Seed paper is a type of handmade paper that is made from different types of plant seeds. Apart from being attractive, this type of paper is both versatile and recyclable. These qualities have made this kind of paper the material of choice in the manufacture of different types of products among them promotional items. An interesting fact worth noting is that the seeds can still germinate even after the papermaking process upon planting the paper in soil. Customgreenpromos.com is an online store which stocks different types of eco-friendly bags at customer-friendly prices.

Apart from selling seed paper sheets, Customgreenpromos.com also has a variety of seed paper products such as postcards and envelopes which all guaranteed to help shoppers to play a part in conserving the environment. The use of paper made from seeds has really caught on in different parts of the world as focus shifts towards green ventures aimed at promoting an awareness of the environment. In this aspect, Customgreenpromos.com has also put in place measures to inform their shoppers on the need to conserve the environment through the use of reusable bags, as can be inferred from their attractive and highly informative website.
Different shoppers have different needs and this is why Customgreenpromos.com places their shoppers in the driving seat when it comes to choosing the types of seeds and color of the seed paper. This greatly contributes to an enhanced customer experience and also makes shopping at the store both fruitful and enjoyable. Papers made from seeds can effectively be used in the printing of promotional materials since they are not only attractive but they are practical as well; after an event is over, the paper can be used to start a small flower garden.

Paper made from seeds offers a suitable base for inkjet printing and provides stunning results with regards to promotional cards, wedding cards and dinner menus etc. Apart from inkjet printing, the other suitable technique for purposes of printing on this type of paper is the old-fashioned letter press. These two are favored since they don’t interfere with the ability of the seeds in the paper to germinate. For more information on seed paper and reusable bags, visit www.Customgreenpromos.com

Customearthpromos.com is dedicated to providing environmentally-friendly products such as bags made from recycled and eco-friendly materials. Their products are made with strict adherence to quality so as to provide their shoppers with value for money.

Their contacts are available at:
Website: www.customearthpromos.com
Phone: 1-888-565-2235
Custom Green Promos LLC
Cleveland, OH

At EcoGreenHotel, clients are always asking for our advice about how to go green in the quickest and most affordable way possible.  And our advice is always the same: operating a truly green hotel is not a piecemeal proposition. It’s not about switching a few light bulbs or putting out some recycling bins (although those are all good things to do!).

No, developing and maintaining a green hotel requires a holistic approach that begins with a shift in the way everyone thinks about what it means to own and operate an eco hotel.  At the precise moment that everyone from the owner on down starts thinking about environmental sustainability as a business strategy – that’s the moment your hotel begins to go green in a meaningful way.

Formulating a business strategy means that you meticulously choose and apply your business’s resources in a way that you think will bring some sort of competitive advantage in the future.  Your team already does this at your hotel.  Whenever you make a decision to upgrade the carpeting or offer a new amenity, you’re making strategies. You’re betting that the upgrade and new amenities will pay off in the long run through higher guest satisfaction, which translates into repeat bookings, which means increased revenue for your hotel.  You are banking on that strategy.

But have you ever thought about how going green might be an equally good business strategy?   Without a doubt, the most strategic way to go green is to increase your hotel’s energy efficiency.

Energy efficiency means using less energy to obtain the same quality of service.  Here’s why energy efficiency should be the centerpiece of every hotel’s business strategy:

• The hospitality industry spends $3.7 billion a year on energy.
• Electricity use accounts for 60-70% of the utility costs of a typical hotel.
• Energy-efficient lighting can reduce electricity use up to 75%.

Clearly, making your green hotel more energy efficient will positively impact more than the environment.  It will positively impact your bottom line, and no matter how you slice it, that’s just good business!

EcoGreenHotel’s team of energy efficiency experts can help your green hotel plug energy efficiency into your business strategy, quickly and affordably.  Contact us and get started today with our Energy Efficiency Analysis Program.

About EcoGreenHotel

EcoGreenHotel LLC is a privately-held company dedicated to helping lodging facilities address abroad spectrum of sustainability issues. The company provides information, tools, checklists, current news and trends to the hospitality industry through its website, www.EcoGreenHotel.com. In 2009, the company launched an online marketplace for green products and services at www.EcoGreenHotelStore.com. In addition to the online offerings, EcoGreenHotel provides customized consulting services tailored to the needs of the hospitality industry in the areas of energy efficiency and certifications, including LEED, Green Seal and Energy Star. For those properties that have reached certified levels of sustainability, EcoGreenHotel assists with marketing services to position the properties within the growing “green” space and enhance revenue. For further information, email [email protected] or call 888.229.0213.

