UDATE: July 28, 2009 - Here’s a Marcal small steps store locator (original post, follows…)
Marcal Paper Products is not really a newcomer to the eco movement; as the company states, they’ve been “saving trees since 1950.”
Last month they began to roll-out Small Steps, a new eco friendly line of bath tissue, paper towels, napkins and facial tissue; and they asked us if we’d like to check it out. We said, sure.
A quick note — I’ve made a concerted effort over the past few years to limit my use of paper products. On the occasions whereby I do use paper products, I use them sparingly and conservatively. We gave this new line a try, (all but the everyday paper napkins), and here’s what we think.
Planet-friendly perks: No trees were used in the making of these products. Made from one hundred percent recycled content; thirty percent minimum post-consumer content. The paper is white, but manufactured without chlorine bleach. Hypoallergenic, made without dyes or fragrance, and lint-free. Marcal estimates that if every household in the US replaced one traditional box of tissues with a box of 100 percent recycled tissues, we would save a million trees. (prices below are per my visit to Fairway Market, in nyc)
facial tissue – a fairly soft, 2-ply tissue. Good for normal use, neither the softest nor roughest tissue on the planet; however, I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re experiencing a constantly runny nose or severe cold. Attractive box, made of recycled paperboard. ($1.19/rectangular box, 144 2-ply tissues)
paper towels – we really like the size, (5.7inches wide), 2-ply. Absorbent, effective, easy to perforate. (6 roll package, $10.49)
bath tissue – sheets are super-thin, but surprisingly effective. Gentle to ok on skin. Septic safe. 1000 sheets/roll. (12 pack, $9.99)
dinner napkins - first-rate. Soft, strong, absorbent, 2-ply. Convenient “snapack” for easy opening, storage and dispensing. (100, 17 in x 15 in) is not available at Fairway; $2.64/pack, elsewhere.
We’ve tried the other eco brands out there, and we like Marcal’s line the most. Small Steps minimizes the eco guilt you may experience from using paper products; and if you’re concerned about paying a premium for green products, it doesn’t cost more than most of the non-green brands. If we all take small steps, we can make a big difference. more @ marcalsmallsteps.com (The Website’s Store Locator is being refined at the moment, and according to folks commenting on this post — it seems advertising is ahead of distribution. Go figure.)
UPDATE: May 25, 2009 – WHERE MARCAL SMALL STEPS IS AVAILABLE:
NATIONWIDE: SuperK Kmart. (And, supposedly Walgreen’s)
NORTHEAST: Shop-Rite
MARYLAND: Superfresh, Acme, Weis and Wegmans
ATLANTA: Kroger and Ingles
CARMEL, INDIANA: Kroger and Meijer
CHICAGO: Supervalue
CLEVELAND: Kroger and Meijer
DENVER: King Soopers
DETROIT: Kroger, Meijer and Kmart
GRAND RAPIDS: Kroger and Meijer
HARTFORD/NEW HAVEN: Stop ‘n Shop, Big Y and Shaw’s
LAS VEGAS: Smith’s and Food 4 Less
PHILADELPHIA: Acme, A&P, Giant, Supervalue
PHOENIX: Fry’s
RALEIGH: Kroger, Farm Fresh and Ingles
RICHMOND: Kroger and Ukrops
SACRAMENTO: Food 4 Less
SAN DIEGO: Ralph’s and Food 4 Less
TAMPA/ST PETERSBURG: Sweet Bay
TOPEKA: Dillon
RSS
I have to say I agree with the others when they say Marcal is trying to get free marketing by way of the consumer. I feel it only right that future customers who have the coupon for free stuff should be sent another coupon after they actually get the product into the stores. I feel it would take the bad association they have created with thier brand products now due to no products in stores near you.
I have cut the coupons from the newpaper for this product only to find that I can’t locate any stores that carry it. When I looked at your website, it stated that these products were sent nationwide to Walgreens. The Walgreens here in Faribault, MN doesn’t have them so I called Wallgreens customer service and they couldn’t find anything about them on their records. Please help as these coupons expire on 5/31/09
Hey Betty,
Looks like we were given erroneous information about Walgreen’s…I wish I could do more for you, but given that it’s a holiday weekend, I don’t think we’ll be getting much helpful info anytime soon.
which stores in CANADA sell small steps? I am in BC.
Marcal doesn’t currently list any Canadian stores as carrying the Small Steps line.
I am in indianapolis, indiana (by downtown) anyone else here or near found it??? please help thanks!!!!!!!!!
michelle_angel_88 at yahoo.com
This is all they have listed on their website for Indiana:
Jewel OSCO
Kroger
Meijer
I was able to use my free coupon at Super Fresh in Arnold Maryland. The coupon was good for either a free single roll of toilet tissue OR paper towels!
Our grocery has replaced the recycled tp they used to carry with Small Steps. I am concerned because post-consumer recycled paper is not listed. My old was at least 80% post consumer. I know it can be called “recycled” even if it just waste from the factory floor which if they claim it has been done since 1950s is probably what they are doing.
This type of recycling does not close the consumer recycling loop. WHAT IS THE POST CONSUMER CONTENT?
All of Marcal’s paper products are manufactured from 100% recycled fiber. Marcal processes approx. 200,000 tons of recyclables each year. This fiber is recovered from sources across the northeast. The post consumer content is not a focus for Marcal; their mission today and for the past 50 years has been to keep paper out of the waste stream and landfills and saving trees.
