Eco-Libris special gift offer for the holidays: trees + book stickers + holiday greeting card

We would like to remind you about special offer for the holidays: trees + stickers + beautiful holiday greeting card.

It's very simple - plant trees to green the books your loved ones read. We will send them a beautiful holiday card and Eco-Libris stickers to display on their books' sleeves. Just change the shipping address on the PayPal payment page to the address of the gift receiver (or send us a separate email to info@ecolibris.net with the details) and we will take care of the rest!

The holiday greeting cards we send are made by Doodle Greetings (see picture above). Not only these cards come with a beautiful design, but they are also eco-friendly - printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper and are made chlorine-free and acid free. This is a good fit with Eco-Libris stickers, which are also made of recycled paper!

This is also very affordable gift offer, starting from $6.50 for 5 trees/stickers and a holiday gift card! $25, for example, will get you 25 trees, 25 stickers and a beautiful holiday gift card. Interested? go to our holiday gift page.

Last but not least, if you buy books this year as gifts for family and friends (and maybe even yourself), we have some ideas on how to make your gift more sustainable. Check out our 10 recommendations on how to green your book gift this holiday season.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting green reading!

Eco-Libris special gift offer for the holidays: trees + stickers + holiday greeting card

We wanted to remind you of our holiday gift offer for you:

Plant trees to balance out the books your loved ones read. We will send them a beautiful holiday card and Eco-Libris stickers to display on their books’ sleeves. Just change the shipping address on the PayPal payment page to the address of the gift receiver (or send us a separate email to info@ecolibris.net with the details) and we will take care of the rest! If you're buying books as gifts, you can also add the stickers and the card, making it a great green gift.

The holiday greeting cards we send are made by Doodle Greetings (see picture above). Not only these cards come with a beautiful design, but they are also eco-friendly - printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper and are made chlorine-free and acid free. This is a good fit with Eco-Libris stickers, which are also made of recycled paper!

This is also very affordable gift offer, starting from $6.50 for 5 trees/stickers and a holiday gift card! $25, which is the maximum cost of the gifts on this guide will get you 25 trees and stickers with the beautiful holiday gift card. Interested? go to our holidays gift page and check it out.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting green reading!

GreetQ is celebrating 650 new trees that are being planted with Eco-Libris following their operations in 2009!

On September 2008 GreetQ, an online greeting card retailer, partnered with Eco-Libris to plant a tree for every 10 greeting cards purchased through the GreetQ's website. Today we're happy to update that 650 trees are being planted as a result of GreetQ's commitments in 2009!

Headquartered in Seattle, WA, GreetQ offers greeting card services that allow customers to personalize and schedule paper greeting cards to be mailed online.This is a unique service: shoppers can buy paper greeting cards online, add a personal message, then schedule the cards to be sent on a specific date. GreetQ then mails the personalized card to the recipient on behalf of their customers on that specific date. The scheduled cards, which can be scheduled for up to one year in advance, are queued online in the customer’s “card-queue.”

GreetQ's founder, Jennifer Taylor, explained back in 2008 that the collaboration with Eco-Libris is motivated by a personal interest in being environmentally responsible, while taking into consideration that each year over 2.5 billion holiday greeting cards are sent in the U.S. alone. As we mentioned, in 2009 GreetQ's commitment translated into 650 new trees that are being planted with our planting partners in developing partners. Actually, since our policy is to plant 1.3 trees for every tree paid for to make sure at least one tree will reach maturity, 845 trees are being planted de facto on GreetQ's behalf following their 2009 commitments!

To learn more about GreetQ's beatufiul made cards and other products, please visit their website: http://www.greetq.com. You can also follow them on twitter (@greetq)

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

Green printing tip no. 27: Can you save money on paper on your next greeting cards order?

We're back with another tip on our weekly series of green printing tips, where we bring you information on green printing in collaboration with Greg Barber, an experienced eco-friendly printer.

Today's tip is about greeting cards, and even though you probably won't be able to implement it this holiday, there's always the next holiday waiting there.. The lesson we're learning today is that when it comes to green printing size does matter.

Can you save money on paper on your next greeting cards order?

Tip #27

The answer is clearly Yes. Here is my recommendation on what you should to trim your paper costs the next time you print greeting cards:

1. Contact your printer first, before designing your next print project. Did you know we can save you 50% on your paper prices, if you avoid designing a job that wastes a lot of paper?

2. Consider that the popular Greeting Card size 10 x 7, that scores to 5 x 7, may only get 2 cards up, when printing them digitally on a 13 x 19 sheet of paper. The 10 inch side can cut into the 13 inch dimension and the 7 inch side, cuts 2 out of the 19 inch dimension.

