Eco-Friendly Promos

Did you know that in 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives spent $190,000 on bottled water in the first quarter alone?

That’s pretty ridiculous when you consider the fact that tap water costs about a penny a gallon in most cities. Reusable water bottles don’t exactly break the bank either.

Luckily, since politicians are notoriously slow at coming up with sensible solutions to their problems, the General Manager of DC Water has offered to help the representatives out. In a letter sent on January 5th to Speaker John Boehner, George Hawkins offered every representative a free reusable water bottle to help cut down on costs. He even offered free water quality testing to any representatives concerned about the purity of the drinking water in their offices or the D.C. area. How generous!

Hawkins accurately explains, “Convenience is important and a reusable water bottle is a simple tool to demonstrate support for tap water and the environment.”

We have yet to see an official response to this timely letter, but suffice to say if the representatives can’t cut $750k in unnecessary bottled water expenses from their budgets, things aren’t looking too good for the country in general!

Want to add your voice to the issue? Sign the online petition!

If your company provides bottled water to employees, why not heed Mr. Hawkins’ advice and make the switch to tap? Filters are available to ensure clean taste and purity, and promotional water bottles can boost employee morale and serve as an effective internal branding tool. For more information, contact a Promotions Specialist at ePromos!

After years of research and careful planning, I’m happy to introduce to you the first product ever to be designed and manufactured exclusively by ePromos – the original AquaSkin™!

The AquaSkin™ was born when we realized that nobody seemed interested in improving the traditional design of the ever-popular water bottle. Being a company that prides itself on setting trends just as much as we keep up them, we decided to take matters into our own hands.

The final result of our efforts is a smarter next-generation water bottle that simply makes sense! In addition to a long list of features that anybody can appreciate (eco-friendly, foldable, freezable, BPA-free, rugged, and dishwaser-safe, to name a few), AquaSkins™ are fully customizable and poised to add plenty of spark to your promotional projects.

For more information about the AquaSkin™, check out www.theoriginalaquaskin.com.

We hope you enjoy it and welcome your feedback!

Winning an industry award is never a bad way to kick off the New Year!

We just found out that ePromos has been named a winner in Wearables magazine’s 4th annual Apparel Design Awards. The eco-friendly 60% recycled track jacket we made for CLEAR Communications managed to take home the top spot in the “Best Eco-Friendly Apparel” category. Not too shabby for a contest that was mostly made up of apparel-only businesses!

In addition to its recycled materials, the track jacket also received bonus points for its fresh and fashionable look.

Here’s an excerpt from the magazine:

WINNER: Retro Track Jacket Supplier: ePromos (asi/188515) Get back-in-the-day style with this women’s retro track jacket. It’s made of 60% recycled polyester and features custom color detailing on the sleeves and front. “Besides being made of recycled materials, I would have to say the hip retail style is its best feature,” says Jennifer Feigenbaum, account manager at ePromos. “I wanted one for myself.” The jacket was made for CLEAR, a wireless service, and it incorporated the client’s brand elements by adding bright-green sleeve stripe detailing and the logo as a zipper pull. Feigenbaum says she looked to what her peers were wearing and added the eco aspect to create the vintage-looking piece.

Here in New York City, it’s widely known that we have access to some of the freshest, cleanest, and best-tasting tap water in the country. So why do so many New Yorkers insist on purchasing disposable plastic water bottles by the truckload?

At least one clean water advocacy organization is working to make it possible for NYC citizens to bottle their own water. Riverkeeper is a member-supported watchdog organization dedicated to defending the Hudson River and its tributaries to protect the drinking water supply of nine million New York City and Hudson Valley residents.

To encourage New Yorkers to break their bad bottle water habits, Riverkeeper sells customized stainless steel water bottles imprinted with the slogan “I Bottle My Own. 100% Fresh NYC Tap Water.” The custom eco-friendly water bottles sell for $20, which seems steep until you consider the fact that they’ll quickly pay for themselves. And of course, the profits from the promotional water bottles fund the continued efforts of the Riverkeeper organization.

Do you have a cause you are trying to raise money or awareness for? Promotional products are great fundraising and brand awareness items. Contact ePromos to see how they can help your company!

It’s official – parts of L.A. county have joined other California communities in banning stores from providing single-use plastic bags.

The measure was passed by a vote of 3-1 last Tuesday by county supervisors citing ridiculous pollution of neighborhoods and waterways. Discarded plastic bags make up almost 25% of the litter the county cleans up!

Not only does this latest ban prevent stores from giving customers single-use plastic bags, it also goes a step further and requires shops to charge a 10 cent fee for each paper bag. Small plastic bags to keep fruit, vegetables or raw meat separate from other groceries will not be affected by the new law.

As I’ve mentioned previously, plastic bag bans create a tremendous promotional opportunity. Local businesses in L.A. county should be paying attention!

Now that customers don’t have access to plastic bags (and reduced access to paper) – reusable shopping totes have become an overnight necessity. Your business can fill an important need by providing promotional grocery tote bags to your customers, prospects, and even employees. Not only will recipients appreciate the practical gifts, but these imprinted totes will also help create some marketing exposure for your brand whenever and wherever they are put to use.

Editor’s Update (6/9/10): One of our loyal readers has pointed out that this bag ban is not actually law yet. It was approved by the State Assembly and now must be passed by the State Senate. I haven’t seen any information that suggests there is going to be any opposition to this bill in the Senate, but keep in mind it is not official law yet.

The bag backlash is growing. Yesterday, California took the first steps towards becoming the first state in the nation to enact a ban on single-use plastic bags in supermarkets, pharmacies, convenience stores, and liquor stores. If the State Senate approves the measure, shoppers will have to bring their own reusable bags, or they can purchase recycled paper bags for 5-8 cents each.

Californians currently use an estimated 19 billion plastic bags a year, which works out to about 552 for each person. Only about 5% of these bags are reused!

Whatever your opinion of the bag ban may be, it’s hard to overlook the promotional opportunity that now presents itself. Custom tote bags and promotional reusable grocery bags are already among the best-selling promo items in the industry, and you can expect demand for these products to soar as more cities and states look to reduce pollution and create new streams of tax revenue with similar bans.

Think about it. People who live in cities or states with plastic bag bans are going to graciously accept the first free bags that are offered to them! The only question you have to ask is are they going to be imprinted with your logo – or your competitor’s?