You may have out grown your trapper keeper days, but it’s unlikely that you’ll outgrow the need for a 3-ring binder.   It keeps you organized, efficient, and did I mention eco-friendly? That’s right, this little contraption is so much more that you imagined.

The way you organize often depends on how you think.  To some it makes sense to place things alphabetically. To others it makes sense to organize according to time, project, client, or subject matter.  Luckily any system that works for you will work for the binder.   Within your system of organization you can further organize by using tabs or separating sheets.  You can also attach cd holders to store masses of information.  You may be thinking, “I know a binder’s organizational uses.”  Fair enough, but do you know all of the ways it can make you eco-friendly?

We’ll start with recycling. Many of the dividers and CD holders are being made of recycled material.  Additionally, they’re being made of material that can be recycled.  The binders themselves are also being made of recyclable material, whether it be from recycled plastics or papers.   For example, take our eco-binders.  They are made from 75% post-consumer recycled material and are functional as well as dirt and grime resistant. Additionally, you can reuse binders from one project to the next making them an efficient way to stay organized.

For more information visit our store at:

Sunrise Store

Living a more sustainable lifestyle doesn’t happen overnight.  It’s unlikely that you go to bed a fossil fuel hog and wake up the next day with your hybrid car and carrying reusable grocery bags. It’s a continual learning process.  It’s also about recognizing the impact of your daily habits and understanding what it takes to change them.  For example, take a magazine and consider it’s impact on the environment.  You probably think that if you recycle them you are doing your part. To some extent this is true but did you ever think about the resources used to make the original magazine?  Do you know if you subscribe to a magazine that is made out of recycled paper or not?  Many magazines are in fact made out of recycled paper which significantly cuts down on the amount of resources needed to print them.   One such magazine is the popular Everyday With Rachel Ray.  For a list of more magazines go to better magazine list.

You may think now that you’ve subscribed to a magazine printed on recycled paper (which you of course plan to recycle when you’re done reading) you’ve really done your part. However, even this can be improved upon for the die hard green goers.  I’d like to introduce you to the electronic magazine subscription.  Available through your computer and involved in the destruction of zero trees.  Described by Barnes and Noble as

“…delivered to the recipient’s email address. Scores of titles available. An Eco-Friendly gift because these subscriptions are paperless and are delivered electronically- not by mail carrier.”

It’s everything the environment ever wanted.

For more information visit:

Grist

Barnes and Noble

It’s hard to believe that the holidays are right around the corner, but ready or not, they are fast approaching.  The following are a few ways to reuse and recycle with one of the biggest holiday trash culprits; wrapping paper.  Following a few of these tips will help ensure that this holiday season the gift of giving also gives back to the environment.

There are several different ways that you can make sure that your wrapping paper is environmentally friendly.  If you’re choosing to use standard wrapping paper you have a couple of eco-friendly options. The first is to reuse it, and although it may be difficult at times, with some careful opening this is possible.  However, if you or your loved ones are in more of a hurry when opening your presents, you can always simply recycle it.

You could also choose to be environmentally conscious from the start by purchasing wrapping paper that consists of 100% recycled paper.  Additionally, after this paper has been used, it to can be reused or recycled.

Another environmentally friendly option is the use of fabric wrap.  This gift wrap comes in a variety of options.  Like any fabric it can be reused over and over again.

So if you are hoping to make this season an eco-friendly one, remember the three R’s – reduce, reuse, recycle. And have a Happy Holiday Season!

Although both of these products may not be out for the common population to buy yet, Acorn and Greensulate, invented by Evocative Design, are two products that are worth paying attention to.

Acorn is a compostable packaging material, that may end up replacing ‘popcorn peanuts’ and other packaging products.  It looks like styrofoam and can be made in any shape or size.  It may be a long awaited answer to reducing waste.  If these products can replace styrofoam, then there really will be a reason for celebration.

Greensulate is an organic insulation, that may offer an alternative to the traditional pink insulation found in most American homes.

The resin of the mushroom Fungal Mycelium is the basis of these green products.  As the mushrooms are not allowed to grow into full mushroom state, there is no belief that spores or allergens can result from these products.

Inventorspot.com asks: “What inspired Gavin McIntyre and Eben Bayer to use mushrooms?”

“They “were fascinated by mushrooms growing on wood chips, and observing how the fungal mycelium strongly bonded the wood chips together. This inspired them to think of new ways of using mycelium as a resin.” Their idea worked and ever since they have won grant after grant to continue testing and developing these ideas.”

An invention like this has the possibility of changing the world presumably for the better, making it greener and more sustainable.  Good luck to these inventors!

For more information:

Ecovative Design

Inverntor Spot

A plastic bag lasts forever – or at least it seems like it – a normal plastic bag is estimated to take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade, if ever at all. Who has time for that? Without an alternative, people throw away nearly 100 billion plastic bags, or 3 billion pounds of plastic each year. That is a lot of unnecessary waste; so what’s the solution?

Green Genius, a new biodegradable trash bag is as strong as regular trash bags, but it’s also environmentally friendly. Green Genius LLC was founded in 2009 to develop innovative green solutions to promote a cleaner environment, with less plastic. The Green Genius trash bag uses EcoPure, an organic additive that causes plastic to biodegrade.

The Green Genius offers an eco-friendly option for people everywhere.

