Green Options

Their by far coolest experiment is their stenciled ads for a London aquarium. “Because salt water evaporates more slowly than fresh water, the ads have a lifetime of about 20 minutes, leaving nothing behind but a light dusting of natural sea salt.”

A couple weeks ago it had been windy for days on end. We were cooped up in the house and I decided we were going to get crafty.  In high school, I was a Recreation Leader and we did all sorts of crafting and played games to our hearts content during the spring and summer. Kids love to craft and when you’re in the comfort of you’re own home it’s even better! Why not reuse some plastic water bottles and make this quick, simple and fun eco-craft!

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Lava Lamp

Supplies:

Empty plastic bottles
Cooking or Vegetable Oil
Funnel
Water
Food Coloring
Masking Tape or Glue

A Green Printer interview with Deb Ozarko, Director, Creative Services of Clearly Green Design.

1. If a client comes to you saying that they want to market themselves as a green company, what kinds of advice would you give them in terms of identity and design?
Before I would give them any advice, I would accurately determine their motives. As both a visual communicator and a social/environmental activist, I have a very large responsibility to the public and the planet - as well as my own personal ethics. Clearly Green Design takes our commitment to the environment, animals and social justice causes very seriously so its critical that we understand the motivating factors for a company before we go any further. A green claim or green identity no longer has the same validity that they used to because of excessive greenwashing. Greenwash is rampant because so many companies have simply jumped on the green bandwagon in order to keep up with the trend. Personally, I find this really sad because there is alot at stake here - namely, planetary survival. A glaring example of greenwash are the green claims made by the Walmart corporation. I honestly don’t know how the folks at the communications agency who market Walmart can sleep at night.

A www.greenprinteronline.com dispatch

As we are gearing up for week full of interviews from Clearly Green Design and the Futuresonic Festival and Conference (a sneak peek photo of the Futuresonic interview above!), this week’s uber-short post is on some valuable and unique tools for business owners looking to refresh their green marketing efforts.

1. Widgetbox allows you to search for widgets and once you find a good match [...]

I fell in love with these eco-friendly fabrics by Jenny Lee-Katz the moment I saw them (thanks Design*Sponge).  With nearly 50 designs to choose from each available on three eco-friendly base cloths, I am sure you can understand my excitement.  The designs feature vibrant colors and a contemporary seaside vibe.

For the past few years, corporations have been touting the launch of each new sustainability program - from employee engagement initiatives to renewable energy powered operations. And so, 2009 is an interesting year for Green Printer to check in on the results of these shop floor and boardroom decisions.

In a very interesting article, Anca Novacovici of Eco-Coach speaks about how corporations like 3M and Grossman Marketing group reaped in tangible - but unexpected revenue surges, savings and client kudos - by choosing the greener path.

“Going green can…fatten the top line. Grossman Marketing Group, a US$30-million (sales) maker of marketing, decided to spend up to US$4,000 every year to ease the strain on the nation’s energy grid by purchasing renewable-energy “credits” from two California wind farms. Adding 5% to its energy bill didn’t save Grossman money at the time, but it did attract eco-friendly customers like Google and Green Mountain Coffee. Envelope sales — which represent 45% of Grossman’s top line — grew 20% in 2007, which is a pretty good return on a $4,000 investment!”

I know, I know, it’s not very eco-friendly to get your children’s toys from across the Pacific Ocean; however, Soopsori wooden toys are beautiful and top quality.  Made from 100% natural wood without paint or bolts, these toys are safe, adorable, and ethically produced.  Made from 20 different kinds of wood, natural color and texture create variability in these toys.

‘Soopsori’ is much more of a public corporation chasing a common good than a commercial company. We here at ‘Soopsori’ provide you with lifelong memories in addition to wooden toys. As a result, we aim to dedicate ourselves to practicing an honest and reasonable management style. In order to realize this philosophy, we share our profits with environmental NGOs, as a company we feel socially responsible for contributing to a more eco-friendly society. From lumbers that are not taken artificially to making products without any chemical paints, we are aiming to build for an environmentally-secure future. This is our primary objective.

20 minutes before guests arrive we realize the balloon method is out the window! We put in a fair attempt but the drying time put a damper on things. We’re planning to try out the balloon method again next year. We may even get to do it sooner.

At this point, we’re scramming to get the supplies we needed for our paper bag pinata. The party was held at my in-law’s so we ran in circles locating everything. Once we put it together we realized that Tristan had sticker’s he received as a gift for Easter and added those to the pinata. We even colored on the front and back of the pinata.  What could you possibly need for a paper bag pinata? It’s really simple and easy.

Not all of us are lucky enough to be craft divas ready to whip up the perfect gift for Mother’s Day. For the rest of us there is Etsy where you can find a beautiful handmade gift mom is sure to love.  Whether or not you want to fess up to buying your handmade gift is up to you.

Flowers are a traditional fall back gift for mom, but this year consider a handmade floral-inspired gift that will last a bit longer.  Here are my top picks for eco-friendly Mother’s Day gifts.  All of the gifts in this roundup are floral-inspired and made from natural and sustainable materials.

We recently celebrated my son’s second birthday which happens to be on Earth Day. Being an “Earth Birthday Boy” we naturally celebrate in an earth friendly fashion.

One of the many traditions in my family is to break open a pinata at a child’s birthday party. Pinatas are a hit (pun intended) with children because they usually contain treats. What kid doesn’t want a chance at breaking open a pinata! As kids we loved being blindfolded, spun in circles and pushed towards the swinging pinata for a strike.

I knew the tradition could carry on but not without a green twist, of course. The idea of this eco-friendly mission is to forgo the plastic and create a healthy and environmentally sound party which includes a pinata. Growing up we never thought about how much waste a pinata created. We just knew that when the pinata was punctured we’d get loads of candy and maybe a few plastic toys.

Some people feel that advertising is garbage. London based Curb advertises with garbage. And sea water. And snow.

Calling themselves “The Natural Media Company,” Curb create advertising based on natural elements, the most recent being for the London Aquarium utilizing “sea tagging,” which is using sea water and a stencil to create temporary ads on the sidewalk. Sea water evaporates more slowly then water, but being a completely natural substance, no permit is needed to do it.

Another water based innovation [...]