Confession time: I am sort of a journal fiend. I feel incomplete leaving the house without some sort of notebook for jotting down ideas. It’s fun to buy a journal, but my inner crafter sometimes wishes I’d get it together to make my very own recycled notebook. Here’s some book-binding inspiration to get you going if you’re feeling the same way!
Fab Fabrics took a little hiatus, but we’re back and ready to get the ball rolling again with lovely, sustainable fabric choices! This week, I’m drooling over Spin Spin proprietress Susan Fitzgerald’s sweet screen printed designs.
Fitzgerald prints on all natural fabrics, like hemp/organic cotton blends and uses water-based, eco-friendly inks on all of her hand-printed fabrics. The Melbourne, Australia designer says being kind to the planet is important to her and to her business because:
One of my favorite teachers of all time, Mr. Ivey, taught us that when faced with a decision that causes this much inner turmoil, a PMI is a really helpful tool. Nope, not private mortgage insurance. Mr. Ivey’s PMI stood for Plus, Minus, and Interesting. Basically, he was a fan of divvying up what you know into those three categories, where Interesting facts are ones you don’t really consider a Plus or Minus. Here’s a PMI laying out what I know about Wal-Mart’s local food initiative:
This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of Proforma Green Marketing, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy (see proformagreen.com). John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.
Placing a company or organizational logo on a timepiece has been a cornerstone in the promotional products industry for many years.
Placing your logo on the face of a watch allows your brand to be seen again and again by the wearer of the timepiece. However it is the type of timepiece on which that logo is placed that tells the wearer the most about the organization from which the watch was given.
The mission of Sprout Eco-Friendly Timepieces is to simply “make the most eco-friendly watch we possibly can” and coming from a company that has been in the business of making timepieces for over 50 years, the company has an impressive list of claims supporting that mission statement.
By weight, the small size Sprout™ watch is 80% eco-friendly and the large size Sprout™ watch is 86% eco-friendly. What does that mean? It means making watches from sustainable and eco-friendly materials, for example their manufacture includes 99% biodegradable corn resin instead of traditional plastics, organic cotton and bamboo used in bands and faces, mineral crystal for lenses instead of plexiglass (so it can technically be recycled as all glass can be recycled), and using only mercury free batteries.
On top of that Sprout™ packaging is made from at least 80% post consumer fibers, and all Sprout™ watches are in compliance with the CPSIA and are lead and phthalate free. The corn resin used in Sprout™ watches is also in full compliance with the American ASTM D6400 as well as the European EN13432 standards for compostable material.
So all in all a rather bold eco statement from a very nice looking wristwatch. And happy, they look happy don’t they?
Of course this column is about eco-friendly promotional items, so it was very fascinating to recently learn that Castle Merchandising, Inc. (ASI 44315) is currently offering branded Sprout™ watches for an EQP price of around $37.00 per unit.
As well as being a great watch, I think Ecopreneurists should look at these timepieces as a great teaching tool. They are proof that a hip and functional timepiece - or indeed an common article – can be made from sustainable materials. I think these would be a great marketing idea for branding at the high school and college level, as well as for organizations working in the environmental space.
For more information on the retail Sprout sales please visit their website. If you are ASI, John Costelli is the contact at Castle Merchandising to speak with. If you are interested in the Sprout line to promote your own business, contact your local promotional items vendor or email info@proformagreen.com for information and pricing.
This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of Proforma Green Marketing, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy (see proformagreen.com). John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.
Looking to get the most design for your money on Earth Day shirts this year? Well once again Vantage Apparel is offering their Name Drop Graphics program for Earth Day apparel items. And new for 2010 Vantage is offering not only screen-printed designs but also Digital Print, Embroidery, Laser etching and Laser Applique.
Vantage Apparel is one of the leaders in the industry for eco-friendly apparel, with a special focus on organic cotton t-shirts, sustainable fleece, and eco printing. With the introduction of these new imprinting methods the program has been expanded beyond just t-shirts, to jackets, fleece, bags, caps, pretty much any item the Vantage Apparel offers.
Why use the Name Drop Graphics program? A lot of organizations want to make a big splash around Earth Day but may not have a budget for a big time design when it comes to organic cotton t-shirts and other apparel items. The Name Drop Graphics program makes getting a great design at a great price simple. In a move I can only say is very ecopreneurial, Vantage is teaming up with distributors like Proforma to offer 22 Earth Day designs ready for the addition of your organization name or company logo. Just pick your design, your color, and your apparel item, and you are done.
Runs start at as few as 12 units via digital printing methods and domestic runs can go as high as 10,000 units. Organic cotton and other eco-friendly materials are available as well as traditional fabrics. The plan is very practical in terms of matching the needs and budgets of all participants by finding the right mix of apparel options.
Schools, clubs, city departments, charities, businesses, etc., for any and all this is a great way for an Ecopreneurist to make a big splash without having to fill the entire swimming pool out of their own pocket.
If you are interested in viewing all the Earth Day pre-graphics in the Name Drop Graphics program you can download the .pdf here. For more information on Vantage visit their website.
Please note that Name Drop Graphics program for Earth Day is not mentioned on the Vantage website, so if you want more information on the program, including pricing, please email info@proformagreen.com. Or if you are in the promotional items business you can contact Julia Macdonald at Vantage.
