CustomEarthPromos - Eco Blog US

With eco-friendly being the motto of the season, there are many celebrities who are endorsing and promoting eco-friendly promotional items in many ways. And now it is Gwen Stefani's turn, who has launched a fashion line which is not just stylish but also eco-friendly. 'Designs with a Purpose' Launched by Gwen Stefani Aptly labeled 'Designs With a Purpose' or DWP, the line of clothing brings together Gwen Stefani and denim designer Michael Glasser, who is also behind renowned labels like 7 for All Kind, Rich and Skinny and Citizens of Humanity. The singer and designer have collaborated and worked on a line of stretchy pants. It is an 18-piece collection and consists of pants made of Tencel, which is a material used to treat premium denims. The pants are styled as cropped at the bottom so that you can flaunt your footwear easily. You also have a collection of crop tops, vests and blouses to team up with these pants. This unique brand boasts of Tencel, which is obtained from dissolved tree pulp and is treated to look like denim or brushed silk. The tops are also made of Tencel. Other items in the collection are a dress and a jumpsuit. The collection will be available in stores this spring onwards. Tencel is an eco-friendly alternative to conventional denim as it uses much less water for its production. Plus, the production process results in much lower carbon emission than for conventional denim. This denim made from eucalyptus tree wood pulp can help reduce the jeans industry's carbon footprint. The price ranges from $80 to $130. The designs are quite simple and meant to be worn as daily wear. Along with that, the pricing has been kept reasonable to promote eco-friendly clothing by making it affordable for the masses. Gwen Stefani Encouraging Eco-Friendly Promotional Items With numerous celebs embracing the cause of environment protection, there are numerous eco-friendly fashion lines for those who are fashion conscious with a concern for the environment. Celebs can play a major role in saving the environment as they can encourage the usage of eco-friendly promotional items among their fans in big way. They can put their popularity to good use and help in protecting the planet. More and more celebs like Gwen Stefani should come forward and help promote usage of products which are environment friendly and affordable at the same time. Lending their name to such causes also helps them fulfill their social responsibility. Source

There are times when you feel very frustrated for not having any power outlet available for charging your phone battery which is at the verge of dying. You might be having an excellent time outdoors and clicking some great pictures on your phone when the battery drains out. At such times,what you need is a charger which charges your phone from sources other than electricity. Charge Your Phone with Solar Energy You might have come across solar chargers as an eco-friendly alternative to conventional chargers. They are quite useful and dependable when you have to stay outdoors for long hours. The problem with these chargers is that they stop charging once you remove them from direct sunlight. For instance, if you are driving and need to cross a tunnel, your charger will stop working. Or if you are outdoors and a cloud comes overhead, your charger will stop working. However, once the shade goes away, charging does not resume - you need to unplug and reconnect your charger to resume charging. This is quite inconvenient. Another problem with these chargers is that these chargers are not compatible with all devices. This means you need to carry multiple chargers for multiple devices. Also, most of the chargers sold as eco-friendly promotional items are actually not compatible with Apple's devices like iPhone, iPad or iPod. StrongVolt is a pioneer brand in solar chargers and has brought a breakthrough change in the portable solar charging field. It has come up with a new SmartCharger. It has a new SunTrack technology which enables it to resume charging after the connection is disrupted due to shade or clouds. This means you never need to keep checking whether your device is charging or not. What's more, the new model of the charger is fully compatible with all Apple devices. There is an integrated switch which you can use to choose the device you want to charge and the charger automatically outputs the proper amount of power to the device. Best Use of an Eco-Friendly Promotional Charger Present times demand that more and more eco-friendly products must be used to save electricity as well as to protect the planet. Moreover, when you are outdoors, such devices are practical and easy to maintain compared to devices which need electricity to function. Business organizations as well as environment conscious individuals and organizations must use and promote eco-friendly products and practices. Organizations can make it mandatory for their employees to use such products or distribute eco-friendly promotional items among their customers as complementary gifts. They can even give such products to their employees as gifts on festivals or occasions like Earth Day. Source

