Jun 13, 2009

Eco Choice Awards Debut at NYIGF

White Plains, NY — Retailers will have a decisive role in selecting the winners of the first-ever Eco Choice Awards, voting to decide the gift and home industries’ best “green” products in three categories: “Most Innovative,” “Most Sensitive Use of Materials,” and “Most Sellable.” Judging will take place August 15-20, 2009, at the New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®).

Co-sponsored by GREENRetailer magazine and NYIGF, the awards will recognize the most innovative, environmentally responsible products featured in the Fair’s SustainAbility: design for a better world® display, a special curated exhibit showcasing “green” gift and home products. The summer 2009 display will showcase more than 175 products created from recycled, recyclable, sustainable or indigenous materials, and selected for inventiveness, newness, aesthetics and functionality. (NOTE: A complete list of summer 2009 display participants will be available online, after July 1, at http://www.nyigf.com/info/display.html)

“NYIGF’s SustainAbility display exists to showcase the industry’s best examples of ‘green’ product design,” said Dorothy Belshaw, NYIGF director and GLM senior vice president. “We’re taking it a step further by asking retailers to identify those products which they find particularly compelling.”

All retailers who vote will receive a free gift courtesy of GREENRetailer magazine. Voting will take place Saturday through Thursday at the SustainAbility display, with the winners announced at the conclusion of NYIGF on Thursday, August 20. Winners will be announced online and published in the Fall ’09 issue of GREENRetailer magazine.

“GREENRetailer magazine’s core mission is to help raise awareness of eco-friendly business practices in the gift and home furnishings industry,” said Patricia Norins, publisher. “The Eco Choice Awards will recognize those companies who are already leading by example.” GREENRetailer, a publication of GIFT SHOP magazine, is a business resource for gift store retailers who are both beginning to implement green strategies and who have already incorporated sustainable practices throughout their stores.

NYIGF launched its SustainAbility program in 2006 to recognize and encourage the integration of environmental responsibility with profitable business practices. The two-part program features an environmentally-focused exhibit, curated by Ilene Shaw of Shaw + Co!, and educational programming related to “green” business practices for the gift and home industries. In August 2009, two “green”-themed seminars – one featuring Josh Dorfman, writer and host of the Sundance Channel Original Series THE LAZY ENVIRONMENTALIST, and the other addressing organic beauty trends with Rona Berg, editor-in-chief/founding editor of Organic Beauty. Details and registration are available online at www.nyigf.com/programs.

NYIGF is the nation’s premier gift, home and lifestyle marketplace, with 2,900 exhibiting companies featuring an extraordinary breadth and depth of design-driven home fashion products and complementary giftware. Some 30,000 attendees from all 50 states and around the world are expected. For information and registration, visitwww.nyigf.com.