Archive for May, 2009
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
I came across a great ad campaign designed by Brunner for Zippo Manufacturing Co. This collection of print ads brings perspective to the eco-conscious consumer. It reminds people that for lighters, a refillable Zippo is the greener choice. One lighter may not seem like much waste, but when you see these pictures, you can really see that it adds up in our landfills.
Their tagline, “Disposable. Just another word for garbage.” can really get people thinking. This was a very clever way to show how Zippo stands out from the competition of disposable lighters, and it reminds people to be more environmentally-friendly.
Zippo lighters are refillable and durable, making them guaranteed for life. Just like that, we have our Dura Series of CD/DVD albums. These long-lasting albums with extra reinforced spine hinges are made to withstand frequent opening and closing. And since they are so durable, they happen to be our most popular library packaging product. With the clear overlay and nickel-plated ring metals, these albums can be used over and over again.
Did you give up smoking and no longer have a need for your favorite Zippo lighter? Reuse that lighter to make your own stylish USB drive. Or if you have a few old BIC lighters laying around, you can turn those into USB drives, as well! These designs make your USB drives more creative and fun, but don’t forget about USB flash drive cases to help store and protect your devices!
Tags:BIC lighters, disposable, eco-conscious, Eco-Friendly, environmentally-conscious, environmentally-friendly, garbage, green packaging, landfill, recycle, recycling, reduce waste, refillable, reusable, smoking, USB flash drive cases, USB flash drives, USB jump drives, Zippo lighters
Posted in Eco-Friendly, Media Packaging | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
It seems like now, more than ever, people are paying attention to the environment, and they are showing this by recycling and choosing more eco-friendly options. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. This is what some artists are doing by making a living selling art that they made out of waste.
Anouk Zijlma showed off some great pieces of recycled art she purchased while visiting Cape Town, South Africa. There were a variety of different objects made from soda cans, plastic bottles, barbed wire, chip bags, bottle caps, metal scraps, etc. These pieces of art make great souvenirs, and they all work, even the radio and the pen!
Radio with casing made from beer cans, bottle caps, and wire. © Michael Daecher
Flower pen made from soda cans. © Michael Daecher
Toy guitar made from soda cans and wire. © Michael Daecher
Angel made from soda cans, steel wool, and wire. © Michael Daecher
Car made from soda cans, plastic bottles, bottle tops, and wire. © Michael Daecher
Cow made from plastic can and bottle tops. © Michael Daecher
Toy motorbike made from soda cans, barbed wire, spray can tops (wheels), and plastic tubing. © Michael Daecher
Crocodile made from insect repellent can. © Michael Daecher
Placemat made from chip bags, sticks, and black thread. © Michael Daecher
Flower made from soda cans and barbed wire. © Michael Daecher
Not only do these pieces of art help reduce waste, but they make great souvenirs. Since she bought these in South Africa, the waste used can remind her of her trip and the brands of food and drinks that were available there. By reusing and recycling these materials, less waste is being generated, which is better for the environment. Give one as a creative gift and show that you know what it means to recycle.
Tags:creative gift, recycle, recycled materials, recycled toys, recycling, reduce, reduce waste, reuse, reuse soda cans, South Africa, souvenirs, unique souvenir
Posted in Eco-Friendly | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
Looking for a creative USB flash drive for your next project? Standard jump drives / flash drives can look a little dull, but a design could bring personality to your next project, or just make things more fun at home. We did a blog like this once before, but there are so many fun and creative designs out there, we couldn’t resist showing you more!
Many of these designs were found on BlueBlots. Although we do not create these flash drives, we can create custom packaging for them, and many of these devices can be purchased at USB Geek.
For the kid at heart, there are several designs with a game
or toy theme. Here are a few:
If you’re a little on the adventurous side, there is a USB drive for you! With this carabiner design, you can hook it on your bag or pants and take it with you camping, hiking, or wherever you may go:
Love shoes? There are a few designs for you too:
Maybe you work for a church organization? This cross design shows your faith and you could personalize it with your church name:
Work for a food/beverage company, or simply just love food? We showed you burgers, pizza, and fruit before, but there are more:
There are even more options for the tech-savvy or the media world:
Not only are these flash drives fun to look at, but they can show the personality of your company for your next project. Many of these designs can be purchased at USB Geek. Be sure not to lose or damage one of these prized flash drives. Display your creativity with these flash drives, and store and protect them with USB flash memory packaging. We, at Sunrise, can customize a package to hold your creative devices.
