Upon entering the back room of any architectural or design firm, one will probably see thousands of product samples stacked under piles of dust. I know spring cleaning is right around the corner but Stop! Don't throw them away!

Save A Sample!, a company that was started in 1993, takes unwanted product samples from designers and gives them to design schools. Students at these design schools can therefore make great use of these samples in their lessons.

In order to improve your company's sustainability reputation, you may want to offer to pay the postage for architects to send old samples back to you. Alternatively, put a label on your sample kits suggesting they call Save A Sample! to recycle used samples. Another way to do this is to have your reps collect the old samples whenever they drop off new samples; the reps can bring them to local schools. While donating samples to design schools can help build brand awareness among neophyte designers, local elementary and secondary school teachers will also take samples of finish materials to use in art projects.

This year's Save A Sample! runs from April 20 - 22. For additional information, about Save A Sample!, visit www.specsimple.com.

For more information or to hold a Save A Sample! in your city, contact Suzanne Swift: (212) 352-2002 ext.12 or infoedge@specsimple.com.