The atmosphere and ambiance created when you have a wood stove burning in your living room are incomparable. The environment-conscious consumer of the present times needs wood stoves which provide not just warmth and glow but are also stylish and environment-friendly, which combine efficiency with eco-friendliness. Why Eco-Friendly Wood Stoves Are a Better Choice? Though wood stoves impart a rustic look and feel to your house, the gases, particulate matter and other pollutants emitted by burning wood can be very harmful to the environment. Burning logs emit black carbon which is as harmful to the environment as diesel fumes emitted by cars. Wood is a cheaper alternative to such gases and is considered eco-friendly because it is a replenishable resource, compared to coal. But studies are pointing out in a different direction. Burning wood can prove to be a huge source of carbon emissions and this can be hazardous to the environment. The rules of Environment Protection Agency or EPA lay down that only those wood stoves will be certified and considered eco-friendly which produce less than 7.5 grams of particulate matter in an hour. New regulations which are due next year will reduce the level to 4.5 grams per hour. There are options like newer technologies for eco-friendly wood stoves which make use of pellet stoves and boilers that can reduce the impact by nearly half. The new generation wood stoves are energy efficient and low in carbon emission. These new stoves are designed to channel the smoky exhaust through a catalyst made of ceramic. It burns off the gases as well as the emitted particulate exhaust matter. As a result, fewer pollutants are emitted from these stoves. Other stoves, which use preheated air-inflow, come with interior baffles which make the flow path for gases longer. Most of the gases and particulates get burnt in this process. Popularizing Wood Stoves with Eco-Friendly Promotional Items Wood stove manufacturing can produce better and more efficient wood stoves and promote the usage of these eco-friendly stoves by making them affordable and aesthetically pleasant at the same time. Companies involved in making such stoves can make use of promotional campaigns as well as eco-friendly promotional items to increase awareness about these stoves and help people understand the importance of protecting the environment. These wood stoves can also be beneficial for the consumers who will need to invest less in replenishing their stock of firewood. These are good for the environment too as energy efficiency will keep pollution under control as well as reduce the number of trees being cut. Source

Most of us may have a preconceived notion that anything that is plastic is not recyclable and anything to do with paper is recyclable. While this may be true overall, there are specific paper items that are not fit to be recycled. The world has come to a stage where it is either recycle and save nature or allow the future generations to suffer due to our follies. What Wholesale Tote Bags and Eco-Friendly Items Can Be Recycled and What Cannot? Though this question is a pretty short one, the answer is long drawn out. There is an exhaustive list of products that can be recycled. Even with paper and paper products, office paper, white paper, even colored paper, newspaper (with metal clips, pins, strings etc removed), all types of magazines (even the glossy ones) phone books, catalogs, paperboard, tissue boxes (not tissue paper) junk mail, unused paper towels and toilet paper rolls. For obvious reasons, though the following are made from paper, they are not deemed fit to be recycled. For instance, napkins cannot be recycled, and the same goes for tissue paper, paper towels, wax paper (the wax content may hamper the process and could be toxic too) wrapping paper, and any other paper product that comes in contact with the human body, as it has the potential to be contaminated. Yes, mounds of such recyclable material need to go to the incinerator. It is interesting to note that if we refrain from using products made from non-recyclable materials and switch to wholesale tote bags there will certainly be fewer landfills to contend with. All cardboard boxes need to be broken down before they can be recycled; these include millions of pizza boxes, corrugated cardboard cartons, brown paper bags and boxboard such as shoe boxes, gift boxes and cereal boxes. However, cardboard lined with plastic, such as bubble wrap boxes and waxed or waterproof cardboard cannot be recycled. While most metal beverage and food containers, aluminum foil and metal pots, pans and utensils can be recycled, motor oil cans, paint cans and metal cardboard containers cannot. Adopt Wholesale Tote Bags The obvious choice of eco conscious people and those who are concerned about the environment would be switching to wholesale tote bags. Though the convenience and comfort of use-and-throw plastic is a bit too ingrained in our day-to-day life, we need to make concentrated efforts to just remember to carry a reusable bag when we step out of our homes on a shopping chore. The one-word mantra is “recycling” and giving the cycle of life a fair chance to remain intact, and leaving behind a legacy that we can be proud of. Let's say no to plastics and yes to reusable wholesale tote bags. Source