Oklahoma City, Okla.- As Oklahoma businesses strive to become more green, quite a few businesses are presented with increasing expenses associated with green technologies. And in a down economy, many companies cannot make such changes.

One new bit of technology that appears to be an exception to the rule, however, is the Dyson Airblade(TM) hand dryer, and it is helping businesses reduce expenses in a place that is frequently unnoticed: paper towel expenses.

According to Blaine Pinard, sales director for Direct Seed Distribution, LLC, businesses that install the new Dyson Airblade(TM), as opposed to paper towels or standard warm-air hand dryers, see both short-term and long-term costs savings.

“The Dyson Airblade can dry the hands of 22 people for the cost of only one paper towel, and it uses 80 percent less energy than regular warm-air hand dryers,” said Pinard. “Business owners get a rare opportunity to save dollars on paper towels and help build a more ecological environment as paper towels create approximately 1.1 million tons of landfill waste annually.”

One popular Oklahoma restaurant has already been seeing good results from their newly installed Dyson Airblades(TM). Dick Stubbs, the owner of the nationally known Cattlemen’s Steakhouse, said he expects to save up to $6200 in paper towel expenses this year alone from installing seven Airblade(TM) units.

“You don’t think about how much paper towel waste a single bathroom creates in a day until you look at the numbers,” Stubbs said. “When you do, it’s baffling. I can’t imagine how much landfill it contributes to.”

Another well-known Oklahoma company realizing benefits from the Airblade(TM) is Crest Foods. Jeff Fulks, general manager for Crest Foods, said the Airblade(TM) helps keep bathrooms cleaner.

“We don’t have paper towels strung across the floors,” Fulks said. “We’re just not having to deal with the mess.”

Equipped with a HEPA filter that gets rid of 99.9 percent of germs in the air, the Dyson Airblade(TM) is the only certified sanitary hand dryer in the united states and is well suited for businesses that must comply with health department regulations. The Airblade(TM) can dry one person’s hands in about 12 seconds which means it is ideal for all sorts of companies including high trafficked ones including hospitals, airports, stadiums as well as other high volume public restrooms.

About Direct Seed, LLC.

Direct Seed Distribution, LLC is an Oklahoma City-based distributor of eco-friendly and clean technology, such as the revolutionary Dyson Airblade(TM) commercial hand dryer. For more information, look at the company’s web page at http://directseedllc.com or call 405-243-3300.

In regards to the Dyson Airblade(TM)

The Dyson Airblade is the quickest, most clean hand dryer in the marketplace. It’s powered by Dyson’s own digital pulse motor, which forces air out at 400 mph and literally scrapes the water from your hands like a windshield wiper. The Airblade is NSF and HACCP certified, helps buildings achieve LEED credits through the U.S. Green Building Council and has earned many additional international honors and certifications.

Times Private Treaties has invested in companies that are driving growth on sustainable environment friendly business models. Times Private Treaties, the investment arm of BCCL has been among the early birds in India that has been investing in these sustainable environment friendly technology ventures, which includes Lucifer Lights & Eco Reco.

Lucifer Lights is a Pune based start up that manufactures and exports LED lights. The company has been able to trundle out a flurry of products through constant market feedback and brand building exercise. Seventy new products in less than three years are unheard of in the lighting industry. Two factors that are working in Lucifer Lights’ favor: primarily the unstoppable rising cost of power and the universal concern – be it a corporate or household – to trim the cost. Secondly, corporates are jumping onto the LED bandwagon and strong brand positioning created by Lucifer Lights is drawing their attention to the company.

Eco Reco, another Times Private Treaties investee company, has a first-of-its-kind-in-India mobile shredding van which it deploys to clients’ locations to ensure 100% secure data destruction from hard disks and other informational devices. The process involves on the spot eradication and destruction of data devices, with the help of mobile shredders. Eco Reco extends point to point service under one roof for collection, dismantling, remarketing, data security & destruction or safe disposal of hazardous waste.
Only about 5% to 10% of the over 330,000 tonnes of e-waste generated in India gets processed in the organised sector. Kabadiwallas handle the rest in the informal sector but have the advantage of having a more door step presence and often a relationship with the clients. In their first year of operations, Eco Reco handled 1,300 tonnes of e-waste. That was 18% of their installed capacity of 7,200 tonnes. The biggest challenge was that the Concept of ‘e-waste’ was not very prominent in India.

It was not merely a question of creating awareness of new service category but to establish a relatively new entity.
The firm had limited resources & marketing spends and that’s where the alliance with Times Private Treaties kicked in. Eco Reco needed high impact communication through advertising and direct, impactful engagement with the audiences in order to build brand saliency. The company now has more than 200 corporate clients across India.

