Electrolux is raising awareness of plastic waste in the oceans by putting plastic collected from waters around the world into some of their vacuum cleaners.

In their new initiative, known as Vac From The Sea, Electrolux will roll out a small line of vacuum cleaners made from plastic gathered from oceans and seas, in order to bring attention to how much plastic is ending up in floating around in marine environments and harming animals.

One researcher, Charles Moore,from the non-profit Algalita Marina Research Foundation in Long Beach, California, says a patch of plastic debris weighs about 3 million tons and covers an area twice the size of Texas is floating in the oceans. About 20 percent of the plastic in the oceans comes from ships or offshore platforms; the rest is blown, washed off the land or intentionally dumped, according to a preliminary report issued April 2004 by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy.

Plastic waste in the ocean has more than tripled in the past 50 years, This is dangerous because not only does plastic that is in oceans kill birds and other creatures, but plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces over time, which is consumed by fish and ends up in the entire food chain.

Perhaps more recognition of this plastic waste growth will serve as a wake up call to the UN and sovereign nations to begin to clean up the seas — or will it take a few more deep oil rig disasters to awaken the sleeping giants?

Here’s to a greener tomorrow, today.

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Robert Piller, experienced in green marketing campaigns and environmentally-friendly promotional products. His web site includes a comprehensive eco-friendly advertising specialty search, featuring over 250,000 eco promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green. The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find recyclable, biodegradable, organic or recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame. View the Go Green website at EcoMarketingSolutions.com and comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com.

If you haven’t seen the documentary, Dirt! The Movie yet, now is a great time so you can get an eye-opening understanding of how dirt forms a protective skin around the planet. It tells the story of Earth’s most valuable and underappreciated source of fertility–from its beginning to its recent degradation. Over the past century, nearly one third of the top soil of the planet has disappeared, harming the natural environment in far reaching ways.

Think of ways to “get dirty” at your office. Think of ways to “get dirty” at your office.
• Encourage your employees to watch Dirt! The Movie.
• Learn more about the importance of dirt to the eco-system.
• Consider native plants instead of grass.
• Rethink paved roads and parking areas to encourage less impervious cover.
• Plant more trees and flowers.
• Get a water run-off study.
• Immediately reduce the use of fertilizer and weed killer.
• Support businesses that are green-friendly.
Here’s to a greener tomorrow, today.
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Robert Piller, experienced in green marketing campaigns and environmentally-friendly promotional products. His web site includes a comprehensive eco-friendly advertising specialty search, featuring over 250,000 eco promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green. The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find recyclable, biodegradable, organic or recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame. View the Go Green website at EcoMarketingSolutions.com and comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com.

It looks like California may be the first state to ban plastic bags. Many cities already have similar ordinances and the trend is pointing toward more states banning plastic bags in order to reduce landfill waste.

These bans are designed to encourage reusable bags at grocery stores, convenience stores, discount and hardware stores and other retail locations. If an individual does not have their own reusable tote, a paper sack will be offered at a nominal fee, like a nickel per bag. It is estimated that Californians use nearly 19 billion plastic bags every year, which end up in landfills.

These laws can create a tremendous opportunity for companies to get their message in front of customers and prospects, and to promote themselves as eco-friendly.

If you are a retailer, you should immediately begin to offer recycled or reusable tote bags to your clients. Many stores offer bags with their logo and imprint for $1-$3, or FREE with a purchase of $25 or more. Come to view these reusable tote bags as a walking billboard for your business, where thousands of bags are being carried around and your logo and message being viewed by thousands of people.
Read more…

We have all seen those little arrows on plastic products with different numbers on them. Look at the bottom of any soft drink bottle or printed on plastic bags, these arrowed triangular codes are everywhere. But what do these recycling symbols actually mean?

In 1988, the American Society of Plastics Industry created these codes to represent the type of resin used in plastics. The presence of the symbol implies that the plastic item is recyclable, but it is actually intended to identify the plastic resin from which the item was made. Recyclability is ultimately determined by local collections and reprocessing facilities.

1: PET or PETE: Polyethylene Terephthalate
PET is commonly used for soft drink & water bottles, cooking oil bottles, peanut butter containers. It is the most widely recycled plastic.

2: HDPE: High-Density Polyethylene
Identifies milk, cider & water jugs, detergent, fabric softener & bleach bottles. HDPE is slightly waxy and semi-rigid. It does not crack. It floats in water.
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As a green organization, what are you doing to reduce your energy consumption?

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, in the commercial sector, energy consumption is broken down the largest percentage of energy usage:

• 25% lighting
• 13% heating
• 11% cooling
• 6% refrigeration
• 6% water heating
• 6% ventilation
• 6% electronics

I recently read where HP is looking to turn cow manure into energy at some of the data centers. Surely, if companies can convert manure into energy, your company can cut its annual energy usage by 5-10%. Perhaps the hot air from some of your colleagues can be harnessed into wind power for your office?

Be creative and keep looking for ways to become more green-friendly. After all, you cannot promote yourself as a green company or do green marketing without pushing the envelope and finding ways to reduce your carbon footprint.

Here’s to a greener tomorrow, today.
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Robert Piller, experienced in green marketing campaigns and environmentally-friendly promotional products. His web site includes a comprehensive eco-friendly advertising specialty search, featuring over 250,000 eco promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green. The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find recyclable, biodegradable, organic or recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame. View the Go Green website at EcoMarketingSolutions.com and comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com.

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…

Do you continue to use printed catalogs and flyers? Do you print the same number of catalogs each year – regardless of the trend away from print media?

If so, it is time to consider a few thoughts.

• Can you reduce the number of catalogs you print and distribute? Think about it. Ask your sales force. Talk to your clients. How many catalogs do you send off to be recycled at the end of each year? You can probably cut out at least 20% next year.

• Does every prospect get the same catalog? Have you considered a simple one page flyer for trade shows instead of the full line catalog? I have witnessed countless numbers of trade show attendees dump out pounds of catalogs at the airport so they do not exceed weight limitations for their luggage.
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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.
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