Being eco-friendly can get you pretty far. For one, it's empowering to the individual. Living a sustainable life is something to be proud of. Besides making you feel good about your decisions, living eco-friendly can just make you, "feel good." Eating organic is healthy and walking to work instead of driving will keep you in shape. Lastly, we think you should live an eco-friendly life, not just to stay healthy and be empowered, but to get prime parking on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus.

As incentive for students to drive more fuel efficient vehicles, the university is offering preferred parking at certain buildings. Over 600 vehicles, including models dating back to 1998, qualify students for the sustainable driver's satisfaction. This is a pretty cool perk for individuals but it's got me wondering; What about the eco-friendly carpoolers?

Very quickly, I found that North Carolina State University had the answer to my question. If high gas prices weren't enough, students at NCSU were also feeling the pressure to drive fuel efficient cars. However, college students are often plagued with empty pockets. Instead of rewarding students with fuel efficient cars with prime spots, the university worked to award car pooling students with price breaks. After student government officials met with transportation representatives, they devised a plan that allowed students to exchange their permits for carpool passes.

The program first began as an outlet to the faculty and staff as seen above but quickly the students wanted in on the eco-friendly fun. Parking services manager, David Gregory, said that the Student Government was a major player in making this sustainable incentive come to light. He is proud of the program and said, "Students save gas money, there's less congestion on campus and less wear and tear on vehicles. Every day that one or two [student commuters] don't drive, it saves everybody money. All these things come together to help the University."

Both of these are awesome ways to reduce the carbon foot print of your college of university. NCSU even has an arboretum, adding to their sustainability. Now we've just got to incorporate some environmentally friendly products into these programs to raise awareness and turn more students over to the green side.

"Athens is pretty green and granola, but there isn't really one place where everyone can come together and talk about what they know about the environment," Kristine Kobylus, program/educational specialist for Athen Clarke-County Recycling, said, "The Green Life Expo brings everyone together at one time to showcase their knowledge."
                                   

The ACC Recycling and Classic Center hosted the second ever Green Life Expo last Friday and invited visitors to sit in through various discussions, presentations and seminars on sustainability. This event is the perfect occasion for environmentally friendly products and florescent light bulbs were the giveaway choice for Georgia Power. The company decided to hand out the smart energy-friendly promotional products as alternatives to non recyclable and power-hungry electronics.
                                          

A senior from the University of Georgia and co-chair of the Go-Green Alliance, Mark Milby, will give a presentation to showcase the voices of local students. UGA's sustainable actions and hopes for the future will be discussed and all I'm wondering is, will there be university giveaways? I'm sure Milby would love to have his club's logo imprinted on eco-friendly apparel. It'll make the Go-Green Alliance more prevalent on campus so that further actions can be made for a brighter, green future.

Eco-friendly trends continue to bloom throughout the world. From one person to another, the seeds of sustainability are being planted each day. Likewise, each month our supply of environmentally-friendly products grows. It's clear that people are eager to incorporate eco-friendly items into their lives and into upcoming promotions.

However, many of the materials used in environmentally-friendly products, and even more of the terms used to explain them are not yet common knowledge. When you choose a biodegradable item we want you to know that it's got the ability to safely and quickly break down into the raw materials that nature embraces. Similarly, we want you to know the difference between organic giveaways and recycled giveaways.

To help every customer to understand the perks to any given environmentally-friendly product, we present this list of eco-friendly terms originally from Halo/Lee Wayne Green Promotions, 2010.

Bamboo – Bamboo is 100% naturally grown and sustainable, it is also naturally antibacterial & Bamboo fiber is 100% biodegradable. As the fastest growing plant in the world, bamboo grows to its maximum height in about 3 months and reaches maturity in 3-4 years. Bamboo is known to improve soil quality in degraded and eroded areas of land.

Biodegradable – The ability to break down, safely and relatively quickly, by biological means into the raw materials of nature and disappear back into the environment.

Bonded Leather – A recycled synthetic material containing elements of recycled leathers, leather scrap & tannery leather fibers, which otherwise would go to a landfill.

Compostable – A product made of materials that will break down over time in a landfill.

Corn Plastic – Derived from corn & 100% biodegradable

Cotton-Organic – Organic cotton is grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers, growth regulators, chemical pesticides, irrigation or genetic engineering.

Green – The movement that incorporates environmental awareness, social responsibility, bioregionalism, and nonviolence.

Organic – Products created through a system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers.

Organic Leather – Made from skins that are tanned using only vegetable extracts and chemicals approved by TUV. All possible by-products are also re-used. Non allergenic.

