Tagged with: Green Business Tips

Ruby Hosts a Green Clothing Swap!

By | 03.22.2011 |

Last Wednesday, several of our virtual receptionists and other staff members got together to spend some time Creating Community and saving the planet, one chic sweater at a time. How, you ask? With a clothing swap, of course!

The Ruby Green Team and Event Planning Committee teamed up to organize Ruby®‘s third annual clothing swap. Ruby’s virtual receptionists filled the break room loft with a heap of garments and accessories to exchange. By trading clothes, Rubys are able to get some lovely new threads for their own wardrobes, and we are also saving clothes from ending up in landfills and reducing our carbon footprint by reusing instead of buying new!

After the event, our Green Team sorted out business attire to donate to Dress for Success, a charity that provides interview clothes for women in need. The remaining clothes (two car loads worth!) were donated to Goodwill. The night was a huge success, and was a win-win-win for us, the community, and the environment! It’s definitely events like this that have made Ruby one of the ”100 Best Green Companies to Work For!” A few highlights from the night:

The next time you’re looking for a fun event to inspire your staff, try hosting a clothing swap! We promise you’ll have a blast being green!

For other ideas on how to go green at work, check out our posts Ruby is Saving Trees one Notepad at a Time and 4 Green Business Tips that Don’t Cost a Lot of Green!

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4 Green Business Tips that Don’t Cost a Lot of Green

By | 08.26.2010 |

Going green doesn't have to cost a lot!

Photo by homard.net

From celebrities to CEO’s, these days it looks like everyone’s trying to be a little more eco-conscious, and it’s a wonderful thing! But we know it can be a challenge to go green on a budget, so here are a few tips that don’t break the bank.

1. Set your office printer(s) to print double-sided by default. It uses less paper, and the best part is that it actually saves your business money!

2. When you’re leaving for lunch or for the day — and still need to run a few updates on your computer, take a second and turn off your monitor. It’s a small step, but all that energy can add up!

3. Keep a couple of reusable shopping bags in the kitchen. The Ruby® Receptionists office is located a couple of blocks from a grocery store, and Rubys will frequently need to grab a quick snack from down the street. We keep a few reusable shopping bags on hand for just such occasions. You can usually find them at your local grocery store, oftentimes in the checkout line itself, and they can cost as little as a dollar! Or, if you’d like to get a little fancy, you can spend a couple more bucks on a Baggu which folds into its own pouch to save space.

4. Start a Green Team! Here’s how the Ruby Green Team came to be: Ruby® Receptionists has always strived to be a green company; we weren’t named #19 on Oregon Business Magazine’s 100 Best Green Companies list for nothing! Our brilliant Director of Human Resources Charlene Huwe has always been passionate about protecting the environment, and she’s done a fantastic job of helping Ruby stay green. However, as we’ve grown and expanded over the years, she needed help! And thus, the Green Team was formed! Several of our virtual receptionists as well as other staff members meet once a month to go over goals and set action items for each member. For more details on the logistics of how to start your very own Green Team, check out this helpful article by the City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. We’ll keep you posted on how these green superheroes are working their magic here at Ruby!

Has your office implemented any green practices? Share them in the comment section below!

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