Tag Archives: recycled

New Kindle and iPad Sleeves From Numo

20 Apr

Numo Kindle Sleeve Design

Numo Manufacturing has released two new sleeves specifically designed for the Kindle and iPad. Both of these items are currently available via custom order in EcoCoolie 2.0 foam, and we hope soon to see them as part of the stock EcoCoolie 2.0 foam line.

Made from recycled P.E.T. plastic bottles, EcoCoolie 2.0™ foam contains at least 85% post-consumer content. That makes an EcoCoolie 2.0™ version of the Numo Kindle Sleeve (standard version shown) and Numo iPad Sleeve (standard version shown) two great ideas for folks looking for more sustainable options for branding tie-ins to these two very popular devices.

The recycled P.E.T. versions of the Numo Kindle Sleeve and Numo iPad Sleeve are available in the stock EcoCoolie 2.0™ foam colors of Black, White, Red, Royal Blue, Navy Blue, Kelly Green, Lime Green, Bright Orange, Purple, Forest Green and Yellow, and as with other EcoCoolie 2.0™ foam items, Numo can print both sleeves in full, 4-process color.

Full Color Process Imprint On iPad Sleeve

Full color imprinting allows for a huge 8 1/8″ W x  10 1/4″ H print area on the iPad Sleeve and equally stunning  5 7/8″ W x  8 3/8″ H for the Kindle Sleeve.

For the kindle one of the best uses for that space might be a full color reproduction of a book’s cover jacket, both front and back. These would be a great give-away at author book signings, providing a tangible product in the digital age.

For the iPad Sleeve I love the idea of full color reproduction of printed posters for film, video game, or software launches.

Mix the versatility of use of the iPad and the Numo fully customizable iPad Sleeve and the options and ideas are nearly endless.

If you are ASI and want more information on the eco-coolie material, Kim Gasparini at Numo Manufacturing is the contact to talk to. 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.

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Two Options for Roll-Up Totes

9 Apr

8 oz 100% Raw Cotton Canvas 100% Reusable, Washable

Continental Marketing Services now offers their eGreen Roll-up Tote in both raw cotton canvas and 85% recycled from plastic bottle PET. Though we wrote about the raw cotton canvas bag earlier, both bags are worth a second look.

The eGreen Roll-up Tote I is made from 8oz 100% raw cotton canvas. It is offered only as a non-dyed bag, so in a natural, parchment like hue, which will fade naturally over time.

Because this bag is not dyed it is easily washable, which is a nice trick for a grocery tote. Continental Marketing Services, operating as BAGS, also lists the bag as recyclable, which is a bit of a stretch.

Yes, cotton is recyclable, but I rather like to put cotton – all cotton – into the natural fiber camp, meaning it is a material that will naturally break down over time, something a polyester or nylon tote cannot do.

120G PET 85% Recycled from Plastic Bottle 100% Recyclable, Reusable, Hand Washable

The second option for this bag design is the eGreen Roll-up Tote II, which is made from 120gm 85% recycled PET (basically old water bottles). This bag is a number 5 recyclable and is hand washable. So soap and water in the sink yes, but the high heat of a washing machine is a no-no. This bag is currently only offered in black.

Both bags offer a stylish, modern design that is still practical for daily use. Both bags offer an 11″ x 9″ imprint area, with the raw cotton tote additionally offering an 8″ diameter embroidery area.

Both bags have a body size of 20″ x 14″ x 3.5″. The eGreen Roll-up Tote II offers full color digital imprinting. Both bags ship un-folded so they arrive with crisp lines, ready to market your brand or message.

And of course both bags roll up to a pocket size tube with snap closure for easy storage and portability.

The size of these bags makes them a great grab-and-go shopper option. The 11″ x 9″ imprint area gives lots of room for your brand, logo, and marketing message.

If you are looking for more information on the eGreen line write to Cindy Audoung at Continental Marketing Services. 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.

