The green revolution isn’t done until the paperwork is finished. Eco friendly paper products are a necessary addition to any environmentally friendly home. We all know that paper actually does grow on trees, but how much does the average person use?

When it comes to toilet paper the average ranges from 20,000 to 30,000 sheets per year per person. Add to this facial tissues and paper towels and you start seeing some significant numbers. The obvious green choice is to go with eco friendly paper products for all your household needs.

In this case eco friendly means recycled. Just one ton of recycled paper saves; 17 trees, 7000 gallons of water, 60 pounds of air pollution, 2.5 cubic yards of landfill space and enough kilowatts of electrical power to run the average home for 6 months.

When shopping for eco friendly paper products look for the highest percentage of post-consumer content in the paper. This indicates the amount of waste paper collected from consumers and reprocessed. The higher the percent, the better the paper product is for the environment.

By buying these products you are not only helping the planet, but you are sending a message to the manufacturer and encouraging this cycle of recycling. Every year Americans use approximately 85 million tons of paper products or about 680 pounds per person.

Recycling is not just a good idea, it is becoming a necessity. But how can you be sure you are buying truly eco friendly paper products? Check the label, if your product is endorsed by Green Seal you are buying a quality product. The manufacturer can also make a difference, for example Seventh Generation produces across the board high quality eco friendly products of all sorts and openly discloses all ingredients.

Beware of products claiming to be “environmentally friendly,” “safe for the environment” or “natural” as these phrases carry little weight and do not indicate that the product is made from recycled materials.

Ultimately you want toilet paper, paper towels and facial tissue made from 100% recycled paper. All truly eco friendly paper products are made chlorine, free being whitened with an environmentally safe process and often coming free of dyes and perfumes.

Buying this kind of household paper will reduce the need for virgin wood pulp which is good due to the fact that 90% of American native forests are gone and won’t be coming back anytime soon.

Going green with your household paper products won’t cost you any more than with traditional brands and will give much more back to the planet. It is an easy switch and a necessary one.

Promotional products are no doubt used on quite a regular and sometimes excessive basis in terms of their production, distribution and overall quantities. And naturally, most of these items are selected with one narrow-minded, business-driven goal in mind - gaining wide exposure to lift a business’s status higher, and their success, soaring. And this popular pursuit of gaining and continuing elevated statuses through promo products is the standard.

What’s not standardized is unconventionality; items selected and given at trade shows are usually pinpointed with a mundane mindset, unless unorthodox minds are dealing with selection processes. But, of all, one this is certain about selection considerations. When most individuals are selecting promotional items for a trade show, the last concern that comes to mind is the notion of saving the earth, of being eco-friendly, or oddly enough, being that envious color, green.

Green Horizons For Promotional Decisions

Promotional products are usually run-of-the-mill, both in their composition and existence, but are also detrimental to the environment. Most are not, as mentioned, in that “gone green status.” Green promotional products are not visually distinctive through actual color, yet are categorized as “green” based on the materials used in their overall compositions. Green promotional items are ones made of earth-friendly and environmentally-conscious materials, or are specifically products veering off course from standardized not-so-earth-considerate methods, such as items utilizing heavy paper and/or plastic ingredients.

Currently, there is quite a green movement in the corporate and business realm as environmental concerns have become much more pronounced and publicly declared. An awareness is spreading and companies are taking advantage of this simply to further push the urgency of being more concerned and active in mending our wounded and polluted earth.

Making Promotional Items Green, An Easy Task

Taking a promotional item from standard to eco-friendly is not troublesome or difficult. Actually, it’s much easier than one would think, especially since the green movement is in full swing. This said, there are many options of well-designed and eco-friendly products for trade show purposes.

Eco-Friendly Promotional Options

The best thing to do as a distributer of promo items at a trade show is to not only provide eco-friendly giveaways, but also spur an instilled sense of continued environmental care though the products themselves. Saving trees by not using excessive amounts of paper and using non-plastic items are basics to start with and can easily be accomplished through correct promo item selection.

To save trees and spur continued consciousness for avoiding overuse of paper, why not give away USB flash drives and non-disposable drinkware? USB drives will cut down on already discouraging amounts of printing and will make information not only environmentally accommodating, but also compactly mobile and convenient. Make carrying information limited to a space the size of a thumb, rather than a bulky portfolio.

And by providing non-paper or plastic based cups, mugs and the like will cut down on individuals continually using and then discarding wasted drinkware items. Coffee mugs and sport bottles -made of polycarbonate materials- are great types of permanent and long-life drinkware items that can be considered to imprint and prolong a green way of thinking and doing.