I recently joined the Philippines Freecycle Group. It's really interesting that many people are ready to part with their still-useful, but belongings they don't use at no cost. There are still a few people who think it's a buy-and-sell group, but hopefully, they'll catch on.

Tonight, a question popped up in the mailing list; someone is looking for recycled paper to use in the office. She already asked a bunch of paper manufacturers and suppliers and met the same response: "There is no recycled paper in the Philippines." Very odd, she thought, and so did I. Luckily, my friend Andre mentioned that National Bookstore carries the PaperOne brand. Check out their environmental statement here.

As for local manufacturers, if it is indeed true that no one makes and carries recycled paper here, then we are sorely behind in environmental efforts. Tsk tsk tsk. I guess from their perspective, being able to slap a "100% virgin pulp" label on their products is still a thing of pride.