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Travel Fun With Recycled Styrene Plastic Tags

15 Mar

Recycled Sandal Luggage Tag

Innovation Line produces a number of easily identifiable luggage tags made from recycled styrene plastic that seem a fun and practical promotional item for those targeting travelers.

The line of pre-printed recycled styrene luggage tags from Innovation Line include such shapes as the WSAPT10 Airplane Luggage Tag, WSST10 Sandal Luggage Tag, WSSCT10 Suitcase Luggage Tag, and WSHST10 Hawaiian Shirt T-Shirt Luggage Tag.

All styles come with classic buckle attachment for attaching the tag to luggage, and all styles include a standard write-on ID panel on the reserve of the image.

And color. Again recycled no longer means single color green or black. The WSST10 Sandal Luggage Tag available in seven standard bright colors leads the group, with the WSCST10 Cruise Ship Luggage Tag next with four standard colors, and the WSHST10 Hawaiian Shirt T-Shirt Luggage Tag with three. All three tags are available in other custom colors on request.

Regardless of their recycled credentials, these fun luggage tags are a great idea for any travel agency or tour group looking for a fun way to keep their groups’ luggage easily identifiable from other travelers.

The tags also make nice, mailable size thank  you gifts for booking agents and others in the travel industry, maybe a nice item to include in any mail-out from resorts looking to build their brand.

If you are ASI and interested in recycled luggage tags from Innovation Line contact Rachel Sakso. If you would like to use these recycled items to promote your own business or event contact your local promotional items vendor or email info@proformagreen.com for information, pricing, and samples.

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Laminated 100% Recycled Shopper Set

4 Jan

Laminated 100% Recycled Shopper Set Main Bag

I suspect the next couple of blogs are going to be all about what is new for 2011. Well let us just say, a lot.

A good starting place is the the new Laminated 100% Recycled Shopper Set from Gemline, one of 80 new products Gemline is introducing for 2011. With the bag ban expected to heat up in 2011, shoppers are a great giveaway idea.

All three bags in the set — which consist of a carry bag accompanied by two folders — are made from 100% Recycled PET Fabric. The carry bag dimensions are 13″L 15″H 6″W with a long shoulder handle, and the foldaway interior bags run 11.75L 13.5H 6W with a grab-style handle. All bags are lead-free.

Like the original Gemline 100% Laminated bags (which are still available in 2011) these bags offer a preprinted eco art design, however the eco theme branding is much larger and bolder on this set of bags than the original 100% bags from Gemline.

Pre-printed bags give you much more bag for your buck because you are getting a fulling designed theme bag (the pre-print) without having to run the 5000 plus units that is often needed for an all over custom design run. More color, more design, smaller price.

Runs of the new Laminated 100% Recycled Shopper Set start at just 50 units. Great for small events or office programs.

Interior Bags Folded

In the case of the Laminated 100% Recycled Shopper Set from Gemline the custom imprint area is on the main carry bag only. Both interior bags are 100% imprinted units with no added area for logo.

Italy will ban single use bags starting in 2011. In the US Oregon and Colorado might do the same, as well as many individual US cities and municipalities. As these bans become more common promotional multiple use bag like the Laminated 100% Recycled Shopper Set from Gemline will become more and more important, as the options for consumers is getting smaller and smaller, i.e. bring a bag with you to the store or buy a bag there.

If these bans do become the standard, and the single use plastic bag goes away, I think the multiple use bag is going to become the tee shirt of the next decade, i.e. the defacto giveaway / walking billboard that everyone is happy to receive.

If those multiple use bags are made from recycled material, natural cotton, bamboo, or other sustainable / biodegradable materials, that is great. If they all get made out of nylon or hard plastic, that is a problem in itself.

Blue Interior Bag Open

If you are ASI and wish to learn more about Gemline and their complete line of 100% recycled bags contact Andrea Catalano. If you are interested in these great pre-printed bags to promote your own business contact your local promotional items vendor or email info@proformagreen.com for information and pricing.

