It think it should be. I think having a reusable, fold away cooler on your boat or tailgate is simply the next step in having a more sustainable – less trash – type of holiday.   And of course for those businesses and marketers looking for a brandable reusable cooler experience to promote their brand, our industry has many ideas to offer. So if you’re looking for a collapsible cooler to place your logo on, here are my three favorites.

For a cooler to be reusable, it first needs to be portable and easy to store. That is going to be the Collapsible Party Cooler by Gemline. This large 28 can capacity cooler has a patent pending for its remarkable collapsible design, which meshes good looks with dependable construction. This 210d polyester strong, 13″Dia. 10.5″H, comes in 5 colors, making it an easy match for your marketing campaign. And the Collapsible Party Cooler can be 100% custom colored if needed via the Gemline Global Solutions program. Check out the video.

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KOOZIE® Party Kooler

The KOOZIE® Party Kooler by Norwood is another option to look at for an easy to use and store reusable cooler. This guy works best for patio and tailgating events I think, as all you need is to unzip, open up, and fill with ice. Due to the open in-use design, once filled it really works best if the KOOZIE® Party Kooler can stay in one place. The imprint size on the KOOZIE® Party Kooler is a big, bold 5-1/2″w x 4″h, large enough for school team, hotel name, or product imprints.

Indeed full 4-color imprinting is possible on the  KOOZIE® Party Kooler, allowing say a photo of a Corona six pack to be printed on the cooler with the words “place here” written underneath. Full color printing really helps with a marketer’s options. The nice mix of five bright colors and the attached bottle opener are an nice bonus. To be honest I have used a  KOOZIE® Party Kooler at my own home since the product was launched a few years back. So far it is holding up great, and longevity is certainly a factor to consider in a promotional item purchase.

Neither the Collapsible Party Cooler nor KOOZIE® Party Kooler make any claims to be made of sustainable materials, recyclable, etc. They make it to this blog only because I am saying the Collapsible Party Cooler and  KOOZIE® Party Kooler should be considered a better alternative to Styrofoam, simply because they are reusable.  If you’re looking for a marketing cooler that is itself sustainable, check out the Recycooler.

One basic idea in sustainability is to use less, make less, and consume less. If you can use one cooler year after year then that is better than a string of busted up styrofoam coolers floating in the lake. And if as a marketer you can get into your clients’ boat a reusable cooler with the name of your marina or beer store on it, then that is just smart marketing.

If you are an ASI distributor Andrea Catalano is the contact to talk to at the Gemline and D’Anna Zimmer is the contact at Norwood. If you are interested in the Collapsible Party Cooler or KOOZIE® Party Kooler to promote your own business or event, contact your local promotional items vendor or email me at info@proformagreen.com for information, pricing, and samples.

omega h2go: 16 oz double wall (BPA free) Tritan copolyester water bottle with filter
filter made in the U.S.A.

The folks at the express line are at it again. Bringing an idea to market first that will likely change the game in drinkware once again.

This time the product is the h2go omega, an addition to the very popular h2go line from the express line, that uses an active coconut filter to remove – they say - 99.99% of contaminants found in some drinking water.

This includes arsenic, mercury, MTBE, and other heavy metals.

Concerns – whether real or imagined – about the quality of drinking water from the tap help to spur the billion dollar bottled water industry. That industry in turn created the millions of plastic disposable bottles that have been collecting in landfills ever since. For those marketers that want to use a reusable bottle in their programs, but know their target audiences have concerns about water quality, the h2go omega is the perfect marketing tool. It is a BPA free, reusable drinking bottle that actually makes the water you are drinking better.

The h2go omega comes in ten filtershaft colors. The imprint area is 3-1/2 x 2-1/2 x 7-1/2, however the item is so new The Express Line does not even have imprinted samples on their website yet.

Check out the video.