PET – Polyethylene terephthalate is the most popular thermo-plastic packaging material used for drinks and food. It is lightweight, transparent, and has a good moisture barrier.

Polypropylene & Non-Woven Polypropylene – Made from carbon and hydrogen, and manufactured without any dangerous emissions. Can be recycled, incinerated, or land filled without any harm to the environment. When burned, polypropylene will give off only water vapor and carbon dioxide, which is converted by photosynthesis. Sometimes known as “pp”.

Post-Consumer Material/Waste – Term used to describe material that is being reused/recycled after it has been in the consumer’s hand (i.e. soda bottles, yogurt containers).

Post-Industrial Material – Term used to described scrap or excess material that a manufacturer reuses or recycles throughout the manufacturing process.

Recyclable – Materials that can be reused. Includes glass, paper, aluminum, asphalt, iron, textiles, plastics and biodegradable waste.

Recycled – Term used to describe material that has been separated from the waste stream, reprocessed into a new product and then brought back to the consumer as a new item.

Recycled Cardboard – The material is made from cardboard that has been discarded or once used by a consumer.

Recycled Content – The amount of pre- and post-consumer recovered material introduced in a material production process, usually expressed as a percentage.

Recycled Leather – Material is untreated and is made with leather scraps – recycled to save waste. (As opposed to scraps going into a landfill, they are recovered and reprocessed to make leather material.)

SAFE Plastic – Truly biodegradable in landfills & composting, environmentally safe, no toxic effects, can be recycled.

I know that my last product recommendation was a photo bookmark, but what can I say? I like photo frames in all shapes and sizes, but I love photo frames if they're eco-friendly. And these promotional cardboard picture frames definitely fall into that category.

When I first saw that we were carrying imprinted recycled cardboard picture frames, I had my doubts. I mean, cardboard picture frames? How sturdy could they be? The answer is very. These promotional cardboard picture frames are put together quite well and as definitely designed to stand up to the test of time. But, the good test of time, not the test of time that diapers in landfills stand up to. These items will showcase your branding and your cherished memories for years to come, and they will look good while doing so. And speaking of looking good, that was my second doubt. After all, how good could a cardboard picture frame look? Brown and boring right? Think again. These imprinted recycled cardboard picture frames were designed with...design in mind. They're avilable in a variety of colors, any of which will bring out your branding just nicely. Personal favorite? The Terra Recycled 4" x 6" Photo Frame.

 

So if you want an eco-friendly promotion that's affordable and that will send a personal message to clients and employees, definitely consider these promotional cardboard picture frames.

Eco-friendliness was just offered a back stage pass to the Florida Marlin's baseball stadium. As the old construction is ripped away, plans for a new and more sustainable stadium are in the making. But as they prepare with new ideas and innovations for the new stadium, they're making sure to make the demolition of the old stadium sustainable.

90% of the construction that includes cardboard, concrete, metal, wood and others is being recycled. This is a tremendous act on their part and will help to secure eco-friendly solutions for stadium construction in the future. Green building, like all environmentally sound practices have been increasingly popular as people are made more aware of the problems and motivated to do something about it.

Plans for the new stadium will include the use of 20% pre and post consumer recycled content. To help stimulate the local economy and keep their carbon foot print down, the recycled content will all come from within 500 miles of the new site. What a wonderful concept.

Many of our environmentally friendly products are made from the very pre and post consumer recycled content that the new stadium is to be built from. One of the clearest uses of post consumer recycled content is our wide variety of promotional eco-friendly coasters. These fantastic items are made from post consumer recycled tires.

Next time you get a flat on the side of the road, remember to bring it with you. Just imagine the amount of these cool recycled coasters you could've made from your one tire. Likewise, the community surrounding the new Marlins stadium construction site will be challenged to live with the values of sustainability as this project gets on its feet and leads the way towards an even greener world. With such great sustainable goals set for their new stadium, it's likely that they'll use eco-friendly items on giveaway days. With a capacity for 37,000, you can expect a ton of green supporters.

One of the most important things to have when traveling is a toiletry bag. It's the best place to keep essentials like shampoo and body wash safe from spilling onto your clothes. You can house all your necessities, from toothopaste to deodorant and be organized while traveling. There's no doubt that a toitry bag is an absolute must. So why not use this knowledge to brand you business in an eco-friendly manner?

The Leeds Eco 100% Recycled Owl Utility Kit is a great item to give to clients and employees. It's personal enough to be considered a gift, but its not too personal to make the wrong impression. It's made of 100% post consumer recycled material so you can take pride in the fact that your giveaway will not be harming the environment. Recipients will most definitely appreciate this well designed item, too. It's large main pocket boasts a mesh pocket and a velcro strap for hanging. For extra organization purposes, it has a front pocket as well as two side pockets for extra storage. Users will be able to easily organize their items without fear of not being able to find them.

