Here comes January and with it come another hectitc Tradeshow season. Which tradeshow do I go to and what is going to be the "Hot New Promotional Item"". Sure everyone is going to be handing out all of the usual Promotional Items such as Eco-friendly Tote Bags, Candy, Business Card Holders, Sport Stress Balls and so on. I love it when someone hands me a "Gumvelope", who does'nt love gum? Minty and refreshing it keeps my breath fresh even after all of the coffee I drink from my Tech Travel Mug on the way to the show. I always ask for extra Gumvelopes at the shows because I know my wife is going to take mine that way I have some extra's hidden just for me.

 

So to follow up on a prior blog, I actually stumbled across the new Stop & Shop logo as a one color imprint the other day. As I mentioned in the last blog about the new Stop & Shop branding, the new logo converts to a one color print a little bit more successfully than the last logo because the concept of the design is not as affected as the old one was when converted to only one color. An example of the new logo in one color is seen below on one of their plastic checkout bags,

 

 

but if they were really smart and wanted to truly reinforce their intentions of making Stop & Shop ‘the grocery store of the future’, they would print their logo on any number of eco-friendly shopping totes available at Motivators.com. Many grocery stores are offering their customers an eco-friendly option by making recycled or eco-friendly shopping bags available for cheap purchase in an effort to cut down on the use of paper and plastic bags. The best part is, they are reusable and huge! Instead of messing around with multiple plastic bags that may end up ripping anyway, you can often fit your entire grocery trip into just one of these bags. This is a great promotional product because it is useful, responsible, and in addition to having a large, highly visible imprint area for all to see, it also reflects well on your company for caring about the environment and incorporating awareness into your promotion. Below are some examples of eco-friendly bags including one with the added convenience of being able to fold it up into its own little pouch!

 

 

So you may think, what is the big deal if I use those plastic bags at my local grocery store? It is not like I use it every day, right? Well think again! Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide and billions end up as litter each year. These plastic bags do not biodegrade; instead they break down into chemicals that contaminate our soil and water.So the next time you walk into your local grocery store, just take a quick look around and I am sure you will be able find the store's branded promotional reusable bags. If you have noticed, many people prefer to bring their own shopping bags with them these days. With everyone going green, no one wants to use plastic bags anymore. I prefer Stop and Shop as my supermarket of choice, and for only $0.99 you can purchase the Stop and Shop branded reuseable bag. Their motto is simple - "Reduce. Reuse. Recycle." With this in mind, many schools are also giving away promotional lunch bags to their students, so they do not have to use brown paper bags every day to pack their lunch. Many of my co-workers and I also use a similar cooler bag, the Gemline Piccolo Cooler Tote, as a cute and eco-friendly alternative to plastic and paper lunch bags. So the next time you decide to go shopping, you may just want to throw that folding shopping tote in your back pocket, and do your part in saving the planet.

Talk about going green, on June 24th 2008 Sharp Japan, the city of Sakai and Kansai Electric Power announced two mega solar power generation plants are to be built in Sakai, near Osaka, by 2010. According to CrunchGear, "One facility will have an output of 10,000 kW, while the second plant is planned to produce 28,000 kW. The complex will be one of the largest of its kind in the world. Sharp and Kansai Electric claim when the plan is realized, the solar facilities will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10,000 tons yearly."

On a smaller note we can all start to help reduce Global Warming by recycling our electronic items which take tens of hundreds of years to decompose when thrown out the old fashion way. Try finding places where you can recycle your electronics:

• Ecycling
• Gcycle
• EPA

Everyone is joining in on the new movement to live sustainibly. Gardens are being planted and some are choosing to, "Live off the land," instead of buying factory farmed meat. Shoppers are leaning towards organic and recycled material products. Motivators is planting a tree for every eco-friendly order placed. And Els Woldhek is using discarded leather scraps from the Montis Factory to create art. It's these scraps from designer furniture, that Woldhek has fashoined a unique and geniously ugly upholstered chair. The student from Eindhoven design Academy in the Netherlands is having his work showcased at the Milan Furniture Fair.

 I wonder what it would look like if we were to make a chair of our left overs. An umbrella here, a breast cancer awareness tote bag there. Maybe a BBQ set? Pens? Laser pointers? Back packs? Stuffed animals? The possibilities are endless.

 

Want to make everyone green with envy at the next trade show, grocery store or at the beach? This eco-friendly tote is a great item for anyone. With its 28” shoulder straps and it's large size, you can carry anything.  It will be reused over and over again because of its durable material and it eco friendly statement.  People today are starting to be cautious with the environment so they will hold on to this bag and skip the paper or plastic and use their own. Which of course means, they'll see your logo.

Watching NBC Nightly News, I was reminded of a game that my girlfriend recently told me about. It helps to improve your vocabulary and feed the hungry at the same time. How is this possible?

At FreeRice.com, you are given vocabulary words and four definition choices. If you select the correct definition, 20 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations World Food Program. The rice is paid for by the sites sponsors. What a great idea!

I know that we at Motivators are trying to do our part in helping the Earth by planting a tree each time an order is placed. This is through a partnership with the American Forests Global ReLeaf campaign.

If companies continue to come up with innovative ways to help the planet and its inhabitants, our global community will have have a bright future.

Everyone is Going Green! No more of the leather or vinyl padfolios - the EcoSmart Owl 100% Recycled Deluxe Padfolio, is made from 100% post-consumer recycled material and 100% post consumer waste recycled sheets of lined paper. This is a perfect example of a promotional item a company can give away that shows that they are environmentally conscious. And not only is it eco-friendly but it has a zippered closure, interior organizer with gusseted pocket, zippered pocket, four elastic pen loops, velcro pocket, and five business card holders. With all of these features it is also a practical item that users will surely keep and use for a long time. This item will not only show your company logo on the cover, but it will also show your company's concern for the environment. A perfect giveaway for Earth Day -  but also great all year round!