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You might have noticed that Matt took the trouble to say the h2go omega is a 16 oz double wall (BPA free) Tritan copolyester water bottle. Why? Well the double walled trick helps keep cold drinks cold on summer days and works really nice on this bottle as a design feature. But the more important phrase is the material Tritan copolyester. Google it and you will find that most high end retail bottles like Nalgeen are made from the same material.

If you are an ASI distributor Jarel Guerrero is the contact to talk to at the express line. If you are interested in the h2go omega to promote your own business or event, contact your local promotional items vendor or email info@proformagreen.com for information, pricing, and samples.

We always post the Joe Show to our FACEBOOK site at http://www.facebook.com/proformagreen, but I figured I would post this video to the blog as well. Some items are more sustainable than others in this video, but it is a good sampling of some of the items our industry is working on for this Earth Day and beyond.

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If you are a promotional items distributor looking for more information on items shown contact your local promotional items vendor or email info@proformagreen.com for information and pricing.

The WB21R – 21 oz. Bike Bottle. Your basic bike bottle. Recycled & BPA-free. Molded with food-compliant, post-consumer recycled HDPE. Union Made in the USA.

The TB27RP – 27oz Eco-Friendly Pearl Sports Bottle. This is one of our favorites made from a new material by combining  Post-Consumer Recycled PET with Natural & Renewable PLA. The combination is eco-friendly and gives the bottles a naturally pearlescent shine.  This product is BPA-free. Union Made in the USA

The AM16R – 16 oz Auto Mug – Recycled. Standard commuter mug, this 16 oz. Auto Mug has a four-finger comfort handle and is available in 4 recycled colors.  Union printed in the USA

The SC16R – 16oz Recycled Stadium Cup. Basic stadium cups made from recycled content. I much prefer the cups from Visstun for their full color imprint. But for the price this is a sturdy recycled materials stadium cup. Great for sports events and concerts. Union Made in the USA.

If you are a promotional items distributor looking for more information on Garyline items Stu Schoenfeld is your contact at Garyline. If you are interested in these items for your own marketing contact your local promotional items vendor or email info@proformagreen.com for information and pricing.

Vantage Apparel is one of the leaders in the industry for eco-friendly apparel, with a special focus on organic cotton t-shirts, sustainable fleece, and eco printing. With the introduction of these new imprinting methods the program has been expanded beyond just t-shirts, to jackets, fleece, bags, caps, pretty much any item the Vantage Apparel offers.

Why use the Name Drop Graphics program? A lot of organizations want to make a big splash around Earth Day but may not have a budget for a big time design when it comes to organic cotton t-shirts and other apparel items.  The Name Drop Graphics program makes getting a great design at a great price simple. In a move I can only say is very ecopreneurial, Vantage is offer these Earth Day designs ready for the addition of your organization name or company logo. Just pick your design, your color, and your apparel item, and you are done.

Runs start at as few as 12 units via digital printing methods and domestic runs can go as high as 10,000 units. Organic cotton and other eco-friendly materials are available as well as traditional fabrics. The plan is very practical in terms of matching the needs and budgets of all participants by finding the right mix of apparel options.

Schools, clubs, city departments, charities, businesses, etc., for any and all this is a great way to make a big splash without having to fill the entire swimming pool out of your own pocket.

Please note that Name Drop Graphics program for Earth Day is not mentioned on the Vantage website, so if you want more information on the program, including pricing, please email info@proformagreen.com. Or if you are in the promotional items business you can contact Julia Macdonald at Vantage.

Sustainable ideas from Aakron Line

If you are interested in these items to promote your own business contact your local promotional items vendor or email info@proformagreen.com for information and pricing. If you wish to learn more about the full line of Aakron SAFE Plastic® items visit their website or contact Julie Blasko at Aakron.

T2130: Titan Emergency Solar Charger for Tablets & Media Devices

Solar. No batteries. Power comes cheap and direct from the sun.

That is the idea behind the Titan Emergency Solar Charger for Tablets & Media Devices from Hirsch Gift.

From a single charge, this little device can fully charge an iPhone twice, or fully charge an iPad once.

