Posted by: Colin Hageney

Everywhere you look these days, we’re being bombarded by words like:  green, eco or earth friendly, enviroconscious.  Is going green hype or here to stay?  Green is the new low-fat and this blogger thinks it’s here to stay. 

So what does green actually mean other than the obvious?  Okay yes, it’s a color or to be more precise, it’s an additive primary color.  My 4 year old would tell me it’s a mixture of yellow and blue.  Green is closely related to the Old English verb growan or “to grow”.  Back in the 80’s it was popular to call money “green”.  Green topics are on the covers of most magazines and newspapers around the country, yet everyone struggles with the definition.  The definition that I found and like the most is in Infoworld analyst Ted Sampson’s blog: 

A green product or service is one that delivers comparable or superior performance, utility, or other benefits to an alternative one while utilizing fewer resources, containing fewer toxic materials, and/or boasting a longer lifecycle.

To that end, I would like to introduce two green promotional products that I really like:

It’s an LED “never needs a battery” flashlight and it’s a cell phone recharger.  Simply wind it up for about a minute and the light lasts for roughly 30 minutes.  It easily fits in a glove compartment, purse or on your wrist – it’s readily accessible in an emergency.  Awesome safety award, employee recognition gift or trade show giveaway – add the logo (1-color) and you’re still under $10.