We love eco friendly gadgets; promotional products that run of green sources of energy. If you’re looking to spread your eco friendly message through corporate gifts, then have a browse of ecoproducts2order for a complete range of branded goods.

Their friendly staff can advise you on promotional calculators, clocks, torches and many other gadgets that are powered by eco friendly means. One thing they can’t supply is promotional cars unfortunately, like the “poo-powered” VW Beetle which has taken to the streets of Bristol in an attempt to encourage sustainable motoring.

The Bio-Bug runs on processed methane gas generated as part of the raw sewage treatment process. Engineers from Wessex Water estimate the waste from 70 homes would generate enough gas to run the car for 10,000 miles (16,100km).

Despite being powered by fuel created from sewage, the car does not smell unpleasant. “It performs like a normal car - you wouldn’t know it was powered by biogas,” a company spokesman said.

Can you get your head round your energy bill? Watchdog Consumer Focus has warned that new annual energy statements are likely to confuse the customers of some gas and electricity suppliers.

Companies were ordered by the regulator Ofgem to send a statement to every customer, with information about their energy use and how to switch suppliers. Consumer Focus says that in the worst cases the statements look like bills.

The Energy Retail Association which represents suppliers, says the statements are “a work in progress” – that’s good to know then. To be fair, energy supplies seem to be a mixed bag with Audrey Gallacher Consumer Focus’s head of energy policy stating; “Some companies are applying the letter of the regulations but not the spirit - and the spirit is that people get information to manage energy use and make comparisons”.

To avoid confusing letters and questions such as; ‘Is this a bill or a statement’, simply use products that exclusively run of renewable energy! This may be a bit of challenge in you’re day to day line I admit, but ecoproducts2order will help you give it a good go.

Ecoproducts2order has a great range of branded products that run off water or solar power, while some are also self powered by dynamos. Water powered clocks, dynamo torches, solar powered calculators all make great promotional products for businesses who want to preach their eco friendly message!

If you are from our neck of the words, you have heard that a hosepipe ban is to be introduced in most of north-west England for the first time in 14 years. The temporary ban which will affect millions of householders in the region, will come begin 6am Friday.

The firm said the measure will help “safeguard essential supplies”. Water levels in many reservoirs and lakes have plummeted to less than half their capacity due to the region’s driest start to the year since 1929.

Ironically this hosepipe ban comes just months after hundreds of properties were flooded in Cumbria following severe storms; more than 1,300 properties were flooded across the county, with Cockermouth, Workington and Keswick worst affected.

John Sanders, from United Utilities, said: “Despite some recent rainfall in the north of the region, reservoir levels are still significantly lower than we would expect at this time of year and are now at a point where we need to impose some temporary restrictions on our customers.

If you’re a keen gardener, you probably won’t be too impressed by the news. One promotional product you may approve of is a branded desktop garden. Now you can show the world you have green fingers, without reaching for the hose pipe.

Branded desktop gardens are a fun promotional item that will brighten up any work space. Having your logo noticed is generally the point of promotional merchandise; something that will defiantly be achieved with this quirky corporate gift.

The Government’s plans to reward eco-friendly households, has received a muted welcome for not being generous enough.

The clean energy cash-back plan, known as “feed-in tariffs“, offers incentives from April onwards, for those who install small scale renewable on their homes such as solar panels. The UK gets about 5.5% of its electricity from renewable sources, and in order to hit green targets in 10 years’ time, this would have to rise to 30%, which I just can’t see happening.

“Ministers have been far too timid with a policy that could make a significant contribution to cutting emissions and boosting energy security,” said Dave Timms, of Friends of the Earth. The Solar Trade Association said the rate of return was half of that seen under other schemes.

To be fair to the government, more is on its way. Proposals for a second incentive scheme for renewable heat, with people being paid to install technology such as ground source heat pumps and biomass boilers are on the agenda for the 2010 Budget.

Another way the government could reduce Britain’s carbon footprint, is to insist on all new promotional products be eco friendly. One quality distributor of eco friendly promotional products is ecoproducts2order.

They are able to supply a complete solution to your promotional product needs, from traditional eco friendly cotton shoppers to more unusual green corporate gifts. Eco friendly promotional products don’t have to be the usual recycled pen and pencils. They can take many forms, my favourite being the eco friendly promotional piggy bank!

 Yesterday I touched on promotional products with the Fairtrade logo, but what exactly does this mean?

Fairtrade is all about ‘decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world.’ The fair trade market in the UK is growing, and has a estimated retail value of £493 million in 2007.

The Fairtrade Foundation is the UK member of Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO). It helps improve the position of producers in the great scheme of things, by assuring a fair price for their goods. How does it achieve this? By certifying produce groups that meet its minimum social, economic and environmental requirements; setting a minimum price for particular products; then allowing registered licensees to apply the mark to products that meet its criteria.

In regards to the promotions industry, it doesn’t just apply to branded confectionery, but also to textiles too. If you require Fairtrade cotton shoppers or cotton T shirt for example, then contact the friendly team over at ecoproducts2order who will be happy to help. Eco friendly promotional items can be utilized by any number of organisations, and need not cost the earth. If you require eco promotional items for the home, office or for conferences and exhibitions – ecoproducts2order can meet your demands.

The economy may well be slimming down, but you may be surprised to learn that people don’t want to cut their gym memberships from their budgets, Forbes magazine tells us. It seems that gyms our one of the ten things that people are still spending money on. Over in the US at least, research from Stifel Nicolaus predicts overall gym memberships will increase by four percent this year.