Tags:creative flash drives, creative jump drives, creative packaging, custom packaging, flash drive packaging, Flash Memory, flash memory packaging, Jump Drive Packaging, Jump Drives, thumb drive, USB flash drives, USB jump drives, usb packaging
Posted in Custom Packaging Products, Marketing, Media Packaging | No Comments »
Friday, May 15th, 2009
Meetings and events tend to generate a significant amount of waste. There are invitations, papers, forms, display boards, name tags, signs, souvenirs, decorations, place settings, etc. You do not have to give up all of these to go green and reduce waste.
The Green Meetings Industry Council is trying to build awareness towards the goal of reducing waste generated by meetings and events. According to their study, the average meeting/event creates 20 pounds of waste per person per day. With 700 million event attendees annually in the U.S. and Canada, that brings the total up to 10.5 tons of waste per year. GMIC started the Million Tons of Trash Challenge to attempt to reduce that amount of waste by nearly 10 percent.
The GMIC is hoping that this challenge will educate the industry about being more environmentally-friendly and that we will be able to see more improvements in the future. GMIC is encouraging the efforts with a new web site that includes case studies, a blog, and a Waste Challenge Trash Calculator to record the amount of waste generated and determine the amount of waste reduced. This helps to see the effects of your green efforts. To be a part of this challenge, planners must report to the GMIC the amount of waste that they generated at their events, as well as the amount reduced and recycled. By taking these small steps to reduce waste, you can do your part to help the environment while still putting on a successful and memorable meeting/event.
MeetGreen, along with Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), is also trying to promote more environmentally-friendly meetings and events. They created “Eco-Event Zones” as a part of their new program. The purpose of this is for meeting/event planners from the same city to work together to find eco-friendly opportunities in the same area and share advice.
If planners are working together on this, suppliers and building locations will be hearing their requests for more green options, which will create a greater impact.
Meetings and events can produce a lot of waste, but it doesn’t have to be that way! These programs have been created to help educate meeting and event planners on how to reduce waste. One great way is using eco-friendly name badges and bag tags that are 100% recyclable for your meeting or event. We all can do our part to help the environment by making small changes. Read more about being environmentally-friendly.
Tags:"Eco-Event Zones", eco-friendly bag tags, eco-friendly name badges, eco-friendly nametags, environmentally-friendly, event planners, event planning, GMIC, Going Green, green events, green meetings, MeetGreen, meeting planners, meeting planning, recycle, recycling, reduce waste, reuse, the Million Tons of Trash Challenge
Posted in Custom Packaging Products, Eco-Friendly | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
Ever get confused by all of the different recycling rules? According to an article on MSNBC.com, the average American generates four and a half pounds of trash each day. 75 percent of this is actually recyclable. The article, inspired by Good Housekeeping magazine, tried to clear up some of the confusions about recycling, so that it would be much easier for people to properly recycle:
First off, make sure that you only use the bins or clear plastic bags approved by your recycling program. Otherwise, workers will not be able to tell what is recycling and what is garbage. Don’t waste your time by letting it end up in the garbage.
What materials can be recycled?
- Paper. You can recycle most any kind of paper–magazines, junk mail, cardboard, envelopes (no need to rip out the plastic window), newspapers, etc. You don’t even need to worry about staples, paper clips,
or spirals in notebooks, because they will be filtered out. There are some paper items that cannot be recycled. Don’t bother with pizza boxes or other items that are food-stained, because the oils can ruin the whole batch. Plastic-coated paper plates, paper towels, napkins, etc. are not recyclable. Some brightly colored, dye-saturated papers are also not recyclable, because it can be difficult to bleach the color out.
