Eco-friendly Promos

Last week’s 107th annual International Toy Fair in NYC was the first one to feature a “green pavilion” where all sorts of environmentally-friendly toys on display. Among the more popular toys were Captain Owen’s Dolphin Explorer Boat (made with eco-friendly materials), Plan Toys’ Green Dollhouse (complete with wind turbine, solar cell panel, rain barrel, sun shade and recycle bin), and Clementine Art Natural & Non-Tox Modeling Dough (eco-friendly Play-doh!).

The demand for eco-friendly toys is clearly growing as consumers become more eco-conscious.

It has been officially announced that New York City’s annual “Go Green Expo” will take place a month from today (March 19, 2010). This eco-friendly trade show is designed to allow green enthusiasts to get more information about green products and services they can use to reduce environmental impact during their daily lives. This popular event features over 200 exhibits and booths, interactive seminars, a marketplace, demonstrations, and all the eco-friendly trade show freebies you can shake a bamboo stick at!

This year’s expo will be held at Pier 92. Full weekend access is only $25.

Papier-mache, beloved craft medium of elementary school art classes everywhere, has found a new life in designer Debbie Wijskamp’s recycled paper-pulp cabinets. I can’t imagine that this furniture is too sturdy, but the recycling element is definitely eco-friendly, and the cabinets have an undeniably interesting look to them.

[via Inhabitat]

For those interested in sustainable computing, it can be frustrating and difficult to determine the amount of energy actually being consumed at a given time. Korean computer manufacturer Moneual has finally addressed this problem, designing a PC with a prominent LED display that tracks how many watts of power the system is using. The computer is set up so that you can keep track of the energy used by peripheral devices, too - yes, monitoring your monitor. It’s a great invention for any conservation-minded tech enthusiast, and should be on the market in about three months, according to the company.

[via Technabob]

Solar power is being hyped as the next big trend for cell phone chargers - especially with solar-powered messenger bags like Timbuk2’s FLAP bag getting ready to hit the market - but many of us phone-junkies tend to forget that we do a lot of our talking at night. When our phones run out of juice after sunset, it’s a looooong time ’til morning when we can power up again with solar chargers.

Designers Song Teaho and Hyejin Lee were thinking ahead, however, and came up with this cool idea for a twirlable cell phone battery that recharges as you spin it around on your finger - that’s two minutes of precious talking time for every 130 spins (expect to build some serious finger muscles!) or 25 minutes of standby power. It may sound like a lot of work, but it’s an important step in eliminating our dependence on the electrical outlet - as much as we’d like to, human beings still can’t control the weather enough to keep our solar-powered devices perpetually well-fed.

[via Inhabitat]

We’ve been told since we were kids not to stare at the sun, but what if the sun was actually the key to helping the blind see? Scientists at Stanford University have developed a retinal implant comprised of several tiny solar-powered devices, solving the problem of how to send power to the extremely small electronics needed to process incoming visual data. A small video camera, computer processor, and LCD display goggles complete the setup, which is expected to be able to clarify vision to the extent that users can recognize faces and read large print within the year. Score one for eco-friendly biotechnology!

[via Inhabitat]

This is one of the coolest promotional products I’ve ever come across! Now no one has to waste more paper and plastic on packaging when they ship mailers or merchandise. These Ship-n-go drawstring backpacks are mailable as a durable package and then simply turned inside out to use as a drawstring backpack.

I was a little hesitant to believe it at first. Where does the cardboard go and how is that backpack comfortable?

Turns out the non-woven backpack has a no-stain finish on the outside that makes it fairly puncture proof in the mail and resistant to dirt. Plus, once it gets to the final destination, the recipient can just wipe off the outside before using it.

I think that’s a great idea! After all, packaging can be the most environmentally damaging part of any promotion. This is definitely a step in the right direction.

Yay Ship-n-Tote inventor!

Doing renovations around the office or know someone with a huge home improvement project? This is one of my favorite products for either occasion. It’s a tape measure and flashlight for late night projects. However, instead of eating batteries and consuming more and more resources, this little guy is powered by a hand crank!

Eco-friendly promotions don’t just have to be rechargeable batteries or recycled paper. They can be anything from a video encouraging renewable energy (above) to a poster announcing the benefits of fuel efficient cars. However, I’m partial to the clever ones, like the video I posted. Genius advertising.

Maybe your child doesn’t understand the concept of carbon footprints and eco-friendly manufacturing just yet. I mean, 5 is a very young age to start! But that doesn’t mean environmentally conscious parents can’t fully indulge in eco-friendly products.

For example, these pocket kids games are a great, inexpensive way to promote ‘going green’. The pages are made of post-consumer materials and kids will doing the activities. Kid-friendly promotional items are great for daycares or community events.

On a side note, I found a really incredible kids site the other day for inspiring creativity in children. Most of the activities are done online to conserve paper, keeping with the green theme. Then once a month Uncle Envelope will send children a special paper craft straight to their mailbox. I just heard about it the other day and thought it was the most adorable idea! Imagine how much you could accomplish with a promotion modeled off of that. After all, snail mail may be going the way of the phonograph but children still get a thrill out of seeing their name on an envelope! Especially an eco-friendly envelope!