Plastic: The very word makes me think of huge piles of garbage that do not decompose and are eyesores. If you haven’t already guessed, I am a fervent champion of eco-friendly products. I have made it my personal mission to find products that can permanently replace non-biodegradable materials and that is how I came across corn plastic.

Corn plastic, basically, is plastic produced from corn. Since it’s made from plants, it is biodegradable, which makes it a nice alternative to normal plastic. Absorbent, Ink. practically has a corn plastic category – just search our site for “corn plastic” and see what pops up! Many of the products are both affordable and practical, and they ensure that your business’s name is in front of your customers’ eyes 24/7.

We have the traditional coffee mugs and soup mugs in corn plastic, and don’t forget about pens, like the Corn Plastic Husker Pens. Got clients who golf? We have Corn Plastic Golf Tees. And for something that’s a little bit different, check out the Corn Thermometer.

Too much talk about corn. I think I’m getting hungry!

Abby Ink

Eco-friendly products are everywhere. At least that’s what we’ve been told. But it’s hard to know fact from fiction, and there are no clear guidelines for what a product must be to be considered eco-friendly. We’ve seen manufacturers list their products as “green” and wonder about their criteria.

We have developed our own guidelines for our ThInk Green section. One of our ThInk Green product groupings is Reusable. For a product to be considered Reusable, it must be intended to replace a disposable product. A watch or backpack is reusable, but not in an eco-friendly way.

We’ve seen a significant increase in sales the last couple of years in our Sports Bottles. Especially this last year in our Stainless Steel Water Bottles and Aluminum Sports Bottles. If our customers are using these promotional bottles to replace disposable water bottles, then these bottles are indeed very green!

Doing a little research on the need to move away from disposable plastic water bottles, I ran across this article from Pace Butler. Though this article is recommending that we all do a better job of recycling, which I’m all for, I think it would be even better if we would all use reusable Sports Bottles from Absorbent, Ink.!

The promotional products industry has seen a significant increase in the sales of Non-Woven Tote Bags this last year. While they’re certainly part of the eco-friendly product movement, these bags have become popular for more reasons than for being green.

Non-Woven Polypropylene Bags are popular because they offer many useful qualities. These bags are soft, durable, water resistant, fire resistant, and have many uses. While many eco-friendly products can be more expensive than their non-green counterparts, Non-Woven Totes are competitively priced, removing the financial barrier to their purchase. These bags have also become more fashionable. Evolving from the early Non-Woven Grocery Totes, manufacturers are now producing a wide range of attractive and trendy Fashion Non-Woven Bags.

From a marketing standpoint, Tote Bags are incredibly useful promotional tools. Tote Bags are used over and over again, providing repeat exposure for your logo and promotional message. Non-Woven Tote Bags offer one of the best CPI’s (cost per impression) among all promotional products.

Non-woven polypropylene is made of spun bond polypropylene which can be recycled, naturally decomposes, and incinerates without any production of poisonous pollutants. While we list our Non-Woven Bags as recyclable, not all communities have recycling centers that will accept these bags. Many of our Non-Woven Bags are also made from recycled content, adding to their eco-friendly qualities. And of course, these promotional bags are reusable. By offering an alternative to disposable plastic bags, Non-Woven Tote Bags will show how green your company is, while leaving a little green in your pocket.

Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco made news last summer when he issued an executive order banning San Francisco City and County governments from purchasing bottled water. The order was effective on July 1 and extended to a ban on water coolers by Dec. 1. Newsom made the decision based on economic and environmental factors, citing the environmental impact and the amount of tax payer dollars used to transport and dispose plastic water bottles.

The city of Ann Arbor, Mich. made the next move soon after San Francisco, barring city vendors from selling commercial bottled water at city events. Most recently in late January, Madison, Wis., a city partly known for its eco-friendliness is also considering a proposal to ban both bottled water and plastic grocery bags. City governments are not the only entities jumping on the no bottled water band wagon. Restaurateur and Iron Chef Mario Batali also put an end to bottled water at his Del Posto Ristorante in New York.

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