The Need to Go Green!

By Dean Schwartz (SWAG Master): Going green is a huge trend that shows no sign of slowing down. And for good reason! We all live on this wonderful planet and it is our job to take care of it. This is such a hot topic that consumers are actually expecting retailers to be eco-friendly. We couldn’t agree more! SOBO cares about the environment, so we are always looking for new ways to go green in style! Here are just a few ways we are looking to make a positive impact on our environment.

Go Green With New Plastics

Making SWAG takes resources. But what if those resources were from sustainable sources? Making sure your SWAG is made from eco-friendly materials is an easy way to go green. For instance, let’s look at plastics. Using recycled plastics is a great way to make a positive impact right away.

For example, Polysure bottles are new bottles made from old bottles. Talk about a sustainable life cycle! Here is how it works: first you design the bottle to fit your needs using computer modeling. Next, the raw materials (plastics) are sorted, washed, chopped into plastic pellets and made into a preform. From there the preform is headed, positioned into a mold, stretched, cooled and -voila! – you have a sustainably made bottle. See the picture below for all you visual learners.

Here’s another example, and this one is one of my favorites. Desktop calculators are a must for any office environment. To get this product in the most sustainable way possible, MoMA did the math (excuse the corny pun) and chose to make their custom calculators from a corn plastic material.

More Sustainable Raw Materials

One of the biggest raw materials around is cotton. But can you really make cotton better? Of course! In fact, there’s something called the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) which is the biggest cotton sustainability program in the world. The aim of BCI is “to improve the global cotton system by training farmers across the globe on more sustainable farming practices.” Manufacturers that support BCI are helping to create a demand for more sustainable resources, which they can then use in their products like t-shirts. We love this approach because it cuts straight to the source. What a great way to go green!

Recycled polyester is another huge opportunity when it comes to going green. By using recycled polyester, you can:

• Recycle 6 million plastic bottles a year
• See energy savings equating to 20,800 days of powering a home (nearly 57 years!)
• See water savings equivalent to the daily water needs for 265,000 people
• Avoid CO2 emissions the equal 13,140 days of driving a passenger car

These are just a few ways to go green. While it might seem like small efforts, long-run changes happen because of the changes you make now. And here at SOBO, we want to make a difference. Interested in learning more about our green SWAG initiatives? Call SOBO at 888.752.0432 (or email info@soboconcepts.com) to get on the phone with your very own SWAG specialist. Or, click here for a more up-to-date presentation of sustainable SWAG. And remember to always #SWAGwithStyle!