Today’s environmentally-conscious, well-informed travelers expect green hotels to do more than just provide a comfortable place to stay.  They want to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the green hotel they’ve chosen for their business or leisure accommodations practices energy efficiency, and that it’s resourceful and earth-friendly in every conceivable way.

As a green hotel professional, it’s your job to fulfill your guests’ expectations and even exceed them whenever you can. To help you get the job done, we’ve put together a list of products that will not only make your guest’s smile, but they’ll also be good to your green hotel’s bottom line.

Organic Personal Care Products in Biodegradable Packaging: The Save Your World line of hotel amenities offers all natural organic products packaged in an earth-friendly way. Your guests will love the fresh tropical scents and luscious feel of these superior green hotel amenities.

100% Bamboo Bed Linens: Your green hotel guests will have no problem sleeping at night knowing they’re snuggled into luxurious sheets made from rapidly renewable, pesticide-free and ultra-soft bamboo.

Eco-Friendly Cleaners: Super concentrated, hydrogen peroxide-based cleaners like Proxi are not only safe and highly effective, they can also save your green hotel a ton of money. It takes just one ounce of Proxi to make a full quart of some of the best hard surface cleaner you’ll ever use in your green hotel – and it’s earned the Green Seal certification to prove it!

Safe Pesticides: Fighting and preventing bed bugs with toxic chemicals just isn’t on the agenda of any eco hotel. Instead, green hotels everywhere trust all natural, pesticide-free Rest Easy Bed Bug Spray to safely rid their rooms of these nasty biting parasites, once and for all.

Recycled Key Cards: When your hotel front desk staff hands over one of these Green Earth renew Key Cards at check in, your guests will know without a doubt that eco-consciousness is not just a slogan at your green hotel. Made from 100% recycled PVC and printed with soy-based ink, these customizable, reusable cards will last and last.

Sourcing affordable, high-quality products like these for your green hotel can sometimes seem like a wild goose chase.  But the EcoGreenHotel Store makes it easy to find, order and re-order your favorite green hotel products and services – everything from the five products listed above to bath hardware and accessories, lighting, furnishings, pool care, food service and recycling supplies, and much, much more – all in one friendly and convenient online store.

So get out your shopping list and stop by at EcoGreenHotelStore.com today.  The doors are always open, the shelves are always full of great products, and the eco-deals are always hot!

About EcoGreenHotel

EcoGreenHotel LLC is a privately held company, dedicated to help lodging facilities address the broad spectrum of sustainability issues. The company provides information, tools, checklists, current news and trends to the hospitality through its website, www.EcoGreenHotel.com. In 2009, the company launched an online marketplace for green products and services at www.EcoGreenHotelStore.com. In addition to the online offerings, EcoGreenHotel provides customized consulting services in the areas of energy efficiency and certifications (LEED, Green Seal and Energy Star), tailored to the needs of the hospitality industry. For those properties that have reached certified levels of sustainability, EcoGreenHotel assists with marketing services to position the properties within the growing “green” space and enhance revenue. For further information email [email protected] or call 888.229.0213.

Cindy Fuller Home will soon launch a large range of eco-friendly creative kits. Be sure to enter the competition and bag yourself one of the first kits.

Building on the success of her website, Cindy Fuller is preparing to launch eco-friendly products that can be bought directly from her website.

Cindy Fuller Home will start to display and sell products from the Plush Folly range of kits and will look to add her own products shortly.  The emphasis will once again be to promote eco-friendly and money saving products that customers can purchase from the comfort of their homes.

The Plush Folly range of kits use ethically sourced ingredients and are designed to transform readily available ingredients into soaps, cosmetics, fragrances, candles and much more.

Cindy will develop her own range of eco-friendly products and while she has already firmed up some eye-catching products, Cindy is always open to suggestions and requests. This is a keystone of the Cindy Fuller Home website – active participation and input from visitors.

Products to be launched will cater for the home and eco-friendly cosmetic range. Kits will provide full ingredients, extensive “How To” instructions and a wealth of experience. Mix in a good handful of the love and commitment that Cindy has dedicated to an eco-friendly and creative lifestyle and these product ranges are bound to add sparkle and joy. To keep up to date with forthcoming product releases, be sure to sign up to the Newsletter at http://www.cindyfullerhome.com.

Building the online store is “an ideal opportunity and fits well with my main themes and ethics” comments Cindy. The main advantage is that people can browse an extensive range from the comfort of their homes without needless driving about. Stock of kits will be plentiful and once the main ingredients of any kits starts to run out they can be topped up as most of the ingredients and components are readily available. “Saving money, being creative and easily replenished to boot – an ideal commitment to being eco-friendly” concludes Cindy.

