Fred Schneider has been partying out of bounds as the male mouthpiece of the B-52s since the late ’70s. Through that band’s commercial success and longevity, Schneider’s goofy, new-wave jester shtick has evolved into an iconic voice that’s now an inspiration to younger artists. Schneider’s latest project, the Superions, showcases both his supreme silliness (“Who Threw That Ham At Me?” is one of his most riotous efforts) and influence (the Superions’ debut EP, Totally Nude Island, features remixes by four Athens, Ga., bands). Along with fellow Superions Noah Brodie and Dan Marshall, Schneider has delivered a handful of songs that combine sex, sci-fi, shoplifting and a dance called the Disco Garbage Can. Schneider will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Schneider: What has made a big difference in my life now besides music, art, movies and good food? Marcal paper products! No, I don’t get paid for this. I’m big on recycling and cutting down on waste, and Marcal is my paper product of choice. The paper in them is recycled, and they don’t bleach with utterly toxic to the environment/marine life/humans chlorine. Sorry, Martha Stewart, but you’re wrong. Way cheaper than the health-food brands, the paper towels are absorbent, napkins cheap and the new toilet paper … soft! I know, a weird way to end this, but hey, gotta share my thoughts. Video after the jump.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGT1uOjo4bY
7 replies on “Fred Schneider Hams It Up: Marcal Small Steps Paper Products”
Marcal is the biggest air and water polluter in the state of New Jersey. They have been fined almost a billion dollars by the EPA, and do much more harm than good. They filed Chapter 11 to avoid paying for the clean up, and also used it as an opportunity to break their union contract. Nice guys, huh? Then when they emerged from bankruptcy, they painted themselves green. For them to claim to be a green, eco-friendly company is a joke, as well as a lie.
I have always been a big fan of Mr.Schneider and the B-52’s until i read this. He has got to be kidding me. He obviously has no clue what he is talking about. Is recycling good? Yes. But not the way Marcal does it. Their pollution output far outways their pollution savings. If you think I am wrong, jump in the river next to their plant. I dare you. Please don’t support their products. They are an evil company, and destroy the environment every day.
All of us at Marcal welcome valid criticism and open discussion on blogs (and everywhere), but we want you to know that “Hank & Mary” leave comments like the one here anytime he or she sees something written about us…and leaves them anonymously or from a variety of different names, so there is no way we can get in touch and set the facts straight. The phrases used are always very similar, the kind of pattern that almost shouts, ”spam campaign.” This kind of nameless attack isn’t in the open spirit of blogs, and we think it’s a disservice to readers and to our hard-earned reputation. The simple fact is that we make our products in a manufacturing system designed to minimize our environmental impact.
We invite the person making these attacks to come pay us a visit; we have noting to hide! We think our actions speak for themselves; otherwise, why would a group like the NRDC cite our factory in a discussion of companies leading the way environmentally in the New York metro area? (http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/egoldstein/green_apples_and_bad_apples_nr.html).
Marcal didn’t recently “paint itself green.” We’ve been using recycled paper since 1950, long before green was in. As for the lawsuit, it was settled with no admission of wrong doing, enabling the company to emerge from bankruptcy to protect and grow jobs under a new owner and management team that understands that, if you are going to market yourself as green, you better do things right.
Are we perfect? Of course not, but we are always striving to be better. We invite anyone with questions about our practices to contact us at ecofacts@marcalpaper.com
So would you be willing to have your CEO swim across the river next to your plant? And post the video on your website? And where do you dispose of the clay byproducts from your manufacturing process?
If Marcal is so concerned about the environment, why don’t they:
1) Tell us how to use less paper. There are many ways. Cloth napkins, hanky’s and towels all make much more eco-sense. You can use discarded clothes, and be much more green
2)Stop shipping product made in NJ, across the US. Would make a much bigger environmental impact.
3)Clean the river next to their plant, that they have polluted for 50 years and destroyed. Why not clean that up, with their illicit, false green claims and profits? You can’t walk away from your past. Even though they are trying.
If you think Marcal is eco-friendly, I am Santa Clause, Virginia.
The Santa Clause, a fine Tim Allen film.
Hank –
I agree. There is no such thing as a “green” paper company. It is purely a marketing ploy. Marcal recycles because it is cheaper to do so. So the way to sell an inferior product, but still make money, is to convince the consumer they are helping the environment by using their product. Even though that is a lie. Marcal has contributed to massive air and water pollution, and continue to do so. But they are eco- friendly? That is tough for me to believe. Use less paper. That will help the environment.