The festive season has ended and it is again time to get back to work. But Richmond has decided to bring in a few changes to make the city a lot more cleaner and greener this New Year. The city is all set to get rid of the nuisance created by plastic bags by abandoning their use in the first place. This is a very strong step taken by the city in the effort to get freedom from plastic bags. Plastic bag ban comes into effect Residents of the city will no more be allowed to ask for plastic bags from stores while shopping. Instead, they will have to bring with them their own wholesale reusable grocery bags. All this because the plastic bag ban has finally come into effect in the city. Grocery and local retail stores are no more allowed to hand out plastic bags to their customers as they did earlier. However, in case shoppers forget to get their reusable bags, they can opt for paper bags provided by the store. But they will have to shell out a certain fee for using such bags. So, a much affordable and environment friendly option for them will be to bring their own reusable or recyclable bags. This plastic bag ban came into effect in the city from January 1. Shoppers who take the paper bags available in the stores will have to pay 5 cent per bag, as of now. But this fee will be increased to 10 cents after two years of the ban. The officials of the city feel that this will help in encouraging the habit of carrying reusable bags among shoppers. Though the ban is applicable on liquor and grocery stores, specialty shops, clothing stores and convenience markets, restaurants are exempt from it. It is not just shoppers, but also the merchants who will be liable to pay a fine in case they fail to comply by the ban. Non-compliance by merchants will lead to them paying a fine of $250 for violating the ban for the first time. Th second time they do it in a period of one year, a fine of $500 will be charged while $1000 will be levied for the third violation. A welcome change to carry wholesale reusable grocery bags However, it is being expected that there wont be many cases of violation of the ban as a majority of residents as well as business owners understand the importance of the ban and are happy to follow it. Carrying reusable bags is not just an eco-friendly habit that will help in protecting the earth but will also help the city in saving some money as it wont have to spend its funds on dealing with plastic bag issues. Source

Having a good time with your close ones and welcoming the New Year with fun and frolic is great, but what after you are done with the celebrations? Is it not your responsibility to ensure that you do not harm the environment while enjoying yourself? It definitely is and the residents of San Antonio have understood this fact very well. That is the reason they are making an effort to see to it that their city does not become a target of the ugly aftermath of the festive season. The residents of the city have 17 drop off locations to choose from where they can drop their fresh-cut Christmas tree for recycling. Drop-Off Locations for Recycling Your Christmas Tree Once the tress are brought at the drop-off locations, they will be recycled. These recycled trees will then be used for creating mulch. Residents will be able to give away their Christmas trees at these locations between 8 am to 1 pm on January 11 and 12. However, they will have to make sure that the trees remain free from plastic wrapping, nails, decorations and stands as these can hinder the process of recycling the tress. 'Flocked' Christmas tress decorated with artificial snow can also be dropped off here. Trees that stand taller than 6 feet will have to be cut in two before getting them to the drop-off location. The Solid Waste Management Department of the city brought an end to curbside pickup practice way back in 2010. This step was taken as the statistics revealed that the demand for this service had come down. Another reason for this step was the difficulty being faced by the crew in loading the trees manually in the automated trucks. Since then, residents resorted to drop-off locations. Tiffany Edmonds, spokeswoman of the department mentioned that the city has seen a collection of around 6000 tress in the last few years. She added that the decrease in the number of tress being brought at drop-off locations is due to people switching to reusable artificial trees. Another Eco-Friendly Step to Take – Recycling Christmas Trees Bringing in some sustainable habits in your lifestyle is perhaps the best way to begin the New Year. Apart from recycling Christmas tress or opting for reusable artificial trees, another eco-friendly option you can switch to is carrying your own wholesale reusable bags while shopping. This will ensure that the city does not have to deal with problems created by plastic bags. Source