COMPETITION – WIN PLUSH FOLLY PRODUCTS

A direct call to all eco-friendly creatives out there! Cindy is running a competition which visitors can enter by visiting http://www.cindyfullerhome.com/home/Competition.aspx. The competition calls on visitors to submit ideas based on the theme of ‘New Uses for Old Items’. Entrants are asked to submit innovative and eco-friendly ways to recycle old items into functional and money-saving products. The Top Three responses will receive Plush Folly kits. The Competition closes on the 30^th June and the winning entry will be showcased on the homepage of Cindy’s website.

ABOUT CINDY FULLER

Cindy Fuller’s website http://www.cindyfullerhome.com is the ultimate one stop destination for the environmentally aware. The website provides a wealth of information on being more eco-friendly in this ever faster world where consumerism eats away at lessening resources. Cindy provides fantastic tips on how to be save money and be more eco aware with content covering fashion, entertaining, crafts, gardening, home, recycling ideas and much more. All topics hold the central theme of being more eco and provide huge insight into money saving tips to boot.

CONTACT

Cindy Fuller Home

149 Upper Richmond Road

Putney London

SW15 2TX

[email protected]

07912 290 642

BioMedia®, the new range of biodegradable printing materials from G3S, has been announced as the winner of The Best Environmental Printing Substrate Award for 2010 by the European Digital Printing Association.

‘We are delighted that the industry is recognizing the potential of BioMedia®. This is the second award for the product and we are expecting to add to that this year,’ commented Mark Sanderson, Sales Director for BioMedia® and G3S. ‘The enthusiasm and interest in BioMedia® just underlines how important green issues are becoming in our industry. Ethical buying is becoming increasingly important as companies really understand the need to stand up and be counted on green issues.’

BioMedia® is a biodegradable and recyclable range of print materials from G3S suitable for all digital printing methods. The product incorporates an enzymatic micro-organism which, in dark, moist conditions, cuts through the polymer chain resulting in rapidly accelerated breakdown of the product. This can reduce the biodegrading process to a matter of months. Alternatively, BioMedia® can be recycled into plastic cups, light switches and insulation enabling the life cycle of the product to be completed time and time again.

The product range offers a viable alternative to traditional wide format and presentation graphics substrates which are generally neither biodegradable nor recyclable. The biodegrading process does not begin until the product is in the correct environment, thus allowing it to perform superbly until it becomes waste.

BioMedia® is already being used by BAA and WDF for their many advertising campaigns throughout UK airports. Not only does BioMedia® assist companies in their waste disposal, it can also help by reducing the number of processes used in production as it is a direct to substrate print material and does not need to be laminated or encapsulated for longevity.

BioMedia® is available through G3S and many leading laminating film and paper suppliers. For more information visit the given link www.bioprintmedia.com

For more information, please contact:

Bambi Gardiner, Marketing Manager,

BioMedia®, Southampton Road, Portsmouth, PO6 3TJ

Tel: 023 92 221133 Email: [email protected]

It seems as if you can’t turn around anymore without running into something “green.”  Nowhere is that more true than in lodging.  Green hotels – or at least, those calling themselves green – are sprouting up everywhere, and travelers are becoming increasingly more aware of what to look for and how to judge whether or not a green hotel actually is… well, green!

You want your guests to know without a doubt that there’s no green-washing happening at your green hotel.  I’ve put together a green hotel checklist so you can see how your property stacks up.  Does your property have:

Staff Buy-In and Ongoing Education: In a truly green hotel, everyone – from the front desk staff to the owner and everyone in between – fully understands, supports, practices and can communicate the property’s environmental policies.

A Working (and funded!) Energy Strategy: Today’s green hotels go beyond just changing a few light bulbs and implementing a linen reuse policy.  They analyze their energy efficiency – including conducting Energy Star benchmarking –  and then seek out and apply for incentives, rebates and loans that allow them to make meaningful changes in their consumption.

Green Purchasing Plan: From locally-grown organic produce for its banquet salads to environmentally sensitive cleaning products and furnishings, green hotels know where and how to source the most cost-effective earth-friendly products.

Green Hotel Certification: A green hotel designation from a certifying body that does on-site audits assures your guests that your property has met rigorous environmental standards.

Specialized Marketing: Green hotels recognize that expertly targeted internet marketing is vital to their ongoing success in an increasingly competitive industry.

So how does your property stack up?  I know it seems daunting to meet all those requirements, to track down trustworthy, LEED-Accredited Professional advisors, find rebates and incentives, train everybody, and still manage to run a lodging facility… who has time for that?