Plastic. Most bottles that have a neck smaller than the body can be recycled: beverage, cleaning products, shampoo, and some food jars). Make sure that the caps are removed. Aveda has a nationwide in-store program where you can recycle them. With plastics, pay attention to the recycling number on the bottom. This determines what kind of plastic it is and if it can be recycled. Read more on this.
Metal. A large portion of metal items that are recycled are soda, juice, and other food cans that are rinsed, but only de-labeled if requested. Other items include: rinsed aluminum pie tins and foil, wire coat hangers, empty (non-punctured) aerosol cans, and other scrap metal. Be sure to not include batteries or any electronics!- Glass. Just like with metal and plastic, glass bottles can be recycled when they are rinsed and have the cap removed. Labels do not matter, because they will be burned off at the plant. Some places will not take certain colors of glass, especially blue, and treated glass cannot be recycled.
Now that you know more about recycling, don’t be afraid to use these tips! We can all work together to reduce waste and clean up for a better environment. Read more about recycling.
Tags:Eco-Friendly, environmentally friendly business, Going Green, green, green practices, reduce waste
Posted in Eco-Friendly | 2 Comments »
Monday, May 11th, 2009
What would you say if I told you that you could store 200 movies all on one disc? Think I’m crazy? I was surprised when I heard the news. Researchers from General Electric figured out mass data storage on one disc using holographic laser reading and writing. These standard-sized 5-inch discs could initially store up to 300 gigabytes of data–that’s more than most computers’ hard drives! Future versions are expected to hold as much as one terabyte, which could store 40 high-definition movies or 200 standard-definition movies. That could save some major shelf space!
So how does all of this work? With CDs and DVDs, information is stored as a pattern on the discs’ surfaces. With holographic laser writing, the data is “written” using patterns of light interference within the body of light-sensitive material to create three-dimensional holograms. This new technology allows for extremely high storage capacity. Even today’s leading high-capacity format, Blu-Ray, can currently only store up to 50 gigabytes on one disc. Read more about how holographic storageworks.
InPhase is one of the main companies offering the high-end system. The first discs, expected to hold 300 gigabytes, should be available in late 2009. They are planning to market the $18,000 machine and 300 gigabyte discs at $180 apiece. They are also planning a 1.6 terabyte version to hit the market in 2012. These discs do have a high cost, but InPhase expects a large demand, especially in video production, medical-imaging storage, and government.
But be very careful with these extremely valuable discs. You wouldn’t want to accidentally lose or damage one of these discs with nearly 300 gigabytes of data stored on it, so be sure to invest in premium quality DVD cases, or even its own customized package.
Tags:DVD, high-definition, Holographic Discs, HVD, superior technology
Posted in New Products, Product Information | No Comments »
Friday, May 8th, 2009
Both Jackie and I are taking vacations soon, so Jackie found a list of ways to travel Green.
Want to reduce your carbon footprint and help the environment while you travel, but think it is much too expensive to pay carbon offset fees or buy expensive, recycled suitcases: Think again. Sarah Schlichter provided “Eight ways green travel can save you money“.
Pack light.The more bags you pack and the heavier that they are, will increase the amount of fuel needed, whether you are driving or flying. By packing less, you will reduce the amount of carbon emissions and save money on gas if you are driving. The fewer bags you pack while flying will reduce your baggage fees. Don’t forget to use eco-friendly bag tags.- Borrow guidebooks.Not only will borrowing guidebooks/maps from a friend or the library save you money on purchasing them, but you are reducing waste and reusing resources.
- Buy reusable travel-size bottles.Instead of buying new travel-sized bottles of all your toiletries each time you go on a trip, buy one set of travel-sized bottles that you can reuse and refill with your own shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, etc. Not only are you saving money by buying your items in bulk, but you are reducing the amount of travel-sized bottles that will be thrown in a landfill.
- Don’t rent a car. Not only are they expensive to rent, but they release carbon emissions. Try walking, biking, or using public transportation instead. It’s cheaper, healthier, and better for the environment.
- If you must, rent a small car or a hybrid. Smaller cars are more fuel-efficient, which means less money spent on gas and less carbon emissions released.
