Green Options » cups

EarthDay Ideas: Event Planning

John Simonetta — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:10:41 +0000

This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of Proforma Simonetta Freelance, 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.

With Earth Day around the corner I wanted to write a few articles focusing on promotional items with a bent towards education.

The one thing about large events, any large large event, is that they are going to produce a lot of trash. That trash can be an educational tool in the hands of the right Ecopreneurist - the way it is planned for and the way it is disposed of speaks volumes to how green your event truly will be.

The folks at Tranter Graphics Inc help events start their event planning correctly by providing a wide selection of biodegradable and compostable cups, plates, napkins, utensils and bowls. My favorite items from Tranter are their line of GreenWare cups.

These clear cups come in sizes from 9oz - 16oz and are made of materials like sugarcane and corn starch which are 100% compostable. They work best for cold beverages and are a perfect solution for all those event booths selling beer, wine and sodas. End result, less trash in the landfill.

Events have 100s sometime 1000s of staff and volunteers. A great new way to identify them is the new #5 recyclable staff vest from Debco Solutions.

These vest are made from 25% recycled material, they are biodegradable, but they are also sturdy enough to be reusable. They are a great alternative to the polyester vests currently used by most in the event industry.

Other basic ideas for events?

Print your tickets, flyers, maps, etc., on recycled paper.
If you are selling t-shirts make them organic cotton, perhaps even with soy or water based inks.
If you are using give-away bags make sure they are biodegradable materials or recycled paper.
Use signage printed on nonwoven banners, a #5 recyclable material.

All these ideas are excellent ways for an event to demonstrate their practical commitment to hosting eco-friendly events. For more information on these items please contact info@proformagreen.com.

Misinformation Fosters Tooth Decay

Sonya — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:44:19 +0000

Many parents and caregivers are uninformed that routine practices like providing healthy snacks and sharing utensils may increase their child’s risk of developing cavities, according to a new survey.

The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive for the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), a leader in children’s oral health.

It found U.S. parents and caregivers are uninformed about cavity-causing bacteria and teeth-friendly snacks. One result showed 96% of U.S. adults with children under 12 years old in their household thought a cracker was better for children’s teeth than a piece of caramel. Starches, however, can also cause cavities like sugars, and caramels dissolve more quickly from the mouth than crackers.

Evolve Travel Mug - Norwood Gets into Green

John Simonetta — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:35:13 +0000

This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of ProformaGreen, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy. John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

Norwood has launched two new tumblers under their Evolve line, the Evolve(TM) Traveler Mug - 16 oz and the Evolve(TM) Infinity Tumbler - 16 oz.

Both units come in a variety of colors, both are Prop 65 compliant, both are top rack dishwater safe, both are microwave safe, and both are packaged in eco-friendly packaging for shipment.

The Evolve line is also made in the US and is “designed to biodegrade within 1-5 years in a managed landfill” according to the Norwood website. With one color imprint the units both run under $2.75.

I wanted to write about the Norwood Evolve line because, if you look again at the bullet points offered in the sales material, it seems Norwood developed these mugs to specifically address issues that Ecopreneurist has raised regarding eco-friendly promotional items.

GreenWare Cups

John Simonetta — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:31:46 +0000

GreenWare cups resemble clear plastic cups but are made from a resin derived from corn called Natureworks® PLA (polylactic acid) resin. If you are a business, festival, music event, stadium or other venue selling drinks in cups, please consider these as a alternative to petroleum based plastic cups.

These cups are 100% compostable and environmentally sustainable as PLA resin is naturally recycled in the Earth.

Other environmental benefits include:
~ 20% - 50% fewer fossil resources used than with petroleum based resins.
~ No ground water contamination because the cups break down into natural lactic acid and metabolites which are recycled into the ground.