This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of Proforma Green Marketing, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy (see proformagreen.com). John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.
In 2008 we talked about the eco button or ebutton from Hirsch Gift. Buzzline is now selling two updated versions of this product which they are calling the EcoButton and EcoButton Hub.
So what is new after two years? To start with the EcoButton and EcoButton Hub are made of 70% recycled plastic. That is a nice upgrade over the ebutton. And the EcoButton Hub provides four USB ports which makes it a more useful item on the desk and therefor, as a promotional products item, more likely to stay on the desk promoting your brand.
The EcoButton and EcoButton Hub also come with a standard splash screen which displays on the users’ computer screen a daily and cumulative dollar and carbon savings for the time the computer using either device is placed into “ecomode.” So actual feedback to the user, again, a nice upgrade.
So what is it that the EcoButton and EcoButton Hub actually do? The claim to fame on the EcoButton and EcoButton Hub – and other like products – is that pressing the button puts a computer into the “most efficient sleep mode available, reducing your carbon footprint and saving money spent on electricity”.
Picture a corporate HQ with a couple hundred or more active computer users. Someone goes to lunch, they hit the EcoButton. Someone goes to a meeting, they hit the EcoButton. The idea is that when people are away from their desks their computers will power down beyond the simple screen saver mode, to a point that actually impacts the electrical use of the computer. Multiply that by a few hundred or thousand users, and the saving will add up.
At EQP $10.25 for the EcoButton and EQP $14.19 for the EcoButton Hub I think these are a great idea for any Ecopreneurist targeting clients in the IT or corporate world. Also a great giveaway for software firms (might be nice to include with software releases) and computer companies themselves. Full color imprints are no problem.
Anywhere computers gather, the EcoButton and EcoButton Hub should be a hit. And again it is not just green but also a money saver.
If you want some estimates on how much money might be saved or more information on the working of the EcoButton and EcoButton Hub contact Jen Muzzillo of Buzzline.
If you are interested in the EcoButton and EcoButton Hub to promote your own business contact your local promotional items vendor or email info@proformagreen.com for information and pricing.
Adventures in Green Marketing 
John, this looks like a great item, but I am even more impressed with your site. Looks like some incredible promotional products over there and all of them green. I will be visiting soon!
This is a great product I could use in our offices.
We are a sustainable company but energy consumed by computers not in sleep mode is a weak spot for us.
To see what we are doing for sustainability got to:
http://www.capsicumpro.com/sustainability.html
John,
This is a great product! I am amazed at how many people in my office leave their computers on full power even overnight. I guess some are too lazy to go through the booting up process? This “easy button technology” would be a great fit for a lot of individuals as well.
Thanks for the post.
-Tommy