Recently in Going Green Category

1. Select items that eliminate waste. Eight out of ten disposable plastic water bottles sold in the U.S. end up in landfills. Products like stainless water bottles and nonwoven shopping totes can be used again and again, potentially eliminating tons of garbage.
2. Make sure your products can be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. Many eco items now carry tags with recycling instructions.
3. Go organic! Organic cotton is great for bags and apparel. Best of all, it's made without harmful pesticides or synthetic fertilizers.
4. Try corn plastics. Daily, 10% of U.S. oil consumption goes to plastic production. Corn plastic is made from a renewable resource, reduces our dependence on foreign oil and takes 65% less energy to produce than conventional plastics.
5. Tap into the simplicity trend. Functional products that save money will be kept and used, keeping your clients engaged with your brand.

Is your company going green? There's never been a better time to consider eco-friendly alternatives to traditional promotional products.

Take a standby of the advertising specialties industry, the traditional baseball hat. We're proud to offer hats in a range of alternative fabrics, from organic cotton to recycled polyester and even bamboo fiber.

Let's examine what makes each material special:

Organic Cotton: Grown without the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, organic cotton has the same look and feel of regular cotton, without the environmental impact.

Recycled Polyester:With yarns made from post-consumer waster, this fabric is strong, saves energy and reduces the amount of waste in landfills.

Bamboo: A sustainable and renewable resource, bamboo fibers are naturally antimicrobial and help whisk moisture away from the skin. Bamboo is also one of the fastest growing plants on earth and thrives without the use of harsh pesticides.

I'm sure you have read many articles and reports about going green with promotional products, but do any of those articles tell you the difference you could really make by using them?

Let's look at our two most popular eco-friendly promotional categories and examine some hard core facts about the difference you can make.

1. Water Bottles: In 2006 the average American drank 167 bottles of water, but recycled just 23%, or less than 40 of those bottles. The remainder ended up in landfills. That's right, our population was dumping 38 billion bottles in landfills, where one bottle can take up to 1,000 years to start decomposing. Think what a huge difference you can make by providing a re-usable water bottle as part of your next marketing campaign. They come in different colors, sport your logo and, best of all, won't hurt the environment. Want a brightly colored translucent bottle? We got it! What about an aluminum or stainless steel bottle? We have plenty! With the right promotional water bottle, you'll make a lasting impression in people's minds and not a lasting impression in a landfill! For more information, see http://earth911.com/plastic/plastic-bottle-recycling-facts/
2. Plastic Bags: Around 10,000,000,000 plastic bags are used each year in the United States, but only 1% are recycled. It can be hard to avoid the ubiquitous plastic bag--they are given out with almost every purchase in grocery stores and shopping plazas. Not only do plastic bags fill up landfills, but discarded bags regularly kill land and marine animals. They are filled with a variety of chemicals, too--in fact, in 2002 Nolan ITU in Australia reported that 8.7 plastic bags equal the amount of petroleum energy used to drive a car for 1 kilometer! Knowing this, how easy and helpful would it be to give your clients and employees an eco-friendly, multi-purpose bag they can re-use? SO EASY! There are so many choices that you are bound to find one you love. We have totes, big and small, and even coolers and lunch bags--and, because they come in a variety of styles, colors and sizes, they look so much nicer than a plastic bag! Get more bag facts here: http://www.cleanuptheworld.org/au/LivingGreener/plastic-bag-facts.html and http://www.myownbag.com/activism.html

By providing these re-useable bags and water bottles to take place of disposable chemical filled plastic bags and bottles you will not only be making a huge difference for the environment, but you will be defining your company or organization as people who care. Now that's smart marketing!

Very interesting--Keep this in mind! A colleague of mine sent me an article about the public's view of eco-friendly products. The results were interesting and could help you make smart choices when planning your next promotion. Respondents said there are four reasons they choose not to live 'greener lives' with promotional products:

• Products require too much effort
• Products are time consuming
• Products are inconvenient
• Products are confusing

When choosing your promotional product for an eco-friendly promotion stay on the right track by steering clear of these 4 reasons. If you find yourself having a difficult time thinking of ideas that fit into these helpful guidelines give us a call and speak with one of our promotional product experts.

As the green movement continues to grow, it is important as both employees and consumers we do our part in preserving our environment. The Environment Defense Fund (EDF) recommends the following steps for companies interested in making smart choices when purchasing paper:

1. Choose unbleached alternatives for folders and envelopes
2. Look for paper containing pulp made from agricultural residues such as wheat or rice straw
3. Think twice before using colored papers
4. Skip envelopes with covered windows
5. Look for envelopes and address labels that use water-based adhesives

Companies looking to promote their sustainability initiatives can do so using a number of eco-friendly promotional products. These promotional items are a great way to share your company culture and vision with both existing clients and potential customers.