With the growing concern for sustainable packaging, Greener Package decided to recognize the green efforts of companies moving in the right direction with environmentally-friendly innovations.  The winners come from a range of different industries, including food, pharmaceutical, personal care, and household care.  Here is the list they came up with:

Greener Package Award

• Entropy Solutions–Greenbox thermal management (Winner of Innovator of the Year)
• Estee Lauder–Aveda Vintage Clove Shampoo & cap collection program
• Bryce Corporation–SunChips bag from 33% PLA
• Robbie Mfg.–Hot N Handy Bio-Pouch
• ConAgra-rPET in CPET trays for Healthy Choice
• Ampac–Patch Perfect
• Rexam PLC–rPET in APET drug ovals
• Unisource Worldwide–recycled toys with 100% recyclable packaging

Retail Leadership Award

• Marks and Spencer

Clean Manufacturing Award

• J.L. Clark

All of these companies are setting the mark for their competition.  If they want to stay in the game, they must follow suit with their green efforts, or go above and beyond, because eco-friendly packaging is here to stay.

If you’re like most people, you keep hearing about companies going green to both please customers and help the environment.  It can be overwhelming to try to manage your company’s green efforts if you don’t have much experience, but even small steps towards becoming more environmentally-friendly can help.  That is why it is important to set goals for yourself and your company that you can achieve.

I found some tips and goals to benchmark your environmental progress from the marketing magazine, Deliver, that can help your company in its start to become more eco-friendly:

Paper Procurement & Use

• Increase wood/paper purchases from recognized forest certification programs (by X percent by X year).
• Indicate use of suppliers affiliated with sustainable forestry practices that protect forest ecosystems and biodiversity as well as provide the wood and paper products our company needs.
• Increase purchase of environmentally preferable paper used for marketing pieces, product packaging, and/or internal consumption (by X percent by X year).

So you want to help the environment by being more eco-friendly and increasing your green efforts, but think that it is too expensive? Many people wonder if they should cut back on green marketing and their green efforts in a struggling economy, but in fact you should do quite the opposite. I read in the September issue of Deliver, a marketing magazine, that it is actually a “hook to getting through them”. They say that green marketing improves your efficiencies, increases customer loyalty, and differentiates your brand.

Take for instance, Wal-Mart’s green efforts. Wal-Mart’s “Earth Month” green marketing efforts included print ads for 10 different green products under $10 and “rollbacks” on environmentally-friendly products. Customers are looking for ways to save money in a tough economy, and Wal-Mart is helping them do that, while still having a positive environmental effect.

Green marketing also increases customer loyalty. Frito-Lay’s SunChips brand gained customers by showing them that green is both good for them and the environment. They started this marketing plan after seeing market research from 2006 that showed that people who care about their personal health also care about the planet. SunChips have 18 grams of whole grain and zero trans fat. Since these chips are healthier than regular potato chips, their campaigns played off this, their nature-related name, and their sustainability investments, which includes producing a compostable bag. They promoted their compostable bags with an online video showing them decompose, as well as print ads that included a tear-off sample for consumers to test it out themselves in their compost piles. Green marketing helped SunChips become one of the fastest-growing snack brands at Frito-Lay.

Green marketing, done correctly, also differentiates your brand from the competition. IBM took a different route by connecting with the community in their green efforts. Their Smarter Planet initiative used direct mail to encourage individuals, businesses, and institutions to change the way they work. They also started a series of jams, or brainstorming sessions, that bring people from around the world together to solve an issue. Their “Congestion Challenge” collects innovative ideas to fight transportation congestion, and the winner receives $50,000, as well as the development and implementation support for the idea.

Successful packaging can lead to increased sales, monetary savings and a more positive public image. The following are some examples of packaging successes and their outcomes. Now would be a good time to take notes.

Wal-Mart – a company that is known for attracting negative publicity but has been working toward sustainability – received positive attention recently for choosing Winterborne as their packaging provider. Winterborne was awarded a Converting 2007 Innovator Award for its EnviroShell package. EnviroShell is a 90 percent recyclable and recycled clamshell and the use of this packaging product reflected positively on Wal-Mart in the news media. The take-away? Sustainable packaging has benefits for the environment and for your business image.

Vaseline recently redesigned its brand through a packaging change. Prior to the change, the brand’s identity had been lost as it expanded. Different products in the Vaseline line had different logos and package designs and there was a lack of consistency. Blue Marlin stepped in and created a consistent, attractive, brand-cohesive logo that would stand for all Vaseline products. Blue Marlin made sure that each Vaseline product included classic blue plastic lids and they put a great deal of effort into matching the color of the logo to the blue plastic lids. Vaseline is now the fastest-growing personal care brand for its parent company, Unilever. What’s the take-away here? A strong, consistent brand combined with refreshing packaging can lead to an increase in sales for your business.

Mrs. Fields revamped its retail packaging to reflect a design similar to the redesigned Mrs. Fields stores nationwide and to play on the nostalgia associated with the brand. Tempting shots of cookies adorn the new packaging, which is now more consistent with the Mrs. Fields brand. This new packaging has earned positive reactions from media sources, especially within the packaging industry, appearing in such magazines as Packaging World. The take-away? Refreshing your packaging can strengthen your brand image and generate recognition for your company!

Get to know the message behind your brand and whether your packaging reflects that. Not every product needs repackaging, but, as in these cases, refreshing your packaging may lead to positive consequences for your company and brand.