Ecopreneurist

Part 1 in a series where Krates Ng (co-founder of Mokugift environmental rewards) interviews fellow ecopreneurs.  Today, Krates interviews Brendan Gill of PlentyWays.

1) Why did you start PlentyWays?

We’ve always wanted to create an environmentally focused organization and its really our first opportunity to do that.  At school and college we learned about the climate change issue and it became obvious that this issue is going to form a backdrop to our entire lives.  Its already a crucial matter, but it is only going to grow more and more important over the coming decades.  We wanted to be involved with this issue and to do our bit to help.

2) Is there a story about the name ‘PlentyWays’?

These days its very hard to come up with a name.  Finding something short, simple and with an available web address is difficult so when we finally came up with PlentyWays, we were really satisfied.  The idea behind it is that there are plenty of ways to make a difference.  That’s really our guiding philosophy: through the products we make available, the tips we provide, the services we review, we are trying to show people all the ways in which they can do their bit.

3) What was the toughest challenge in getting your company started and how you got over that?

There was a combination of challenges at the beginning.  It took us a long time to come up with our name, we even tried crowd sourcing it and put up a bounty of $200 we were so stumped, but even that proved fruitless.  The second big challenge was picking out the right products to offer our customers.  There are a lot of green products out there now and the number is increasing by the day.  We had to do a lot of research into what we thought were the most popular ones and would be most useful to our users.  Its a lot of work to then build relationships with the companies that make these products as well, which we are still working on.

4) If you had to pick one company in your lineup, which one would you showcase and why?

When people ask me what they can do to go green, the very first thing I ask them is if they have switched from incandescent bulbs to CFLs.  This is the most simple straightforward thing someone can do which is guaranteed to save both energy and money.  Sometimes it can be a challenge to convince people of a more expensive option that is more ecological, but using CFL bulbs is a complete no brainier.  Also people who are waiting for their current incandescent supply to run out before switching to CFLs – a quick calculation will show you that in almost all situations you should switch straight away.

5) How is PlentyWays going to grow in 2010? And how can other ecopreneurs help?

PlentyWays has huge plans!… We are working extremely hard on our blog, which we are going to focus on helping people to go green.  We will keep our ears to the ground on all the latest environmental apps, services and products and review them on our blog making it easy for budding ecopreneurs to take advantage of them.  We also want to provide some apps of our own.  The first we made was a very simple tool to stay on top of the latest green news, which pulls in news from some of the most popular green-focused websites out there e.g. TreeHugger and NY Times Environment.  We also want to work on a system that can monitor the energy and monetary savings people can make with various green goods.  For example, if someone purchases a few CFL bulbs from us, we would like to use the date they purchased to automatically calculate how much energy savings that has resulted in and the effect on their wallet.  It will probably use an average energy cost and an average figure for daily light usage as default, but would allow people to customize the calculation to their situation by entering their cost per KWHr and average light usage.  Stay tuned to our blog for details on all new features.

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.

Americanna – makers of the wildly popular World Famous Retread™ Magic Grip Jar Openers – have developed a simple door hanger made from the same 100% post consumer recycled tire material.

The reason I thought this simple item deserved a few words is that I really am not a fan of paper door hangers, whether they are placed on my home by marketers or on my hotel room door at conventions. (Yes we do print paper door hangers for clients, but that does not mean I have to like them. Also we use FSC paper).

Let us review the purpose of the door hanger ad. It is a small information sheet placed directly in view to provided a potential or existing client with information about a product, service, sale, etc. Indeed when placed on the door knob they are impossible to escape if you want to open the door in question.

However, what often happens to them? They get a quick glance and get tossed in the recycle bin. Why, because they really serve no purpose; once you have glanced at them, maybe cut out the coupon, what good are they?

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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.

In 2010 Sweda will be increasing the number of eco-friendly promotional items in their standard lineup. One of the standouts is their new Super-Size Jute Shopper, a really big bag at 13-3/4”h x 17-3/4”w x 6” with a large 7”h x 8“w imprint area. This is a size we normally just see in polypro and non-woven bags.

For the Ecopreneurist looking for a natural fiber bag to help promote their business the Sweda Super-Size Jute Shopper is certainly a bag to consider. Take a look at the video for a short overview of the bag. Unfortunately the bags in the video are not imprinted, so you really don’t get the full impact of how pretty these bags can be. Bag colors are Black, Blue, Green, Orange, and Merlot. They EQP at $7.99.

If you are a distributor and want more information on Sweda’s 2010 lineup of eco-friendly items – including the Super-Size Jute Shopper – contact Lakisha Higgins, Sweda Strategic Accounts.

If you would like to purchase these items for your own business please contact your local promotional items provider or email info@proformagreen.com.

