Highlights from the Eco Gift Expo 2007

Namaste helped make it a greener holiday season by virtue of our partnership with Tommy Rosen and the ECO Gift Expo. We’re excited to share this video highlight of some of the incredible products that were available to over 6,000 eco-friendly attendees. The movement is just getting started!

Jack Johnson’s Solar CD

Visit the Namaste studio and you are bound to hear us playing Jack Johnson’s new solar powered cd, Sleeping Through The Static. I mean really, how can we not play this music? Jack is taking green to new heights in the music industry. Not only was his new cd recorded in a completely solar powered studio, but he’s also giving fans a chance to save the planet when purchasing tickets.

To offset the carbon footprint of driving or flying to one of Johnson’s shows, an extra $.50 opt-in at the time of online ticket purchase will be available. Proceeds from the $.50 donation will go to the ALL AT ONCE Carbon Management Portfolio, created especially for the tour by MusicMatters and a team of climate scientists to address the two largest contributors to global warming: burning fossil fuel and deforestation.

Also launching this week is www.AllAtOnce.org, Johnson’s new online social action network that brings non-profits and fans together to create change.

Here’s the first song off his amazing new record…

YES WE CAN

Namaste Partners with Eco Gift Expo

We were honored when Eco Gift Expo founder and conscious entrepreneur Tommy Rosen approached us about becoming an integrated partner of his green holiday shopping event. Eco Gift is creating the first ever large-scale eco-conscious gift show that provides people with an uplifting experience and a solution to the inconveniences and terrible waste associated with the holidays and holiday shopping. The first will be held on December 15th & 16th in Santa Monica.

Here’s Tommy speaking about Eco Gift on Elevision!

Chris Roy Interviews TOMS Shoes Founder on YT-TV

After viewing the incredible story of Blake Mycoskie and his mission to put shoes on the feet of shoe-less children everywhere, Namaste co-founder Chris Roy helped to conceptualize a new “conscious business’ episode for Yogi Time’s YT-TV.

Continuing his commitment to bring powerful new models of business to the Namaste Network, here’s Chris visiting with TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie…

Model of Giving

How did a 30 year old shoe designer create one of the country’s most popular shoe brands in less than two years? Blake Mycoskie clearly understands the personal joy and business benefit of giving. He offers a wonderful reminder of incorporating this universal law into our business and life…

Greening Your Online Efforts

Of all your online marketing efforts, e-mail seemingly has the least environmental impact.

But sending e-messages hasn’t led to a completely paperless office. The more we use computers and printers, the more paper and energy we consume. Most of us assume global warming is caused by burning oil and gas. Truth is, between 25 and 30 percent of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere each year — 1.6 billion tons — are caused by deforestation.

When you add the gas and oil we use by running computers to read e-mail — and to check it constantly on our Blackberry devices — you can see that e-mail isn’t completely environmentally benign.

With Earth Day upon us, we wanted to offer a few ways to make your e-mail a little more green.

1. Print less with GreenPrint: When you print e-mail and Web pages, there’s usually one useless sheet at the end, the one with the unsubscribe message, your e-mail provider’s logo, legal disclaimers, etc. You can eliminate printing unnecessary pages by installing GreenPrint. The software previews the document and highlights potentially unnecessary pages for removal. If you agree a page isn’t needed, it won’t be printed. It works with Word or any other program.

2. Unplug Your Blackberry: Checking e-mail from a Blackberry seems environmentally neutral, as no paper’s involved. But did you know chargers for Blackberry, cell phone and handheld games can consume 10 percent of the electricity in your house?

3. Recycle Old Electronics: Consumer electronics products contain thousands of substances, some of which are hazardous to human and environmental health. If old equipment isn’t properly recycled, these can seep into air, soil, and water. Everyone should make an effort to learn more about how to recycle your devices.

4. Use Earth Friendly Products and Recycle: At Namaste, we’ve been scrutinizing all of areas of our business. From implementing an in-house recycling program, to using recycled paper, to sustainable hosting for our web designs, we are committed to lessening all of our online marketing footprints.

Let’s work together to make every day Earth Day!

** Adapted from a recent Click Z article.

Generation Y Likely to Spend More on Socially Responsible Products

Good news for socially responsible companies… the future is green! A recent survey by GMI that gauged the opinions of more than 15,000 online consumers in the U.S. and 16 other countries about their socially conscious business practices, found that future American consumers, between the ages of 18-29, are more likely to buy organic, environmentally-friendly or fair trade products than other age groups.

Social Responsibility is not Just Good for the Planet…

According to a recent study by the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), almost 90% of the U.S. population believe it’s important for companies to not just be profitable, but to be mindful of their impact on the environment and society. In the same study, over 70% of consumers say they are more likely to buy their products or services, and nearly 50% state it makes them more likely to buy their stock.