Fall 2011

3rd Annual Eco-Choice Awards By Sue Marquette Poremba

The SustainAbility display at this summer’s New York International Gift Show was full of worthy candidates for this edition of the Eco Choice Awards. Find out which ones made the cut.

What exactly constitutes an innovative or most sellable green product? Hundreds of retailers got to decide at the summer edition of this year’s New York International Gift Fair held in August. Approximately 200 “green” products competed for one of three Eco Choice Awards in NYIGF’s SustainAbility: design for a better world
display. Sponsored by GREENRetailer and NYIGF, the award categories included Most Innovative, Most Sensitive Use of Materials and Most Sellable.

Patricia Norins, publisher of GREENRetailer, was delighted by the continued high retailer participation in the awards. “I see gift retailers actively investing in green products and best practices every day and their participation in this [award process] is further validation of retailer and consumer interest in green products at large,” Norins said, adding that GREENRetailer was proud to be the co-sponsor of the Eco Choice Awards. “Through these awards, we’re telling the exhibitors that we value their contribution to decreasing our carbon footprint, to become more green. It’s a great way to present the best of green to the industry at large,” Norins added.

“We asked market-goers to pick their favorite ‘green’ products based on inventiveness, newness, aesthetics and functionality,” said Dorothy Belshaw, NYIGF director and GLM senior vice president. Everyone who voted received a free digital subscription to GIFT SHOP/GREEN RETAILER; an additional incentive for voting was a general passion for green products.

SustainAbility: design for a better world is a curated exhibit of global gift and home industry suppliers whose products or production processes are eco-friendly, or companies whose business practices are socially responsible, philanthropic, or fair-trade oriented. While participation is free to all NYIGF exhibitors, companies must apply and be accepted based on a set of criteria that demonstrates their commitment to sustainability. This year seven products in the SustainAbility display were designated as having reached the highest level of sustainability for their products, production processes and business practices.

The next installment of the Eco Choice Awards will be at the Winter 2012 NYIGF, which runs from Jan. 28 to Feb. 2. To find out how you can choose next year’s winners, for additional information about the show, and a list of past Eco Choice winners and participants, visit www.nyigf.com.

Sue Marquette Poremba

Sue Marquette Poremba is a freelance writer based in State College, PA. She specializes in technology, engineering, energy, and IT security topics. She has also published over a dozen essays and is the author of a book about the Philadelphia Phillies.