Playing cards had not yet entered my mind.

So imagine my amused surprise the other day when, while shopping for a new deck of quality cards for bridge (my husband had even requested a plastic set), I stumbled across Bicycle’s new (launched in 2008) line of Eco Edition Playing Cards.

While there is almost certainly a good level of bandwagon-jumping greenwashing going on here, there is still much good to say about these cards.  According to Bicycle:

Our playing cards are crafted from sustainable forest paper, starch-based laminating glue and vegetable-based printing inks.  This pack of cards is recyclable.

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If you are an environmentally-oriented designer or online marketer who is looking for some extra funds you might consider entering the Wood, Paper, Checkmark competition.  This competition was developed by DESIGN 21: Social Design Network to benefit The Nature Conservancy and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and will present a total of $10,000 in prize money for winning consumer awareness campaigns for sustainable forestry.   The $10,000 will be awarded as follows:

• $5,000 to the Overall Winner chosen by The Nature Conservancy and FSC-US
• $5,000 divided between multiple prizes: DESIGN 21 Judge’s Picks and Most Popular

To enter the competition you will need to create elements of a consumer call-to-action campaign that asks targeted consumers to purchase FSC products as a means of protecting forests around the world.  Entries need to contain the following components (please review the competition website for complete guidelines and the design brief):

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