SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Some of the biggest names in office products showed off new items in their array of greener goods at a recent mini-expo in San Francisco.

Representatives from Mead, Clover Technologies Group, Pilot, Sanford and 3M were on hand to provide backstory about their merchandise and in some cases impart little-known or seldom-heeded facts about the office products trade.

The secret about pens, said Josie Gresh, a sales associate for Pilot Pens, is that almost all of them are refillable.

“Anything that’s retractable is refillable,” she said. “And unless there’s something wrong with the pen -- like you ran it over with your chair -- they’re pretty indestructible.”

Refilling pens, recycling the shells, and buying writing instruments and other office products that are made from recycled goods were recurring themes during the mini-expo and a green-your-office workshop that were presented in tandem last week by Office Depot.

Pilot’s BeGreen line, for example, includes products that contain 71-92 percent recycled content. The company also markets big bags of pen refills. And, starting in January, refillable whiteboard markers will be available from the product line.

Using such products, Gresh said, can save a company 35 percent from what it usually spends on writing instruments.

Patti Maxwell from 3M also had a little-known fact to share: Scotch tape is recyclable.

So are Post-it notes -- all Post-it notes, not just the ones made from 100 percent recycled paper. So are the liners and the packaging from removable labels, and a host of other 3M products and their packaging material, much of which has been minimized, Maxwell said.

3M, whose interest in environmental stewardship dates to 1975, said Maxwell, makes a line ergonomic wristrests and keyboard trays that are made from preconsumer recycled material.

Sanford, the company whose brands include Sharpie, Uniball and Paper Mate, also has a green line, said Strategic Business Development Manager Robert Viola.

Paper Mate’s new products include a “stick-style” pen made from 80 percent recycled material, another with a flexible grip made from 70 percent recycled material and one that has an antibacterial coating. Sharpie also is offering a refillable stainless steel model.

Clover may not be a household name, but it’s huge in the market of remanufactured ink and toner cartridges, with which companies can save a bundle compared to buying “virgin” cartridges, according to Yalmaz Siddiqui, Office Depot’s director of environmental strategy.

Clover now makes the Office Depot house brand of remanufactured ink and toner cartridges, said its rep, who was delighted to note that that business relationship had begun less than a month before.

Editor’s note: For more on greening your office and facilities, see Carrie Langford’s post on GreenerBuildings.com, A Dozen Tips for the Total Greening of Your Business.

Image courtesy of Office Depot.