 

The best part of this item, after its functionality and eco-friendly nature is its imprint area. With a 4" x 3" imprint area available on its front pocket, your message will be seen clearly and by everyone who sees this bag.

Too often, eco-friendly items get the label of being unattractive. Certain items lack color because the dyes used are not eco-friendly. When your left with drab color options of a seemingly non-descript product the benefits of being eco-friendly don't seem to stand up against the possibility of having your logo on an item that won't attract potential customers. And that's where this next product recommendation comes in.

 

This attractive custom photo bookmark is both eye-catching and eco-friendly. Made completely of recycled material, this bonded leather bookmark comes in 5 attractive colors (black, lime green, pink, red and royal blue) features a slot at the top to add a photo. Recipients will appreciate such a thoughtful item and your logo will be seen by them everytime they use it. It's a great giveaway for trade shows and conferences and it even makes a thoughtful holiday gift. And the best part is that for every order placed for any of our eco-friendly promotional products (including this one) Motivators will plant a tree. It's a simple way of giving back to the environment while you get the logo exposure you need and want.

It's clear that eco-friendliness is the trend in promotional items today. The latest major release of eco-friendly products happened this week at the famed International Consumer Electronics Show 2010 convention. The huge event has drawn in a record number of new exhibitors and has already showcased Google's brand new Nexus One mobile phone. But the best big eco-friendly reveal of all is the awesome Grass Roots Collection from iWave. Steven Scaba, of iWave said, "We firmly believe in the importance of embracing a greener lifestyle and practicing responsible behaviors, not only for ourselves, but for our loyal customers who don't want to feel guilty about using products that they love." To make this possible, iWave revealed there eco-friendly electronics collection at CES. It includes awesome promotional ear buds, headphones and other iPod accessories.

Like many of our environmentally friendly products, these products are all made from completely recyclable and eco-friendly plastic and bamboo. Steven Scaba added, "The Grass Roots Collection is our way of bringing fashion- and eco-conscious consumers together to stand for a common cause we all have the power to support. Because we believe in the same values of eco-friendliness, Motivators offers awesome incentives to use our Earth friendly items. Through the American Forest's "Re Leaf Fund," a tree will be planted somewhere in the American forests with ever eco-friendly purchase.

As we bring in the New Year, it's important to make eco-friendly resolutions. iWave already made theirs. Now what will be your business's sustainable resolution?

The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry is offering an exhibit that will absolutely elate every eco-friendly lover. It is by fact, the Greenest House in Chicago and by title the, "Smart Home: Green and Wired." It's been made with a sustainable design and uses recycled materials. Even the technology used is "green smart."

Partnered with Wired magazine, the home has been built in the backyard of the museum and has 3 floors. It offers visitors a tour through an entirely eco-friendly home. All of the products are eco-friendly and all of the technology is cutting edge green. To top it off, the gift store even sells environmentally promotional items. From books on sustainable architecture to recycled items, they're showing every visitor that green promotions are what it's all about.

When you think of electronics today, it can be hard to imagine them as eco-friendly. When they are working, they're hogging energy. When they break, they hog up our land in junkyards and dumps. Luckily, we offer a great selection of promotional eco-friendly electronics that bring you the same quality in a more sustainable way. Just in time for Christmas, the electronics company, thinksound is holding their very own eco-friendly promotion. To popularize their latest set of eco-friendly headphones, the company is having a "12 days of thinksound," promotion.

Through their fan page on Facebook, they will select one person for a free pair of the high tech head phone each day. "Thinksound™ takes their environmental impact as serious as they do their audio products. Their packaging is crafted from recycled materials, with minimal plastic components. They also use PVC-free cables and choose wood from renewable sources. The result is great sound that you can feel good about."

It's important to feel good about every purchase you make. By choosing environmentally friendly products, you'll never have to worry about your negative impact on the environment because there won't be one. While it's difficult to find eco-friendly alternatives to every item, there are many options to browse. For instance choose the custom printed 7 inch bamboo digital photo frame instead of a metal or plastic one. If you cannot find  electronics that are made with eco-friendly components, at least choose the ones that are energy friendly.

Our supply of energy friendly promotional products has gained popularity with increasingly desirable hand-powered items and solar energy products. Thinksound was created with eco-frienliness in mind. This trend will continue as efforts are made, and throughout it all, you can coutn on Motivators for all of your environmentally friendly products.