California Focuses On Greener Schools

As the school year creeps into December and the holiday season approaches, I’m sure everyone is starting to get a little ansty looking forward to the break. We’ve been going full out in the EcoSmart office as well and are also looking forward to a nice break with family friends later this month.

We do have one more significant conference to attend in December – this one, in Anaheim, is billed as the nation’s largest green school event. Titled the “Green California Schools Summit”, it will bring together decision makers from schools and school districts all over California to educate and share ideas on how to make real changes that create healthier, more sustainable schools.

We will be there introducing our AusPen eco-friendly markers to the attendees and connecting with teachers and administrators who currently use our markers in their schools. California is one of our strongest markets (if not the strongest) and we’re excited about meeting new people and seeing old friends.

We were just in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago for the “Green Festival” and were overwhelmed by the response to the AusPen markers. The fact they are non-toxic, which has become such a big issue for teachers and parents, was a big hit, but so many people who came by the booth immediately understood how cost effective the markers were…which, considering these current economic times, is a significant benefit to using refillable products, regardless of what brand it is.

So we are definitely looking forward to exhibiting in Southern California at this educational-focused convention.

If you are thinking of attending, let us know as we have free passes we’d be more than happy to send out to you.

National Geographic Green Guide

Here’s a link to National Geographic’s Green Guide magazine and the article they did on the “Greenest School Supplies”…an article that featured our AusPen eco-friendly markers.

www.thegreenguide-magazine.com/thegreenguide/fall2008/?pg=68

AusPen At The Green Festival

The Green Festival in San Francisco kicked off yesterday with a great crowd and despite a few logistical hiccups for us (let’s just say there are a few cases of eco-friendly dry erase markers meandering their way along the I-5 highway) it was a very good first day. Thanks to all those who stopped by the AusPen booth to have a chat and find out more about an alternative to tossing away toxic, disposable markers.

Today (Saturday) should be even busier, so if you do happen to be at the Festival today, come by the AusPen booth and say hi.

Green Festival – San Francisco

Later this week we’ll be exhibiting the AusPen eco-friendly markers at the Green Festival in San Francisco, California. We’re really looking forward to being a part of what is billed as the largest sustainability event in the world. They are expecting well over 40,000 people to attend.

We’re excited to speak with as many people as possible about how they can incorporate our eco-friendly markers into their lives, as well as meet with as many other ecologically-committed exhibitors as possible.

If you are going to be at the festival (running from the 14th through the 16th) come by and see us at the EcoSmart Products booth and say Hi. We’d love to talk with you.

Hope to see you in San Francisco.

King County “Green Schools” Endorses Eco-Friendly Markers

King County Green Schools and AusPen – Washington State’s King County (think Seattle area) has put together a “Green School” program that currently has over 200 participating schools. The focus of the “Green Schools” program, as you might imagine, is to have all the schools in King County actively pursuing conservation and sustainable practices.

The program provides tools that help to put in place waste reduction and recycling programs, educate both staff and students on environmental stewardship and strive to make their facilities as eco-friendly as possible.

One of the products King County has highlighted to assist them in achieving the goals of their “Green School” program is the AusPen eco-friendly dry erase marker and we are proud to be a part of this exciting program.

It’s great to see so many schools make the commitment to the program and that King County has taken the initiative to put a program like this in place. The benefit to their local environment is enormous (less toxic waste in the landfills, less toxicity in the schools, and on and on), but the benefits to the students and community is immeasurable. A program like this unquestionably has a positive impact on the students in these schools, as they see the difference they can make on a daily basis and understand the impact of their actions on the larger community. Programs like this help to shape global citizens we can all be proud of.

Congrats to King County for their commitment.

You can read more about the Green Schools program at http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/greenschools/