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EcoCoolie Pocket Coolie 2.0

25 Jan

This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of Proforma Simonetta Freelance, 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.

Remember the ECOCoolie from Numo Manufacturing? The first version of the EcoCoolie had only 15% post-consumer recycled material. At the time I applauded the fact that this Dallas based manufacturer was at least making a post-consumer material coolie (it was the first on the market as far as I could tell), but was disappointed at the low 15%.

Now Numo has come back to the market with the EcoCoolie Pocket Coolie 2.0 available Feb 1, 2010. This unit is made of 1/8″ high-density recycled-open cell scuba foam and will boast a full 85% post-consumer content, and at EQP for $0.89, that is $0.10 less than the EcoCoolie version one, when it debuted last year.

The EcoCoolie is available in Black, White, Red, Royal Blue, Navy Blue, Kelly Green, Lime Green, Bright Orange, Purple, Forest Green and Yellow. If your business is in the business of handing out coolies, then 2010 might be the year for you to go green with your beverage marketing materials.

And that is not all. Numo is using the same 85% post-consumer content material on their EcoCoolie Bottle Jersey 2.0 (EQP $1.65),  EcoCoolie Four-Color Process Bottle Jersey ($EQP $2.72), EcoCoolie Zippered Bottle Coolie (EQP $2.08) and EcoCoolie Four-Color Process Zippered Bottle Coolie (EQP $3.49). Again all made with at least 85% post-consumer content material.

The beverage coolie is likely one of the most popular promotional items available in our industry. Like caps and tshirts, most people have a favorite coolie they have had for years, often showing their support for their favorite school, sports team, or brand.

Coolies provide the Ecopreneurist with a large imprint to cost ratio and are certainly an item to consider for any business that caters to the sport, outdoor, beverage, or educational markets.

If you are an ASI member with questions for Numo Manufacturing Tracy Moore is the contact to talk to. 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.

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Recycled Walking Enthusiast Kit – Fun And Hip

4 Jun

This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of Proforma Simonetta Freelance, 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.

The new Recycled Walking Enthusiast Kit from Gemline is another example of the promotional items market getting a better handle on the customer base that many Ecopreneurists are targeting with eco-friendly promotion – read that as active, professional, urban.

The Recycled Walking Enthusiast Kit is a great little mix of form and function, providing an easy sling style carrying case for a stainless steel water bottle, wallet, music player (including earphone outlet), key, map, cellphone, in short all those little things that often need to be carried when your client is out for a little exercise.

The sling is made from 51% recycled PET fabric with an overall size of 5″L 10″H 3″W. Unfortunately the included stainless steel water bottle is not available with decoration, which would have been a nice touch. The sling can hold a 3″ x 3″ screen printed logo. Continue reading →

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Gemline Introducing Recycled Cotton Line

3 Jun


Gemline –  one of the lions of the promotional items industry – is introducing a number of new items featuring recycled cotton. This is a material that seems to have first been used for apparel items.

What does recycled cotton mean to Gemline? They sent me four points in way of a definition.

  1. Recycled cotton is made from the post-industrial cotton material collected from weaving mills.
  2. Recycled cotton benefits the environment by reducing the fresh raw cotton consumption, it is also cost effective for the customer.
  3. 85% of the fabric content is recycled cotton and 15% is polyester.
  4. The 85% recycled cotton material is recyclable.

One item in this line that I would like to point out to Ecopreneurists is the Recycled Cotton Apron Kit. This complete apron kit is touted as “the perfect gift for the “green” chef” and includes an 8 oz recycled cotton apron, detachable bottle opener, padded oven mitt and towel (not of recycled materials). Lots of front pockets for storage and of course the unit is machine washable.

My thought was that this is a great promo item for Ecopreneurists working the company picnic angle. Also would work well for anyone selling a summer food product or perhaps even cook-off event festival of some type. Generally a good tie-in with anyone focusing on a fresh, outdoor lifestyle.

