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!

My Summer Reading with Jennifer Taylor of GreetQ

This week it's on our series My Summer Reading we have a dear guest from Seattle - Jennifer Taylor, the owner of GreetQ.

GreetQ 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 is collaborating with Eco-Libris to plant a tree for every 10 greeting cards purchased through the GreetQ.com's website.

Hi Jennifer, what are you reading now?
It's Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be: The World's Best Selling Book - I believe the target audience for this book is graphic designers and marketers. However it works as a sort of self-help book for creative types of all sorts, serving as cheerleader with the intention of convincing readers that they can accomplish the impossible. It's a brief read and I've actually completed it already but plan to carry it around in my summer tote, referring back to its more epiphanic sections all season.

What I’m planning to read + recommendations:
Points of View: An Anthology of Short Stories by Moffett and Mcelheny - The short story format is perfect for librophiles when on summer days everyone's pressuring you to put down the book and pick up a Frisbee. You can get your literary fix in 50 pages or less while still enjoying long sunny days.

I've been a long-time fan of this genre ever since it was introduced to me by one of its top purveyors, my college professor, who's also a brilliant prize-winning short story writer, Josip Novakovich. And although his work is still one of my favorites, I often find myself longing for the classics like Updike & Capote. Which is exactly why the "Points of View" anthology, loaned to me by a friend, is right up my literary alley. I have a lot of anthologies but this is the best collection I've seen thus far. And it includes one of my all time faves: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.

The Bedside Baccalaureate - It's full title, "The Bedside Baccalaureate: A Handy Daily Cerebral Primer to Fill in the Gaps, Refresh Your Knowledge & Impress Yourself & Other Intellectuals," sounds a bit pretentious but you'll be thankful you bought it when at your 4th of July BBQ someone asks "Hey, who wrote the 1st draft of the Declaration of Independence again?"

Okay, maybe that won't happen but you'll feel great when by the end of the summer you've filled in all of those pesky knowledge gaps. And like the short-story anthology, the information in this book is given in brief, summer-sized bites on topics ranging from Environmental Science to Art History to Philosophy.

1984 - This is a must-read that I've passed over for far too long. Described as one of the best works of modern fiction of all time, I've decided to finally give it a go this summer.

Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office - Again, a book with a very long title but as intended, it certainly caught my attention. I'm not usually a fan of "chick-lit" but how can one pass up a read with a title like this? I may have to make a fake "War and Peace" bookcover to read it however. After all, this is Seattle.

What is your favorite place to read in the summer?

I don’t abandon my beloved coffee shops during the summer. They really are the perfect place to read year-round.

There aren’t enough coffee shops with outdoor seating here but the next best thing is shops with lots of natural sunlight and plenty of big windows. Like the Seattle’s Best Coffee shop across the street from Pike Place Market whose large storefront windows swing open. Or Zoka which also has huge windows, lots of wood paneling, big comfy leather chairs and sort of resembles a library. In the fall, you’d be hard pressed to find a seat, but come summer when all of the college students have headed home, it’s the perfect place to park with a book for an hour or two.

Thanks Jennifer!

More information on GreetQ can be found at http://www.greetq.com/

So far on My Summer Reading series:

Christian Valentiner of the Norwegian publisher Flux

Avrim Topel, co-author of 'My Green Beginnings'

Tania Hershman, author of 'The White Road and Other Stories'

Elisabeth Baines, author of the upcoming book 'Too Many Magpie'

Erica Caldwell of the bookstore Present Tense

Sue Schrader of the bookstore Sources of Hope

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green publishing

My Green Resolution for 2009 - Jennifer Taylor of GreetQ

Our quest for 2009 green resolutions brings us today to the beautiful (and green) Seattle, where GreetQ, an online greeting card retailer is located. We are very happy to host Jennifer Taylor, the owner of GreetQ.

GreetQ 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 is collaborating with Eco-Libris to plant a tree for every 10 greeting cards purchased through the GreetQ.com's website.

Hello Jennifer. What is your green resolution for 2009?
In addition to seeking out talented independent designers, one of our main focuses when selecting new lines for GreetQ, is to make it a priority to find brands that use environmentally responsible practices. Many of our brands use recycled paper, are FSC certified or print with soy inks.

One of our resolutions this year is to better highlight these practices for our customers so that they can more easily make informed purchasing decisions. We are also introducing a “Green Glossary” which will define in detail how each of these practices helps the environment. For instance, “what is soy ink and why is it better than regular ink?”

We are also working to “greenify” our operational practices, including reducing packaging while not compromising the safe delivery of cards. We are also researching ways to decrease our overall environmental footprint by reducing energy usage and using environmentally safer ink - not just for greeting cards but for all of our printing needs including invoices and receipt.

What's your green wish for 2009?
I would hope that more companies, in the tradition of Eco-Libris, work to find solutions that help customers reduce their environmental footprint without drastically compromising their lifestyles or without introducing additional complexity into everyday living. Eco-Libris is a great example of a solution that allows book lovers to continue reading “real books” while helping the environment. I hope that GreetQ moves closer and closer to refining similar solutions, allowing customers to still send paper cards, while keeping their environmental impact at a negligible level.

Any other plans for 2009 you would like to share with our readers?

We are working to introduce features that will make sending and personalizing greeting cards even easier; this will include additional personalization options such as rich text editing, making it easier to get your personalized message formated exactly the way you want it.

Thanks, Jennifer!

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.

So far on "My Green Resolution for 2009":

Bill Roth, author of "On Empty (Out of Time)"

Vonda Schaefer of Valley Books

Madeline Kaplan, author of "Planet Earth Gets Well"

Chris Flynn of Torpedo

Edain Duguay of Wyrdwood Publications

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

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!