Gardening has fast become one of the biggest forms of recreation for Americans, especially since First Lady Michelle Obama has been speaking out and encouraging more people to plant more gardens. As the economy has cooled over the past few years, interest in gardening has soared.

According to 2009 Edibles Gardening Trends Research Report, conducted by the Garden Writers Association Foundation, in November more than 41 million U.S. households grew a vegetable garden in 2009; over 19.5 million grew an herb garden and 16.5 million households grew fruits.

Help your customers get back to the basics with imprinted gardening gifts with your brand and logo. You can have your imprint on a variety of custom garden kits, including imprinted seed packets and imprinted GroKits, metal buckets and even a garden that grows from within its own pouch. These Gardens in a Pouch can even be mailed without any additional packaging material (talk about zero waste). Read more…

According to a report by the Texas Campaign for the Environment, my home state of Texas ranks last in recycling computer parts among states that require manufacturers to take back their electronics.

E-waste is a fast growing problem, as many cellphones and computers contain such hazardous materials as lead and mercury, which often find their way into the water streams and contaminate land. Many of the items considered to be e-waste can be recycled, refurbished or reused by e-waste recyclers.

According to the report, Read more…

I was at an environmental trade show today and was surprised at the number of “non-green” giveaways that were being handed out at the booths. Plastic light up yoyos, imprinted plastic pens and key chains, synthetic tote bags and plastic sports bottles with logos, etc. This gives promotional products the poor stereotype of “trinkets and trash”, instead of them being used as effective trade show or marketing items, which is how they can and should be viewed.

In fact, I have spent the past decade weaning my clients from promotional products that usually end up in a landfill to items that are biodegradable or made from recycled material. You can view about 5,000 green products at my website, www.EcoMarketingSolutions.com in order to get an idea of the types of green-friendly branded and logo items for trade shows that are available.

There are eco-friendly alternatives to nearly every promotional items, including pens, frisbees, yo-yos and water bottles that are produced with an additive that enables them to break down in a landfill. There are tote bags available that are made of natural cotton, Read more…

Instead of celebrating Earth Day once a year, let’s try to make it a daily event.

Here are some ideas that anyone can use to make this a greener planet:

• Think of ways you can reduce your carbon footprint-both as an individual and also at work. Strive to cut your energy consumption by 10% each year. Baby steps lead to long reaching permanent changes.
• Support organizations and businesses that are going green, as they have made a conscious decision to help better the planet and would appreciate your patronage.
• Vote with your pocket book as well as at the ballot box. Avoid companies that are still using wasteful packaging or are not going green.
Read more…

Earth Day is on April 22 – and this year marks the 40th anniversary of this popular and fast-growing holiday.

What is your company doing to promote and celebrate this event?

1) Volunteer to talk to school groups about the environment: Whether you are a B2B company or B2C, children appreciate the green movement – and the message will reach their parents. Whether it is a private or public school, and grade—use slides and videos and you will reach this audience.
2) Plant Trees: A single tree can absorb as much as 600 pounds of carbon dioxide and convert it to pure oxygen – which is enough clean air for a family of four for a single year. Plant trees in a park, find neighborhoods that would like more trees and plant a tree or two at your own business.
Read more…

As Earth Day fast approaches (April 22), now is a good time to consider what items you will be using to promote the event and to brand your company’s image. As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, many schools, churches, clubs and other organizations are reaching out in promoting Earth Day and its message to children.

What type of custom imprinted items can you provide to these organizations that can help to promote ecology and “going green” for Earth Day when you have a tight budget?

Below are five inexpensive items for Earth Day—all for under 25 cents. Read more…

The US EPA estimates that as much as 30% of the energy consumed in office buildings is wasted. This suggests a significant opportunity for energy use reduction, cost savings, and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions through cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities. With the tremendous amount of existing office and warehouse space currently available, is LEED Certification for existing buildings going to be the next phase in growth for the construction industry?

According to some studies, existing buildings represent only 4 percent of LEED certified square footage, but they account for 20 percent of LEED registered square feet. This trend should lead the way for a complete retrofit and revitalization of existing buildings, whether it be office, warehouse, retail or other space. Read more…

In one of my previous posts, I had mentioned the five steps to starting a Go Green program at any office. One of the first steps is choosing a Green Team Leader. In future posts, I will cover each of the other steps in more detail.

In order to find the right candidate, what type of attributes should you look for?

Depending on the size of your organization, these are the traits and characteristics of the ideal Green Team Leader. Read more…

The US Environmental Protection Agency announced that greenhouse gases are a danger to public health and welfare in a decision that should eventually lead to new emissions regulations.

The so-called “endangerment finding” announced today by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is crucial in moving forward on new emission standards for cars, while potentially opening up large emitters such as power plants, crude-oil refineries and chemical plants to limits on their output of carbon dioxide and other gases. Read more…

At a recent panel discussion at which I was a part of, questions seemed to keep popping up about how to get employees on board for a “go green” initiative.

Some of the human resource directors in the audience expressed how there were certain departments, or individuals within particular departments, that were not on board with the program. Others expressed how they have 90%-100% participation and commitment at their work. How was such a wide degree of participation possible?

Now, I have already mentioned how to start a “go green” program at work, which you can read at this link.

The consensus among the panelists was that the “carrot and stick” method was the best approach, by far. Greening a business takes time and patience. Like I had mentioned previously, baby steps work best. Read more…