Marcal Small Steps Review & Giveaway

Giveaway alert!  One lucky reader will win a sample pack of products from Marcal Small Steps for making small changes to green your life.  Giveaway closed – ECO-ngratulations Stephanie R.

When companies send me products to review I don’t always write them up immediately – I’ve had my Marcal Starter Kit (disclosure) since April and I’m finally inspired to tell you how I feel about their product.  It’s usually better if I hold off and really review the products because I can give you a full and honest description of the products. 

The only thing remaining from our starter kit is a partial pack of napkins.  We don’t use disposable napkins often – we either use reusable cloth napkins or paper towels.  We normally shop at Publix grocery store and buy their own line of green recycled paper products – the only place locally that sells Marcal is SweetBay and we don’t (normally) shop there.  On occasion we will buy our paper products at Wal-Mart or Target but I’ve never seen Marcal there either.  

Compared to the Publix Greenwise products the Marcal products are fairly similar.  Here is my comparison and comments by product: 

Paper Towels – I couldn’t really tell much difference between the paper towels.  They picked up the wet messes just fine.  I’ve never been a picky person over absorbency with paper towels – I don’t normally have large spills to clean up. 

Tissues –I normally avoid the recycled nose tissues because we all know that they are rougher than those soft luxurious Puffs.  I have to say I wasn’t too impressed with the Marcal Small Steps tissues – they were not soft at all and if I had been sick or used them regularly I’m sure my nose would have been raw.  For the everyday tissue – they would probably be fine if you didn’t care too much about the softness.

Toilet Paper –I tried two different TPs; one was a single ply and the other was double ply.  Compared to the Greenwise the double ply was about the same.  The single ply was very thin and the roll emptied pretty quick. 

Napkins – Like I said I don’t normally buy napkins but I don’t really see a difference from brands that I’ve used in the past.  They are great to have around at dinner time if I’m not using the cloth napkins. 

All of the Marcal Small Steps are made of 100% recycled paper.  They don’t use chlorine bleach or dyes to make the paper ‘pretty’ and white.   Their products are all fragrance free too. 

Would I buy Marcal Small Steps? I would buy the paper towels and 2-ply TP ‘if’ it were sold where I normally shop and if the price was comparable to what I already buy.  I won’t go out of my way to find a place to purchase it because it’s not really that much different from the brand I already use. 

If you don’t already purchase recycled paper products I would recommend taking ‘Small Steps’ to change your buying habits.  The easiest products to start with are the paper towels and napkins – followed by the TP.  Environmentally speaking – there is absolutely NO reason NOT to purchase recycled products if they are available.  I honestly have no idea why paper companies still manufacture them from virgin materials – i.e. Trees!  At Marcal they manufacture more than a MILE of paper every minute – that’s a LOT of paper – thankfully they are using our waste paper and not trees.    

Does your local store carry Marcal Small Steps?  Have you tried any of the Small Steps products?  What were your thoughts?  To find a store nearest you enter your zip code on their website. 

Want to win a starter kit of Marcal Small Steps products?  Leave a comment below after you visit their website and tell me one thing you learned – this can be about your local store, a specific product, or an interesting environmental fact – it’s up to you. 

Extra chances can be earned by following Marcal on Facebook and Twitter (1 entry each by leaving a separate comment below).   

Contest Rules:Must be over the age of 18 and the contest is open to anyone living in the USA.  Marcal will ship directly to the winner.  Giveaway will close on June 30, 2010 and I will randomly choose one winner.  Winner will have 48 hrs to claim their prize (I will email the winner) before a back up winner is selected.  Good Luck!

Giveaway closed – ECO-ngratulations Stephanie R.