EQP on the Recycled Cotton Apron Kit is $14.98. There are three mentions for branding, front top pocket center at 10in x 6in, embroidery front top pocket center with 5.5in diameter or Gemphoto/Heat Transfer on front top pocket center at 6in x 4.5in.

Most other items in this line so far seem to be totes of one form or another, like the Recycled Cotton Expo Tote and Recycled Cotton Market Bag.

If you are ASI and wish to learn more about Gemline and their complete line contact Andrea Catalano. 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.

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Kanata Blanket Co., Great for Green Style

24 Mar

I have written before that Proforma Green Marketing will be attending a number of Earth Day events this year, including the Live Green in Plano Expo.

We like events like Live Green in Plano because they give us a chance to take our eco-friendly marketing message out to the public.

Well the other day I got a call from Shirley Lee of Kanata Blankets based in British Columbia. The philosophy of Kanata Blankets is rooted in the traditional craft of blanket making and they serve both the retail and gifts markets in Canada and the USA. Established in 1993 Kanata is known for make exceptionally high quality promotional gifts.

Shirley asked what we were up to and when I mention the Live Green Expo she said she had something neat to show me. Apparently Shirley is a master of the understatement.

What I got was a sample of Kanata’s new blanket made from Repreve, a 100% recycled nylon material. Like the E.C.O fleece items from AshCity, this material feels amazing, like a cross between cotton and wool.

And because the product is from Kanata the presentation is superb. Our sample arrived in an Eco friendly bamboo  roll design box. Other options offered include birch oval and classic birch slider boxes.

The overall effect is a promotional item that looks amazing and screams green, while staying both formal and traditional. Way to go Kanata Blanket. Now only if Earth Day was in December.

Seriously, for any ecopreneurist working in the luxury, travel, or tourism areas this is a great promotional item your client would love to receive. The blankets would also work great as speaker gifts at eco-friendly events. Much nicer then a basic plaque.

If you want more information on these items, including pricing, please email info@proformagreen.com.

Or if you are in the promotional items business you can contact Shirley Lee directly.

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ECOL BRITE from Norwood

22 Jan

Ecol Brite pens made from recycled paper.

It looks like Norwood had such a success with their ECOL brand of recycled paper (barrel) pens that in 2009 they decided to break out into color with their new line called ECOL BRITE.

Like the ECOL pen the barrel of the ECOL BRITE is made from recycled paper. The pens are a standard style retractable with black ink and a standard medium point. Nothing too exciting there.

The big deal is that the pens’ bodies are available in blue, green, orange and red. This is great because up until the ECOL BRITE I do not think there has been a colored recycled paper barrel pen on the market.

Color is a big deal because it stands out and Ecopreneurists that need color to match their target audience or their marketing campaign now have a color option in these pens. Prior to this, if you wanted color you had to go with a corn plastic or biodegradable plastic, and those items do not work for all audiences.

You will notice in the image that the ECOL BRITE have a plastic tip, clip and plunger. The plastic used for these parts is 100% biodegradable corn plastic.

As a kick off to 2009 both the ECOL and ECOL BRITE pens are $0.68 per unit with one color imprint through 04/30/2009. A minimum run is 300 units.

Please visit the Norwood website to see all their new green items or email info@proformagreen.com for more information and pricing on the ECOL and ECOL BRITE.

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Gill-line Is Starting Gill-Green

19 Jan

This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of 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.

Gill-line is one of more established specialty vendors in the promotional items market, focusing on inexpensive small signs, like decals, yard signs, bumper stickers, labels and magnets. You can see their stuff online at gill-line.com.

Starting in 2009 Gill-line is branching out into green promotions with their new Gill-Green line divided into Biodegradable & Recycled, Recyclable, and Recycled items. This is a new venture for Gill-line and we will see how they progress with the line throughout 2009. Continue reading →

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