It may be news for some to learn that food waste generated every day can be broken down and turned into rich compost. All it takes is a compost site and enough food scraps (which are available in plenty) to be fed in and allowed to turn to compost, which takes just a few days. This useful product can be sold to gardeners, farmers, and landscape companies. Recycling with Organic Compost A shockingly astonishing quantity of food is wasted every day in the US. To be more precise, the amount of food wasted can fill a football field. What with half the food produced going waste, close to 290 billion pounds of food is thrown away every year. The per capita food waste has risen by a shocking 50%, and an average American generates around five pounds of waste every day, out of which more than a tenth is food waste. Most of the food waste used to be incinerated, incurring additional expense. Another serious problem was that waste food always attracts rats and insects, adding to the health hazard, and the unbearable stench emanating from decomposed food waste. With compost sites coming up, all the waste goes back into the ground and enriches the soil. It is not just food waste that goes into the compost site, the growing trend on recycling attracts other waste products like paper towels and other organic material that can be broken down and turned to compost. According to recycling experts, turning waste food and other organic material presents a great opportunity for creating a useful product that not only reduces the mountains of garbage going into landfills and incinerators, but generates good revenue as well. As per reports from the Environmental Protection Agency, 25% of municipal solid waste consists of waste food items. What was till now restricted to efforts at recycling in very moderate and small scale has now turned into a great money making venture. People now realize that it is not just plastic and paper waste that can be recycled, with increased awareness, and eco-friendly promotional items spreading the good word, recycling is being taken a lot more seriously than it used to. Promoting Recycling and Reusing by Using Organic Compost Thanks to awareness campaigns that are being undertaken with a war footing by city councils and at school levels, people now realize the gravity of the situation and the impending disaster looming ahead unless something concrete is done about the environment. With eco-friendly promotional items playing a major role in spreading awareness, there is hope yet for a greener tomorrow. Source

We all know that plastic bags mostly serve as “use-and-throw” and no one bothers about these bags once they have served their purpose. However, what is discarded after a single use simply refuses to vanish and is painfully persistent in its existence, which is the crux of the problem today. Plastic Bags Need to Be Abandoned No one probably stopped to think or realize that a cheap plastic bag can outlive humans, not just a single human being, but several generations. Yes, it is a fact that a plastic bag can last for over a thousand years until it vanishes from the face of the earth forever. However, the damage it can cause in that period is incalculable. Do we need any better reason to abandon these bags, in spite of them being absurdly cheap and indispensably useful, or at least that is what we've believed all along. Ask any environmentalist or nature lover like Saima Anjam of Environmental Advocates of New York and you'll understand the pressing need to find alternatives to plastic bags. The group, on its part is entreating Governor Andrew Cuomo to do something like imposing a fee on retailers to curb the use, which, not surprisingly is a $10-billion per year business for its manufacturers. This could probably be one reason why the problem is not being addressed the way it should. The solution probably lies in stricter governance and the need to educate people on the hazards of plastic. Either follow Washington DC's example and levy a 5 cent charge on plastic bags, which should curb the usage considerably, or impose an outright ban that would encourage the use of better alternatives like wholesale reusable bags. Whatever needs to be done needs to be done now, before it is too late. Small Steps Towards Getting Rid of Plastic Bags Anjam's argument seems to make a lot of sense. If retailers can spend billions of dollars on plastic bags, why not prevail upon them to switch to wholesale reusable bags that may cost slightly more, but will probably be the only way to do away with plastic bags once and for all? However, until this happens, shoppers can be educated on how they can help with recycling plastic bags sensibly, which would help prevent littering and clogged drains and sewers. Plastic bags can be taken back to any grocery store in New York State to be recycled. Source

