Ants in my pants and hornets in my hair. I wished for the snow to melt away, but I wasn't excepting my back yard to turn into a insect sanctuary. What's worse? I know in just a month or so, the sun's going to shine and that sanctuary is going to spread inside of my home as well. So, in lieu of spring cleaning, snap on a pair of gloves and check out my tips on eco-friendly giveaways and products for pest control in your home and garden.
       
Like any great plan of attack, you must prepare to be on the offense and the defense in this battle against the bugs. The best defense? EcoSmart Pesticides.

Your green smile may have turned into a frown once you read the daunting word, "pesticides." But this all natural bug spray posses no threat to your health...unless you've got six legs. Confident that we have no slimy, buzzing creepy crawlers as readers, rest assured you're all in good green hands with EcoSmart.

The eco-friendly company has over 15 years of scientific research, accounting for it's golden ranking as the only 100% safe insecticide in the Unites States. In fact, of their 40 patented formulas in the U.S., half are exempt from the Environmental Protection Agency. The quality of these pesticides is so high, that the EPA recognizes EcoSmart as a leader in its field; placing it above other conventional and synthetic products.
                   
These pesticides can be sprayed around the home and outdoors without harming plant life or any of your home decor. Created from natural non-toxic plant oils, this is one pesticide that you can actually trust. That's why it makes sense it's being carried in stores all over the world including major businesses like Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond, Lowes and Pathmark to name a few.

Now that you know the best product to arm yourself with this springtime, we've got to gear you up for any surprise attacks. While EcoSmart natural ant killer will keep the ants out of your home and trouble spots, some insects just fly right in. You may take care of the problem in your own home but that won't stop a mean mosquito from sneaking into your bedroom from an opened window. While a mist of eco-friendly pesticide would do the trick, we'd like you to conserve. With a promotional eco-friendly flyswatter offence, you can dominate, leaving only the remains of the blood-sucker. They're made from recycled materials and check out this custom imprinted foot flyswatter. What better way to ask, "What's your carbon footprint?"
                                 
You've got the know-how, so now you've got to execute before it's too late. Now is the prime time to prepare for an insect problem so go to your nearest EcoSmart retail store and make an order of our fun promotional flyswatters. Better yet, tell us why you need the EcoSmart Value Bundle for a change to win your own. Are there ants crawling around fresh fruit in the kitchen? Is the occasional hornet or two progressing to a real, stinging problem? Tell us why this eco-friendly pesticide is just what you need and come springtime, you'll be living bug-free.

Leave your response to why you want or need these EcoSmart pesticides in our comments below. A winner will be selected Friday, March 5th at noon. Good luck!

In anticipation of the Winter Olympics 2010, I blogged about Eco Friendly Promotional Products at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. I featured the best in environmentally friendly products and we even heard PPAI board member, Sherri Lennarson's opinion of eco-giveaways at the Olympics. With all of the excitement of the upcoming winter events, I failed to feature any of the awesome athletes competing for a place on the podium and piece of history.
                 
Las night, the United States had a golden showing with 3 athletes rising to fame on the highest level of the podium. Women's downhill skier, Lindsey Vonn took home gold after nursing an injury. And Shaun White dominated in snowboarding, leaving a wide gap between him and any of the competition because of his technique including the ridiculous sounding menu item (just kidding) the Double McTwist 1260 on half-pipe.
                       
Tonight, there's another 2010 winter Olympics athlete on a quest for gold. But for Hannah Teter, the reigning women's snowboarding gold medalist, it's all about going green. She competes tonight with her sponsors, Samsung boasting her skills, but regardless of if she gets Gold, Silver or shunned, she'll still be on the quest for Green.
                                         
"Hannah's a real outspoken proponent of organic foods and green living," said Amen Teter, her agent and brother. "We've yet to really bump into any sponsors who can fit that into their platform, but I think down the line that's definitely something she's interested in."

Any takers? If she nabs another gold, Amen Teter believes it will increase his sister's branding by 50%. She's rising to fame and even landed a spot in Sports Illustrated accompanied by only three other 2010 Winter Olympians. She's also released her own line of panties called "Sweet Cheeks" in an effort to raise funds for Haiti. With charitable promotions and sustainability on her mind, I can see a bright future for this snowboarding star.
                         
President and CEO of marketing agency rEvolution, John Rowady added, "Hannah needs to continue to create her own style that will help separate her from the pack. She also needs to surround herself with sponsors and brands that embrace her style, and also those sponsors that are committed to building a snowboarding lifestyle that people are attracted to."

Since it's beginning back in 2008, the Motivators Go Green blog has become what we always hoped it would be; a  community of like minded people dedicated to doing right by the environment. We know that by choosing to implement eco-friendly changes into your lifestyle you are making the conscious effort to do right by the planet. After all, it was Thomas Fuller who stated that "we will never know the worth of water until the well is dry." The news and information that we put out there for the world to see is not simply so that the world can see, but so that the world will change its ways.

And we know, you may be wondering why is a promotional products company so concerned with going green. We know you may be wondering why we're not constantly writing about eco-friendly pens and the newest developments in BPA-free promotional water bottles. The truth of the matter is, we do write about those things on occasion, but there are so many other important environmental topics that need to be addressed that we're glad to share this little green platform with the true eco warriors out there. We're proud to share insights about environmental policy and we're happy to try and provide you with a source for green news. 

But what of the promotional products?

Well, among our many stories and blogs about eco-friendly news and tips, you will see eco-friendly promotional products and it's for this reason. Now, more than ever companies need to take a stand and side with the environment. When a company chooses eco-friendly promotional items, they're making a statement. They're choosing to be green and be proud. They're choosing to buy earth friendly items in bulk, imprint them with their logo and say to their customers and clients, "Yeah, we do support the environment." And we applaud them and stand beside them in their efforts. That's why for every order of eco-friendly promotional products, Motivators will plant a tree through the American Forests Global ReLeaf Fund.

The eco-friendly promotional items offered by Motivators are growing in leaps and bounds and suppliers can't keep up with the demand. Every day we're adding new eco-friendly bags that you can give to people to take shopping with them. We're adding more and more BPA free water bottles because the demand is there.  People all over the country are standing up as individuals to make eco-friendly efforts and choosing eco-friendly promotional products from Motivators will show people that yours is a company that is not going to stand by the wayside while your planet gets "globally warmed." Yours is a company that truly understands the impact that we as individuals and we as a society have on the planet. Yours is a company or an organization that is not going to take this lying down. 

And on behalf of all of us here at Motivators, and on behalf of our ever growing selection of eco-friendly promotional products, we salute you for that.  

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.