3. By changing to 9 x 6.25 that folds to 4.5 x 6.25, or slightly smaller than the 5 x 7 size above, we can cut the 9 inch into the 19" dimension 2 up, and the 6.25 inch side cuts 2 up into the 13" dimension. Two times Two equals Four is something we all learned, a long time ago...

So if you wanted 1000 greeting cards at the 9 x 6.25 inch flat size, we would use 250 sheets of 13 x 19 paper at 4 up, and yield you the 1000 greeting cards you need. If you held firm on
the 10 x 7 flat size, we would need 500 sheets of 13 x 19 to yield you 1000 greeting cards.

4. And the savings? Our cost on 100% post-consumer paper in 100# cover might be 25 cents per sheet on the 13 x 19 size paper, or $62.50 more paper. And, we would need to throw away a strip of paper that might be 3" x 5" times 500 sheets of paper waste. That alone is an awful environmental waste.

Call me before your next job, and I will advise you the size to run.

For additional information, please call Greg Barber at (973) 224-1132, or email greg@gregbarberco.com.

Also, if you have any questions you would like us to address in future tips please email us to info@ecolibris.net .

Latest tips:

Green Printing Tip #26 - What can we do to reduce the carbon footprint of direct mailing campaigns?

Green Printing Tip #25 - Can you Green your print advertising?

Green Printing Tip #24 - Can we be Greener in our use of Inter Office Envelopes, Presentation Folders, and Outgoing Envelopes?

You can find links to all the tips we published so far on our green printing tips page, which is part of our green printing tools & resources.

You can also find further valuable information on Greg Barber Company's website - http://www.gregbarberco.com.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green printing!

New green wrappings at Wishrap.com for Valentine's Day (and a giveaway!)

Valentine's Day is almost here (guys, I hope you have it on your calendar - February 14!) and it's time to think not only how to do something nice for your loved once, but also how to do it in a green way.

One place where you can always go green and save paper is wrapping. Did you know that in the U.S., an additional 5 million tons of waste is generated during the holidays and four million tons of this is wrapping paper and shopping bags?

So what you can do? well, there are many ways to make packaging more eco-friendly. If you look for a specific recommendation, one company that is also taking steps about it is Wishrap.com. They're launching new environmentally-friendly packaging with two featured Valentine's Day packages - Double Shot of Love and Nuts About You.

The new bags and boxes for these gifts are made of a natural jute fiber - a plant that is harvested and grows faster than bamboo and in a smaller footprint. The included cards and tissue are made of post-consumer recycled paper and the boxes and bags are reusable, designed with practicality in mind so that they can be reused over and over again. The boxes are collapsible, great for storage, and the bags make great reusable totes.

Wishwrap.com is a unique gift site that puts the thoughtfulness back into gift giving. Every Wishwrap gift comes with a custom greeting card created especially for the recipient and is "wishwrapped" in luxurious packaging at no extra cost. The two featured Valentine's Day packages will be the first to ship in the new green packaging, which will then be transitioned in for all packages.

For further details on their offers please visit their website at www.wishwrap.com.

And we have a special giveaway!

Wishrap.com are giving away cool set of plantable greeting cards. Each card is handprinted with soy-based ink on 100% recycled paper embedded with seeds. The card itself is biodegradable and can be planted in the backyard or a community garden, all set to flourish. The set includes two cards with wildflowers and a third with basil and chives.

To get a chance to win this cool prize please add a comment to this post with the best gift you gave or received for Valentine's Day.

Submissions are accepted until Valentine's Day, February 14, 12PM EST. We will pick the comment we liked best and the winner will be announced the following day.

Happy Valentine's Day,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

New collaboration with Gita's, a green holiday cards maker!

Holidays are also about greetings and we couldn't find a better timing to announce on a new collaboration with Gita's, a young company that is offering customer eco-friendly products, among them are eco-friendly holiday cards!

Gita's partnership with Eco-Libris aims to raise awareness to the environmental impacts of using paper for the production of paper and cards, books, and other products and provide people and businesses with an affordable and easy way to do something about it. Gita's will plant one tree with Eco-Libris for every 20 cards or a journal you buy from them!

Gita's is currently offering unique and creative, eco-friendly paper products including holiday cards, thank you cards, and journals. They will soon be offering every day note cards and gift bags.

How green they are? here's a list of their environmental benefits:

All Gita's Tree-Free Greetings and Gift Bags are:

• Environment Friendly
• 100% tree-free, 100% recycled, or FSC certified mixed sources
• Every card has a “Sustainability Grid” on the back with details of material used
• All cards are printed with soy-based inks
• Paper is made from sustainably harvested sources, including kenaf plant, sugar-cane bagasse, and bamboo.
• Paper is manufactured with no chlorine or harmful chemicals and requires less water and energy.