For companies marketing a solar power message to their audience, the Titan delivers a very real demonstration of the power of solar.

If you are not in the solar business, the Titan is still a great idea, because like branded jumper cables, or a branded first aid kit, the audience is using the Titan most when they absolutely need it. This type of experience can have a strong impact on your audience.

The Titan is compatible with most all tablets  and other media devices, and is designed specifically to work with tablets like iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tablet, Blackberry Playbook, T-Mobile G-Slate, PDAs, Digital Cameras, as well as most cell phones including the iPhone 4s.

With a fully charged battery capacity 2,000mAh the Titan packs more than enough power to bring your client’s mobile device back to life. And there is no need for multiple adapters since this device includes a USB port, i.e. it works with the equipment your client already uses. The internal battery on the Titan can charge via sunlight (about 12hr for full charge) or by plugging in to existing power via USB cable.

A fully charged Titan will hold its charge for a few months, so these are a great promotional item for folks marketing to corporate travelers, auto dealers (great for glove compartment), soccer moms and dads, and employee appreciation and safety programs.

Please see these videos on the Titan taken at ASI Dallas in a pitch for the CFC. The imprint area on the Titan is 2W” x 1H”, and can be done with pad print or laser engrave. Minimum run is 25 units.

If you are ASI and wish for more information on the Titan contact Robert De Veau at Hirsch Gift. If you are interested in flash drives to promote your own business, contact your local promotional items vendor or email info@proformagreen.com for information and pricing.

If you are an ASI distributor looking for knock out cups talk to Joe Davis at Visstun. If you are interested in Hi-def Visstun Reusable Clear Plastic Cups to promote your own business contact your local promotional items vendor or email info@proformagreen.com for information and pricing.

Shepenco Sales for Earth Day events

Another sale priming the pump for Earth Day events. Shepenco has placed four of their best selling sustainable items on sale. They are

The Newsprencils @$.19 (C) – No Screen Charges. “Conservation of our natural resources, along with newly recycled products are an integral part of the Shepenco^® business philosophy — your welfare helps protect our welfare. Help safeguard the environment with our NEWSPRENCIL™. Made from 75% recycled newspaper and 25% new paper, five colors to choose from and brass-colored ferrules with green erasers make this an ecological sound investment in our future. Rest assured Shepenco^® will continue to be a forerunner in protecting and improving our environment. Easy to sharpen and splinter free.”

The FSC Certified Pencils @$.35 (C) – No Screen Charges. “The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) promotes responsible management of the world’s forests. This is accomplished through development of voluntary, internationally recognized forest management standards. FSC is the most widely recognized global certification program. The FSC certification program supports biodiversity, protection and conservation of forests, ensures long term timber supplies, protects stream sizes, while assuring consideration of long term human benefits. Our pencil products have positive environmental attributes, verified by a global certification system. Shepenco’s^® supports sound forest management and environmental responsibility by offering pencils.”

The ECO Pen @$.49 (C) – No Screen Charges. “The very popular ECO™ pen has proven to be a best seller in the eco-friendly market. 100% compostable/biodegradable plant starch material which will degrade in 90 days with only the spring and refill left. Both pens offer large imprint areas.”

The PLA-Pen Tri @$.49 (C) – No Screen Charges. “Looking for a safe, colorful biodegradable pen? We have it in our PLA-Pen TRI™, made of the new PLA material. This environmentally friendly annually renewable material produced from plants, presents a viable alternative to traditional petroleum-based materials.”

If you are an ASI member with questions about Shepenco Joyce Allen is your contact. If you are interested in these items to promote your own business, contact your local promotional items vendor or email info@proformagreen.com for information and pricing.

Garyline has lots of USA Made and Sustainable products for your Earth Day events this year.

If you are a promotional items distributor looking for more information on Garyline items Stu Schoenfeld is your contact at Garyline. If you are interested in these items for your own marketing contact your local promotional items vendor or email info@proformagreen.com for information and pricing.