That’s why I created EcoGreenHotel to be a one-stop shop.  We have trainers, engineers, financial advisors, purchasing and marketing specialists, thousands of quality green products and a certification program to meet the needs of every type and size of lodging facility at all stages in the green hotel process. We are LEED-Accredited Professionals specializing in energy efficiency.  We can help your property achieve all of the above in the most cost-effective way possible, and we can start today.

About EcoGreenHotel

EcoGreenHotel is a company dedicated to helping lodging facilities address energy and environmental solutions. Sustainability services are strategically designed to help hotels identify incentives, rebates, and grants to allocate toward energy efficient solutions to decrease energy costs and achieve the Triple Bottom Line. EcoGreenHotel also offers Energy Star Benchmarking and Energy Efficiency Analysis. For further information visit www.EcoGreenHotel.com or call 888.229.0213.

Oil Gone Easy S-200, an eco-friendly oil spill cleaner, which has been successfully implemented in treating oil spill disasters, such as Exxon Valdez Spill in Alaska and Prestige Tanker Spill in Spain is now being used by some environmental contractors in the Gulf Oil Spill cleanup process.

S-200 is a green, environmentally safe method that effectively remediates oil in shallow water and on land. It simply bonds to the oil and condenses the sheen and is capable of shrinking a football field-size oil slick into a glob of oil. After this process the bacteria present in the surrounding water would break down the oil into water and carbon dioxide. In this way oil would be effectively broken down even before it reaches the shore.

The State of Louisiana after taking into consideration the testimony provided to the Louisiana State Government has suggested that BP consider using Oil Gone Easy S-200 for the cleanup process and negotiations are underway. BP is more focused on using dispersants and other older cleaning technologies that are part of their existing contingency plan and hence appear to be reluctant to use S-200.

BP uses kerosene based dispersant called Corexit which EPA recommends using only at deep waters due to its toxic nature. The dispersants when reach ashore can be as dangerous as the oil spill itself and can seep through shell fish beds and under shore. BP also does not appear to have a remediation plan in place to deal with oil that washes up on shore.

Taking all this into account, Oil Gone Easy S-200 seems to be the ideal solution to deal with Gulf Oil Spill cleanup.

The focus on greening operations is evolving and some green teams are beginning to focus their efforts on integrating sustainability into employees’ personal lives, while others are aligning their efforts to support broader corporate sustainability objectives.

The business value of these three levels include: cost savings by integrating energy efficiency into the workplace and products and services; attracting and retaining the best and brightest talent who want to for companies and hotels with an authentic green commitment; and increasing market share and revenues resulting from a stronger brand and new, innovative green products and services.

This GREEN TEAM series provides a summary of the emerging trends and outlines the best practices for green teams:

• Start with the visible and tangible: focus on internal operations
• Get senior management involved, butdon’t lose the grassroots energy
• Engage employees to capture ideas
• Communicate and share best practices
• Engage employees with their bellies: The low carbon diet campaign
• Engage employees in their personal lives
• Engage guests to be part of the solution
• Use art to raise awareness
• Create a toolkit to support and guide green teams
• Align green teams with corporate and hotel sustainability goals

This is a resource for companies, organizations and individual hotels just getting started and for those who want to take their existing green program to its next level. It is based on interviews with green team leaders, as well as a review of the latest literature and reports on employee engagement and green hotel teams.

GREEN TEAMS: Introduction
Keeping employees engaged, happy and productive has always been a priority for leading companies, organizations and individual hotels.
Today, as green becomes more mainstream, a growing number of employees want to work for a company committed to sustainability and seek a work setting where the green practices they value at home are being implemented at their workplace.

In a survey commissioned by National Geographic magazine, more than 80 percent of U.S. workers polled said they believe it is important to work for a company or organization that makes the environment a top priority. In 2009, many graduating Harvard MBAs signed an “MBA oath” showing their interest for companies that “strive to create sustainable economic, social and environmental prosperity worldwide.”

Green teams – self-organized, grassroots and cross-functional groups of employees who voluntarily come together to educate and build awareness about sustainability issues and to implement programs that encourage employees and hotel guests to take action – are increasing in popularity as a tool for both keeping employees engaged and showing your commitment to sustainability.

This GREEN TEAMS series provides an overview of some of the best green practices companies and hotels are using to support and guide green teams, without squashing their grassroots passion and energy. It is divided into four key sections:

• Making the business case for green teams;
• Getting started;
• Four emerging trends; and
• Green hotel team best practices.

Look out for EcoGreenHotel’s May Eco Newsletter as we bring you: Making the business case for green teams.

For more information please visit: http://www.ecogreenhotel.com