The trend of being eco-friendly is catching up with people. These days the options of ‘going green' are not just limited to choosing organic food or clothes but have grown way beyond. Most fashion lovers have always complained about not having enough choices when it comes to choosing eco-friendly jewelry and clothes, but thankfully there are plenty of options available in these categories now. The best part is that these choices are not just much better for the environment but also equally stylish. Why You Need to Switch to Eco-Friendly Jewelry? The harmful effects that mining has on the environment are not hidden from many. Mining for diamonds, gold, gemstones, silver and other metals can lead to environmental issues like greenhouse gas emission, soil erosion and water pollution. Other than that, mine workers also face many physical hazards due to their nature of job. In 2010, Dr. Doug Guthrie who is the Dean of International Business and Management in George Washington University School of Business, along with a group of researchers compiled a report on the impact of mining on environment. In this report, Guthrie and his team explored the issue of usage of toxic chemicals in the mining industry. The report states that production of a single ounce of gold leads to around twenty tons of wastage. On an average, large scale gold mine makes use of approximately 2000 tons of cyanide every year. Cyanide is used in mining for separating ore and gold. Other than that, other chemicals like arsenic are also used. If this waste gets mixed with air, soil or water, it can lead to contamination. Companies Can Use Eco-Friendly Jewelry to Create Awareness Given the way mining can deprive the quality of environment and affect the health of mine workers, it is better to switch to jewelry that is made using eco-friendly techniques. People can help to a great extent by supporting companies that provide eco-friendly jewelry. Once the demand for eco-friendly jewelry rises, more companies will follow these sustainable jewelry making techniques. Other options would be to make you own jewelry or to buy from your local jewelers as this will help in cutting down on the transportation cost. On the other hand, companies involved in making eco-friendly jewelry can create awareness about the same. They can use eco-friendly promotional items to educate people about this concept and explain them how their support can help earth in retaining its resources and greenery. Source

Environmentalists and other nature lovers residing in LA should be happy to hear the news that plastic bags will no longer be used here. This New Year's gift to the city is freedom from plastic litter. People will be encouraged to use paper bags that will be available, though for a price of 10 cents per bag. Going Plastic Free This Year by Using Wholesale Custom Reusable Bags Though most New Year resolutions hardly last a couple of days, this is one that is expected to last forever, given the price we have had to pay for turning to plastic, for the convenience and affordability it offered. However, with a firm resolution made collectively, and other options like wholesale custom reusable bags, the fervent hope is that the transition will take place without a hitch. LA is certainly going to be a plastic free city, come 2014. The new city ordinance that is expected to come into force from January 1, 2014 will be a major motivational factor for the city's residents to switch to eco-friendly reusable bags. According to Daniel Hackney, special projects manager at the Bureau of Sanitation, banning plastics will help relieve the choked drains and catch basins that are frequently clogged by carelessly discarded plastic waste. LA has the distinction of being the largest city in the country to join 90 other communities across the state like Glendale, Santa Monica, Pasadena and Long Beach that have already passed stringent laws banning the use of plastic. The ban to be imposed in LA will affect thousands of retailers and supermarkets like Von's and Food-4 less, and large groceries like Wal-Mart and Target. Most of the independent stores and smaller groceries are to be given time until July 1 to exhaust their existing inventories before they switch to eco-friendly alternatives like wholesale custom reusable bags. Signs have already been put up at the entrance of most stores to make the residents aware of the ban. How Will Wholesale Custom Reusable Bags Help? With more people being aware of the crying need to preserve nature and promote a greener environment, there is no foreseeable hitch in the switch to wholesale custom reusable bags. Even school kids are aware of the truth about plastic being the least biodegradable material and that it can virtually take thousand years for plastic to decompose completely. Though the initial response was mixed, people gradually realized the sense the move made and wholeheartedly supported the ban. Though shoppers are not expected to remember to carry reusable bags each time they step out for a bout of shopping, they probably will remember it after a period of time. Source