.

I hope manufacturers of handkerchiefs read this post. Make ready to make Envirocard3 handkerchiefs to sell. Get environmental NGO's to help promote it. Make nice profits in the process and contribute towards helping our one and only spaceship Earth.

Envirocard 2

There are more to Envirocard than just e Card. There is also reusable cards.

How does one make reusable cards? Well, that is not so difficult. What some does is to print the greetings on an insert, and the insert is, of course, inserted into the inside of the reusable greeting card. For example: United States Patent 4,439,941 by
Halperin: Card with removable and reusable insert

Or this one by Jeffrey Chee
This one is also patented: US6099928: Multipurpose transparency mat cards

Will like to do a survey on the emotional response of a receipient of a secondhand, a thirdhand, a fourthhand, .....multihand card. Does the word multihand exist?

A google search using the search terms secondhand, thirdhand, etc yielded the following:

secondhand

thirdhand

Unfortunately, search term multihand yielded "No definitions were found for multihand."

Envirocard

Sending seasons greeting cards to each other is a great practice and help people keep in touch. However the tons of greeting cards can create environmental problems. What do most people do after the season is over? The bulk of it will end up in the waste bins, and eventually in the dump sites. At the dump sites , the ink from the cards may even eventually contaminate the ground water. Recycle? That is a better option, but has its problem too. The process require lots of energy, chemicals and water. The ink ends up in the waste water. What are our alternatives. One can send electronic cards instead.

E-cards. No trees chopped down, no paper to dispose of, no water pollution.......


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