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 green argument for flash drives goes something like this: Flash drives are a great way to get a lot of information to clients without having the need to print and ship thousands of pieces of paper. (And if they are made from eco-friendly materials all the better).

For example, think about a large conference, say with 10,000 attendees over four days. Printing and shipping all the information, schedules, data-sheets, presentations, and white papers for such an event is a huge cost to the budget and the environment. Why not just put it all on a flash drive, in a format that all the attendees can easily store, carry and share?

It is a good argument, however the POKEN allows us to take the idea to the next level. POKEN looks like a flash drives and sort of work the same way, as a tool with which to share data. The difference is that when two POKEN touch each other they copy – for lack of a better word – each other’s information.

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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.

Just in time for the holiday season Owl Line has released two eco-friendly covers for the amazingly popular Amazon Kindle. They are the Owl Kindle Book cover – style dimensions 8.375″H x 5.75″W x .75″D -  and Owl Kindle Easel – style dimensions 8.5″H x 5.625″W x .875″D. Both models come with the OWL id patch, explaining that the units are made from eco-friendly materials.

Both the Easel and Book models are offered in 100% post-industrial OWL™ recycled bonded leather model or 100% Post-Consumer recycled PET fabric with leather trim. Owl defines these two materials as follows:

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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.

Ash City USA – one of the leaders in eco-friendly apparel for the promotional items market – is partnering with the American Breast Cancer Foundation through their new “We’re Thinking Pink” campaign.

From the Ash City website, “Ash City USA is proud to announce it has become a supporter in the fight against breast cancer. With the recent launch of our “We’re Thinking Pink” campaign, we are joining in the fight to help fund research for the American Breast Cancer Foundation to help find a cure.

Money raised helps provide individuals, their families and their loved ones in financial need with direct financial assistance, education, support, and access to early detection screenings. ABCF supports research for innovative diagnostic, treatment and patient support methods through leading medical institutions.”

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is 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 following is an interview with Ecopreneurist Alan Harris.

Alan is an artist based in DFW and the founder of BottleCapArtWork.com. The company uses used bottle caps to created one of a kind corporate signage and objets d’art for clients.

Alan’s creations are a great idea for any company whose product uses a bottle cap – here I am thinking brewers of every size and style -  and for restaurants and bars looking for unique storefront and point-of-purchase signage. For more information visit www.BottleCapArtWork.com.

QUESTION: So bottle caps. How and why?

ALAN HARRIS, FOUNDER BOTTLECAPARTWORK.COM: My endeavors with bottle caps started in college, mostly on a whim. It’s easy to throw away a bottle cap; they are so small and seem inconsequential.  But even all those years ago, I recognized in bottle caps their capacity to be a brilliantly colored part of a larger whole.  Some friends and I had been saving our bottle caps for awhile (mostly beer), and I began to experiment with patterns and colors on a large scale on a flat surface. I was a sophomore in college at Baylor University when I had my own delusions about making a “bottle cap table”.  Unlike many of my counterparts, though, I actually had the time, energy and audacity to follow through with my ideas.

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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.

Owl brand bags made from 100% Post-Consumer recycled PET Fabric have been a very popular line in the promotional products industry since their introduction in 2008. Now, in time for the holidays, the Owl brand is expanding into a full range of items made from recycled bonded leather, to include wine totes, computer bags, mouse pads, and fine wallets.

What is recycled bonded leather? According to the website for OWL Promo,  OWL™ recycled bonded leather is “truly unique in the market. No paper, wood or other fillers, just 100% leather fibers. Leather fibers are bonded together with natural rubber from the rubber tree – no toxic chemicals or harsh glues are used. Colors come from natural tanning oils and vegetable tannins derived from tree bark, fruits, leaves and roots. All dyes and pigments used are lead free. So only OWL™ recycled leather has the look, feel, and aroma of natural, full grain leather.”

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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.

Glass America has launched their new 44oz BPA free stainless steel Geyser collection. These huge stainless steel reusable bottles have an EQP of $6.99 with single color imprint. Although all Geyser bodies are finished stainless steel in color, the top accents are available in Black, Purple, Blue, Orange and Green.

At 44oz these are some of the largest stainless steel bottles on the market and will make excellent holiday gifts for any Ecopreneurist targeting the outdoor or active lifestyle set.

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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.

Research by Sunbeam Hospitality and Andis Corporation shows that about 45% of hotel guests leave the bathroom light on as a night light while they sleep. Indeed night lights are so important to travelers that since 2003 the American Automobile Association TourBook includes the availability of night lights in their reviews of hotels.

Why? Perhaps because the National Safety Council reports that most accidents occur in the bathroom, and that poor lighting is the 6th leading cause pf accidents in the home and a major contributor to hotel room accidents. It seems that people just feel better sleeping with a light on.

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