win a Toyota Prius!

Cascades - makers of recycled bathroom tissue and paper towels - is giving away ten Toyota Prius Cars in their Shift to Green contest.

Visit the simplegreenaction.ca website and select the “Shift to Green” Contest icon or enter here. Contest ends August 29, 2008.

And while you're there, check out their helpful Eco Tips blog.

do you shop green?

If you're like many Canadians, you want to - but probably don't believe claims for "green products" are anything more than marketing hooey.

This is according to a survey released yesterday (based on interviews with 1,500 Canadians) by advertising agency Bensimon Byrne.

It found - green businesses, pay close attention! - that while "cost was the main barrier to adapting more environmentally friendly practices, two-thirds of respondents don't believe it costs any more to produce such products".

"Eco-friendly and terms like that are not defined in a way that consumers can apply a definition across the board," said Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers' Association of Canada. Companies are "producing these claims without there being any standard that consumers can rely on."

This is where our government needs to step in, and create strict guidelines similar to those established for the organics industry.

Also worth noting: the survey found that women are more likely to consider environmental impact when making purchases than men, and recycling was tagged as the No. 1 action Canadians believe they can take to help the environment

Source: CanWest/Windsor Star

reusable coffee cup sleeves

Mississauga resident Pauline Love grew weary of the sheer amount of waste produced by coffee sleeves alone and decided to do something about it.

Hence, Cupcoat Expressions was born and has blossomed from what once was a part-time gig to having its own manufacturing factory in Toronto.

Jute, cotton, hemp and bamboo are some examples of the types of recycled materials that are used in the creation of the Cupcoat and are available in many colours and patterns, destined to suit every coffee or hot drink lover.

And here's what's best of all - "Just one Cupcoat can help divert three to five pounds of garbage from landfills per person,” Love said. “With hundreds of millions of beverages sold each month the waste adds up."

Cupcoats are sold at various coffee shops and throughout North America.

Mississauga News

tougher 'product of canada' regulations

Back in May, Prime Minister Steven Harper announced upcoming changes to Canada's food labelling regulations. Finally, just this week, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced that the new changes will take effect December 31st.

The new guidelines will affect two areas:

Product of Canada will be required to have all contents and production/processing in Canada.

Made in Canada with imported ingredients where processing is done in Canada, but ingredients are sourced from other countries.

Historically, producers have been able to label an item 'Product of Canada' if 51% of the cost of production was incurred in Canada.

"Canadian farmers and processors produce some of the best food in the world and government's new Product of Canada labels will make sure Canadian families have the information they need to find those foods," said Ritz.

As a consumer who is tries to buy local or at least Canadian whenever I can, this is just plain good news!

Read more here

CBC Marketplace

end junk mail

The Canadian Marketing Association's 800 corporate members - including Aeroplan, Sears, TD Bank, Reader's Digest, The Shopping Channel, Bell Canada and eBay - use a variety of ways to sell to you, such as the uber-popular addressed mail.

The CMA offers a "Do Not Contact" service to keep these companies legit, and if you get a lot of junk mail and/or faxes, you can register for free to have your name removed from new contact lists held by their members.

*Note: The National Do Not Call List operated by Bell Canada under contract to the federal government is expected to be up and running in the fall of 2008. At that time, you should register your telephone number with this CMA program as well.

pledging for change

Concerns over global warming and climate change sparked Vancouver-based design studio smashLAB to endeavour to become more sustainable. These efforts were challenging, thus Design Can Change was born...a global community that shares information within the graphics design industry about how to lessen impacts on the planet.

Those in the industry who are interested can take the Design Can Change pledge towards committing to more sustainable practices.

Reviewing the types of marketing materials used is just one of ways in which a sustainable practice can be achieved. Going from cumbersome binders filled with material to smaller-scale pamphlets is one example.

Potential buyers of creative services who are looking for a designer or studio that shares common values can also check out this site for a listing of those who have already taken the pledge.