The product locater for anyone who needs to find our product is up and running. Please find it at http://www.marcalpaper.com/findstore.html!
couldn’t find nothing here in southeast texas
I just bought a 24-roll package of Small Steps toilet paper. The price was reasonable, but the rolls, pretty small. Before even having used it, my one frustration upon opening the package was to discover that the rolls were wrapped in 6 four-packs, then rewrapped to sell as a package of 24 –too much unnecessary packaging! One giant step forward, perhaps, but a big one backwards too.
I keep finding coupons for your products, single paper towels, single toilet paper, but none of our stores here in Logan, Utah carry them.
Do you have stores in the Salt Lake City, Utah area that carry the single rolls that the coupons are for?
Thank you.
Jennifer
I actually found a coupon where the Marcal products are in our store. I was able to get a free roll and loved it! Our house only goes through one roll in a month or two so the 2 roll packages are great!
I found a store in Kerrville, Texas that actually carries the Marcal products……SUPER-S. Thanks for stocking these products, I’m a believer in saving our planet.
Wow, a lot of complaining here. I wasn’t looking for or even aware of the Marcal products. I noticed it at Tops Markets (grocery store) in upstate NY; I was intrigued and bought their tissues. Pleased with the concept, was checking this site to see if it really is Green, or at least Green-ish. Tops in Batavia, NY has a fair amount of their products, which is surprising given the rather non-green thinking or caring nature of this area (not a particularly progressive area in many ways). So I’m surprised people looking for it can’t find it, when I discovered it without looking for it. How odd.
Marcal is the biggest air and water polluter in the state of New Jersey. They have been fined almost a billion dollars by the EPA, and do much more harm than good. They filed Chapter 11 to avoid paying for the clean up, and also used it as an opportunity to break their union contract. Nice guys, huh? Then when they emerged from bankruptcy, they painted themselves green. For them to claim to be a green, eco-friendly company is a joke, as well as a lie.
All of us at Marcal welcome valid criticism and open discussion on blogs (and everywhere), but we want you to know that “Hank” leaves comments like the one here anytime he or she sees something written about us…and leaves them anonymously or from a variety of different names, so there is no way we can get in touch and set the facts straight. The phrases used are always very similar, the kind of pattern that almost shouts, ”spam campaign.” This kind of nameless attack isn’t in the open spirit of blogs, and we think it’s a disservice to readers and to our hard-earned reputation. The simple fact is that we make our products in a manufacturing system designed to minimize our environmental impact.
We invite the person making these attacks to come pay us a visit; we have noting to hide! We think our actions speak for themselves; otherwise, why would a group like the NRDC cite our factory in a discussion of companies leading the way environmentally in the New York metro area? (http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/egoldstein/green_apples_and_bad_apples_nr.html).
Marcal didn’t recently “paint itself green.” We’ve been using recycled paper since 1950, long before green was in. As for the lawsuit, it was settled with no admission of wrong doing, enabling the company to emerge from bankruptcy to protect and grow jobs under a new owner and management team that understands that, if you are going to market yourself as green, you better do things right.
Are we perfect? Of course not, but we are always striving to be better. We invite anyone with questions about our practices to contact us at ecofacts@marcal.com
If Marcal is so concerned about the environment, why don’t they:
1) Tell us how to use less paper. There are many ways. Cloth napkins, hanky’s and towels all make much more eco-sense. You can use discarded clothes, and be much more green
2)Stop shipping product made in NJ, across the US. Would make a much bigger environmental impact.
3)Clean the river next to their plant, that they have polluted for 50 years and destroyed. Why not clean that up, with their illicit, false green claims? If you really do care. You can’t walk away from your past. Even though they are trying.
And a good PR campaign can win many awards. But facts, when properly examined, speak for themselves. If you think Marcal is eco-friendly, I am Santa Clause, Virginia.
I am very upset that I thought I was going to get a good deal with the great Marcal coupons that they put in the paper, needless to say, I didnt realize they are very hard to find. I wont be cutting out any of these coupons anymore..I live in Wapakoneta, Ohio
I just bought the toilet paper and the paper towels at Costco – for LESS than their store brand. I live in Texas.
I just found coupons that I can’t use either because the product is not sold locally. However, I was going to ask at the local supermarket if they’d consider carrying this product. Since I’ve seen the comments left about Marcal not really being green I think I’ll do some homework first- then if I find it is something I can believe in, I will ask and get my friends to ask, and continue to ask until it is stocked on shelves in Sanpete County UT.
A lot of people complain that Marcal’s post consumer content is low, but frankly I don’t care. It is reused paper, and more importantly, their manufacturing facility (and source of paper supply) is not too distant from me. I think that’s an important consideration. Buying TP that is shipped from Vermont makes no sense and wastes a lot of energy, and I’m sure not buying TP at Whole Paycheck. They make fine products at good prices, and especially if you live on the East Coast, check them out. If you live farther away, you can probably find other recycled content TP that doesn’t need to be shipped hundreds of miles. Just conside that also when you buy TP. (p.s. their TP is ok, not great, but I like their paper towels better- although I try not to use paper towels too much)
I found it at Big Chief Grocery Store in Santa Fe Texas