The days of simple promotional cotton shirts and shorts are coming to an end. Luckily Gift Selection has a range of high end promotional active wear for everyone. Holly Tuten, retail manager for a major Hotel & Spa in Houston Texas said, women migrate to apparel that fits snugly and provides ample support, while men are interested in a garment’s performance capabilities. “A popular fabric for women right now is Supplex. It’s a nylon fabric that’s denser than lyrca or spandex, and has a soft cotton-like feel with great support. Men love wash-and-wear product – the way they drape and feel light whether wet or dray.”

Gift Selection has a range of promotional garments made from various materials. They offer the traditional range of branded items made from; polyester, spandex and cotton blends. As well as more modern eco friendly materials such as; hemp, bamboo, organic cotton, recycled plastic and jute.

Gift Selection in conjunction with their sister site ecoproducts2order supply the best range of promotional bamboo clothing on the market. Bamboo isn’t just for Panda’s you know. This naturally sustainable, renewable plant is woven into a fabric to create a hypoallergenic, antimicrobial, odor-resistant, breathable and quick-drying garment.  Bamboo realises more oxygen into the atmosphere than trees, helping to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Another reason why promotional bamboo clothing is great, is that bamboo grows quickly without the use of pesticides and insecticides.

In the promotional products industry there is no industry standard for classifying and certifying eco-friendly products. How promotional product suppliers do have the opportunity to be certified by other organisation’s standards.

There is a vast array of certificates awarded to supposedly eco friendly organisations; such as awards for product material, energy consumption and workers rights for example. Below is a list of well known organisation who play a role, in making the world a greener and fairer world for us, who logo’s you may see on many promotional products from www.giftselection.com and www.ecoproducts2order.com.

Carbon Reduction Label

Given by the Carbon Label Company in conjunction with the U.K’s Carbon Trust, a government funded organisation, the label represents total greenhouse gas emissions from every stage of the product’s little life.

www.carbon-label.com

ECOCERT

Europe-based ECOCERT works to promote organic products through its control and certification activities in more than 80 countries. ECOCERT is accredited for National Organic Program (NOP) certification.

www.ecocert.com

Forest Stewardship Council

FSC certification guarantees wood based products with this label were produced with materials from sustainably managed forests. FSC-accredited, independent third-party certifiers assess forest management using the FSC’s principles, criteria and standards, and each certifier uses an individual evaluative process.

www.fscus.org/faqs

Green Seal

Founded in 1989, the non -profit group Green Seal provides science-based environmental certification standards for products to help end users make responsible choices that positively impact business behaviour and improves quality of life. Their wide range of products spans over 40 major product categories.

www.greenseal.org

USDA National Organic Program (NOP)

THE USDA National Organic Program regulates the standard for any farm, wild crop harvesting or handling operation that wants to see an agricultural product as organically produced in the US. The NOP develops, implements and administers national production, handling and labelling standards for organic agricultural products, and it also accredits foreign and domestic certficying agents who inspect organic production and handling operation to certify that they meet the USDA standards.

Probably the most popular sorts of eco friendly promotional gifts are those with claims to being recycled. However the promotional product industry lacks a certified standard, so please ask your corporate gift supplier if you are unsure – the friendly green experts (their not literally green) at ecoproducts2order will be able to answer any queries you may have.

As people are becoming more aware of climate change, biodegradable promotional products are looking increasingly attractive. Ecoproducts2order have just started selling completely bio degradable promotional drinks bottles. They have taken the retailing challenge of producing a 100% eco friendly bottle.

Their branded bio-bottle is 100% biodegradable, but yet maintains the same appearance and physical performance, as the other branded drinks bottles you’ll have seen elsewhere. The bottle is made of at least 20% post industrial recycled plastic, polyethylene and a revolutionary additive which makes the polyethylene bio-degradable!

The innovative eco friendly promotional item, works by a brilliantly simple process. The biodegrading process starts once a product reaches its final destination in a Landfill (litter, composting facility, home composter). It is not affected by heat, sunlight or moisture so there’s no need to be afraid of the product starting to bio-degrade on the shelf! (That would certainly be embarrassing for everyone involved.

Consumers place price as the top factor influencing their purchases but are increasingly prepared to consider a brand’s record on carbon reduction. It’s not exactly surprising that people but price first, but that fact people are interested in the environment is encouraging.

A survey by the Carbon Trust of more than 1,000 consumers found that almost two-thirds (63%) were more likely to buy a product if they knew action was being taken to reduce its carbon footprint. Furthermore, some 58% of consumers said they valued companies that were taking action on carbon reduction but only 12% think they are doing enough to cut carbon emissions and tackle climate change.

‘Environmental concerns’ were highlighted as being more influential than ethical and the country of origin issues when it came to buying electronic goods and cars, but not for clothing and shoes and food and drink.

At present few big brands carry the Carbon Trust’s Carbon Footprint Reduction labels on their packaging and marketing material. PepsiCo, through its Tropicana, Walkers and Quakers brands, and Tesco are two of the first to have displayed the Carbon Reduction Label since its launch in 2007. But this week Tate & Lyle announced it intends to carry the logo on pack to inform consumers that the carbon footprint of its cane sugar is 380g per 1 kg bag.

If environmental issues are important to you and your customers, then eco friendly promotional products, will be important marketing tools. Ecoproducts2order has a full range of eco friendly corporate gifts to choose from.

They sell promotional products made from materials which would otherwise be destined for landfill sites. They use recycled paper, card, wood from sustainable forests, recycled plastics from car parts, recycled tyres, jute and organic cotton. Not to mention stocking promotional gadgets running on water power and solar power!