Prepare your car. If you are taking a road trip, make sure that your car is prepared, so that you are as fuel-efficient as you can be. Take all the extra things you don’t need out of your trunk, check your tires, and make sure your engine is tuned up.- Buy local. Wherever you are, buy local food and goods. Visit farmer’s markets and buy souvenirs from local artisans. By not having to be shipped in, they could be cheaper and have a smaller carbon footprint.
Bring your own reusable water bottle. According to the Sierra Club, billions of plastic water bottles end up in the landfills every year. From there, they take up to 1,000 years to decompose. You can reduce waste tremendously by using a water bottle that you can simply just wash and reuse. Plus, it’s free to fill your bottle with water! If you are in an area with bad water, buy a large jug of purified water to keep in your room. It is cheaper to buy in bulk, and it uses less packaging.
Whether you are going on a business trip or a vacation like Jackie and me, these are some helpful tips to save money and be environmentally-friendly at the same time. For business trips, give your company an added touch with matching
Tags:Eco-Friendly, eco-friendly nametags, eco-friendly traveling; environmentally friendly busine, Going Green, green, green packaging, green practices, green products, green traveling, reduce carbon emissions, reduce waste
Posted in Eco-Friendly, Product Information | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
Performing their tasks in an environmentally-friendly manner is nothing new for UPS, but they are raising the profile of their environmental platform with their campaign, “Decision Green“. Since we, at Sunrise, also strive to be good stewards of the environment, we are happy to work with and ship our products to you through UPS.
UPS has always been ahead of the game in what it means to be environmentally-friendly. In fact, they were the first in their industry to use electric-powered vehicles in New York City in the 1930s. Today, UPS has the industry’s largest private alternative fuel fleet with over 1,700 vehicles. They also use technology for optimized routing. With this, in 2007, they eliminated 30 million miles, cut fuel use by 3 million gallons, and reduced emissions by 32,000 metric tons.
UPS does more to be environmentally-friendly than just reduce fuel use and gas emissions. They come up with new technologies and processes to save time and resources. They developed the UPS Paperless Invoice, which is the electronic way to send commercial invoices to reduce paper usage on international shipments. They also have the DIAD tracking device that saves 89 million sheets of paper, or 7,760 trees, per year. When they do decide to 
use paper, they do it in a responsible way. By using 100% recycled, bleach-free paper in their UPS Express Reusable Envelope, they are able to cut waste when sending documents back and forth.
By improving efficiencies and using renewable or alternative resources, UPS is doing their part to help the environment. Sunrise is proud to ship your products with a company that has the same environmental concerns that we have. Read more about our green efforts.
Tags:Going Green, green, green practices
Posted in Eco-Friendly | No Comments »
Monday, May 4th, 2009
Ever have problems being the person making the coffee run and trying to remember how each person likes their coffee? I came across this creative packaging idea that I have not seen anything like before.
Josh Harris came up with the “Coffee Top Caddy”, which was created to help the people going on those large coffee runs for their co-workers. Many people are very specific on how they like their coffee, so with this invention, you do not have to worry about getting each person’s order right. These lids are designed to hold creamer and sugar packets right on top. Each person can then customize their own drink by adding however much cream or sugar that they would like.
Not only does this form of custom packaging make the product more helpful, but it also makes the product much more distinctive. Customers will recognize and remember that your store has the creative lids that make the office coffee runs so much easier. Custom packaging lets you bring your own creativity and flair to your product’s packaging by matching the personality of your product or company. It also allows your product to stand out on the shelf above the competition.
Tags:branding, coffee lids, coffee top caddy, competition, creative packaging, creativity, custom package, custom packaging, customers, customized packaging, distinctive packaging, eye-appealing, product differentiation, product packaging, unique, work coffee runs
Posted in Custom Packaging Products, Marketing | No Comments »
Zippo lighters are refillable and durable, making them guaranteed for life. Just like that, we have our Dura Series of CD/DVD albums. These long-lasting albums with extra reinforced spine hinges are made to withstand frequent opening and closing. And since they are so durable, they happen to be our most popular library packaging product. With the clear overlay and nickel-plated ring metals, these albums can be used over and over again.
