The Clean and Green Club

I’ve known about inkjet and toner cartridge recycling businesses for more than a decade, and never paid them much mind. But when I met Karl Tur, of Inkjet Solutions, at a Chamber of Commerce mixer, I was impressed that the first thing this young man said to me, before he knew anything about my background, was about the positive environmental impact we could all have by recycling our cartridges–before he even mentioned the price benefits. His reasons for starting this business, with locations in Amherst and Northampton, Massachusetts, are all about doing something right for the earth.When I walked into the store he’s just opened in Northampton, I was once again impressed with this small company’s commitment to the environment, as that was the key message of many of the posters and other point-of-sale marketing materials. Also, the website not only has a page about the environment as its third link, but devotes most of the space on the who-we-are page to its environmental mission as well.

And again, when I had him as a guest on my one-hour radio show, he spent at least half the time talking about the environment.

At my current age of 50, I find it very exciting to find 20-somethings who are starting businesses with a wider social agenda, and not just to get rich. I’d expect him, as the old Quaker saying goes, to “do well by doing good.”