That other staple-less stapler: the paperclip
by TreeHugger on 01. 1.05
Although seen by some as a bit of a design cliche, the humble paper clip is one of the more instructive examples of an eco-product:
• solves a problem with panache (and without adding to any larger problem)
• purpose is swiftly understood (no manuals required)
• remains useful across varied linguistic, cultural. racial, social and economic divides
• single material (no contaminating components or composites, assuming it's a plain, polished aluminium version!)
• made of a readily recyclable material
• can be re-used (over and over and over....)
• simple, elegant design
• aesthetically pleasing
• can used for many other purposes
• lightweight
• requires no other equipment or tool to be used
• inexpensive
• timeless (well, for the past 100 years or so, anyhow)
If only all products could say the same thing! It's not perfect but it does better than most. ::History of the paperclip [by WM]
My only objection to the paperclip is that it frequently picks up other pieces of paper when stacked. I've switched over to binder clips which are more expensive, but they last longer and don't suffer from this problem.
They also make them from recycled materials and women owned companies.
If you use only jumbo size, they rarely catch the other papers.