Green Promos in Time for Earth Day
I am a huge fan of environmentally friendly promotional items. I am also a fan of socially friendly items that only come from areas and manufacturers who take the time to check on the quality and also verify the products are being made in a socially acceptable facility. All too often products are coming from factories half a world away with little concern for product and labor safety.
Just in time for April comes the release of several recycled promotional items that actually have great looks and are built off of previously successful models. The Recycled Cotton Expo Tote features strong handles and is made from recycled cotton. Built off of the hit Expo model this tote has a large carrying capacity and can double as a shopping bag. The Recycled Cotton Zippered Tote keeps true to the namesake by having a solid and smooth zipper and enormous storage capacity. What I like about this tote is that you can use the multi color imprint method from Gem that keeps costs down over traditional multiple color imprint methods. With the constant barrage of commercials today from the major shopping chains promoting reusable shopping bags there has been great demand for products such as the Recycled Cotton Market Bag which has 22" handles that can be used over the shoulder or as a traditional arm carrying. For those looking for a little more color in a tote the Accent Tote provides several exciting colors and multiple decoration locations. There is even the opportunity to decorate with embroidery which is somewhat rare in the lower price range.
The economy continues to stumble with no clear sign of a recovery in sight. The markets took a beating today due to continued fear about the automobile industry and the potential for eventual failure. Combined with poor data from around the World the equity markets slumped over three percent. There is little hope for an immediate recovery but the idea continues to be promoted of a recovery in the second half of 2009. Although this seems somewhat plausible one has to keep in mind the millions of jobs lost and the jobs we continue to shed each week. With home prices continuing to coast down and with so many out of work the drag on the economy will continue to be severe. Efforts to promote the economy and spending will include tax breaks on car purchases, overall tax breaks and even home purchase rebates. The problem ultimately is that with so much of the world suffering through difficult economic times there is little hope for meaningful recovery soon. As I discussed in Marketing Your Way Through A Recession the best course of action for many will be to continue to aggressively market their businesses in these tough times.