All Gita's Handmade Paper Products are:

• 100% recycled from cotton waste and processed chlorine free
• Cards, journals, and paper are embedded with recycled hemp, flower petals, and other natural raw material
• Every card is handmade with a process that requires less water and energy
  

Gita's is also proud to support EarthShare and its member organizations in creating a healthy and sustainable environment. You contribute to these causes every time you buy our products. They are also working directly with non-profit organizations and artisans to source our handmade paper products in a socially responsible way while offering environmental benefits to customers.

Gita's strives to offer their customers eco friendly products that are of great quality, unique in design, affordable and a great value. They're dedicated to the good of the environment and the people who live in it, and we're very happy to partner with them and add our part to their good and green work!

For additional information on their products please visit Gita's website at www.gitasusa.com

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

GreetQ, an online greeting card retailer, is collaborating with Eco-Libris

We're happy to announce on a new collaboration with GreetQ, an online greeting card retailer. GreetQ.com offers greeting card services that allow customers to personalize and schedule paper greeting cards to be mailed online. With the new collaboration, GreetQ will work with Eco-Libris to plant a tree for every 10 greeting cards purchased through the GreetQ.com website.

GreetQ, which is headquartered in Seattle, offers a unique service: shoppers can buy paper greeting cards online, add a personal message, then schedule the cards to be sent on a specific date. GreetQ then mails the personalized card to the recipient on behalf of their customers on that specific date. The scheduled cards, which can be scheduled for up to one year in advance, are queued online in the customer’s “card-queue.”

GreetQ founder, Jennifer Taylor, explains that the collaboration with Eco-Libris was motivated by a personal interest in being environmentally responsible, while taking into consideration that each year over 2.5 billion holiday greeting cards are sent in the U.S. alone. While acknowledging a gap in services that help consumers offset paper goods usage, Taylor adds “Sending paper greeting cards is a worldwide tradition which has not been fully replaced by the advent of e-cards. We thought that this was an opportunity to make a significant and positive change to offset that impact… Although we work to find independent card designers that use environmentally conscious practices, such as printing with soy inks or on recycled paper, this collaboration should help fill the remaining gaps.”

This collaboration also includes a special offer for Eco-Libris customers and fans: a 25% discount off the regular subscription rate. Code to enter at checkout: ECOLBR.

So check out GreetQ's artful, beautifully made cards at their website: http://www.greetq.com.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

Green holidays - the greeting cards

One of the holidays big green issues is the greeting cards. Greeting is a nice gesture, but should it necessarily have environmental impacts?

Every year 2.65 billion holiday cards are sent in the U.S. alone. hundreds of thousands of trees are cut down to meet this demand. This is definitely a place where we can go green and act more sustainably, and the good news is that it's easier (and cheaper) than ever.

Here are few examples for greener options:

1. Make your own cards - on the website Allie's Answers, I found a great tip on making your own cards:

I’ve been saving magazines and scraps of pretty paper all year. Using a few decorative punches, and a glue stick, I mounted shapes on to recycled card stock and used rubber stamps to spell out holiday greetings.

You can get really creative with your reused materials. I made snowflakes out of scrap computer paper, aluminum foil, paper bags, and even the foil top from my vitamin bottle. The cards are easy to make. This would be a good project to do with your kids.

2. Send an online holiday card - this is also a paper-free and much greener option. You can find many websites that offer you to email greeting cards on your behalf at no cost. If you look for something more special you can check out Three Leaf Cards, which provides you with provide a customized holiday online card solution that is both only tree-free and carbon neutral.

Another interesting option would be to use the services of GoldMail, which offers an alternative, fun, and free way to send personalized messages. Friends of the Urban Forest. Check out GoldMail's presentation here - http://cdn2.goldmail.com/?GMID=1s0ntr484dns.

3. Send holiday cards made of recycled paper - If you decide to purchase greeting cards on the holidays, you can find beautiful cards made of recycled paper. Our recommendation would be on Doodle Greetings, whose cards we use for Eco-Libris holiday gifts.

Doodle Greetings is a Co-op America member from Kensington, MD. Their cards come with a beautiful design, printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper and are made chlorine-free and acid free. Furthermore, according to Doodle Greeting's website, the paper is made entirely with renewable energy (primarily wind power).

Other ideas for cards made of recycled paper or tree-free paper can be found on this Ideal Bite's tip.

The bottom line is that the green options are right there (and we even didn't mention recycling the holiday cards you receive from others..). All you have to do is just choose and make someone else knows you care about him or her, but also about the environment :-)

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: a great green gift for the holidays!