Today's savvy company wants to gift its valued clients and customers with something that is both trendy and useful. After all, the point of spending money on branded gifts is to increase your company's exposure while gifting your customer something he or she will enjoy using.

The promotional products market is larger than ever. Long gone are the days of wall calendars, magnets, pens and mugs. There now exists a huge selection of products to meet any occasion and budget. With such choices available it is possible to consider gifts that relate to your companies mission or services to add some extra impact.

One big trend that many companies are embracing is support of environmentalism in the work place. Aside from recycling photocopy paper and plastic water bottles, many companies are now looking at how to integrate eco-friendly values with gift giving. Lucky for them, they need not look too hard. Every day more and more eco-friendly promotional products are arriving on the market.

The products are wholly or partially organic or recycled, or are made of a natural fiber such as bamboo or hemp. Other products are solar or manually (hand cranked) powered. These products look just like their non eco-friendly counterparts but for the company concerned with responsible gift giving, they provide a terrific alternative without compromising quality.

As you browse the web for products that advertise the help the environment you will encounter a lot of environmental verbiage. Here are some important terms to know:

General Terms

1. Eco-friendly, Environmentally friendly or Planet-friendly: A product or process that has little or no impact on the environment. Products, services and actions that do not negatively impact the Earth and its resources.

2. Recycled/ recycled materials: A term used to describe material that has been separated from the waste stream, reprocessed into a new product (often taking the place of virgin material), and then bought back by the consumer as a new item.

3. Recycled content: The amount of pre- and post-consumer recovered material introduced in a material production process, usually expressed as a percentage (i.e. 51% post-consumer content).

4. Post-consumer material/waste: Term used to describe material that is being reused/recycled after it has been in the consumer's hands (i.e. soda bottles, yogurt containers). Material or product used by the consumer for its original purpose and then discarded.

5. Cyclepet: Recycled PET into fabric prevents it from ending up in the landfills.

6. PET: Polyethylene terephthalate is the most popular thermo plastic packaging material used for drinks and food. It is lightweight, transparent, and has a good moisture barrier, making it good for bottled mineral water, food trays for oven use, videotapes, and mechanical components. PET soda bottles are the most recycled plastic container.

7. Biodegradable: The ability to break down, safely and relatively quickly, by biological means into the raw materials of nature and disappear back into the environment.

8. Green: The movement that incorporates environmental awareness, social responsibility, bioregionalism, and nonviolence. "Green" is often inappropriately used to describe any effort to be more environmentally friendly.

9. Organic: Products produced according to certain standards. For crops, they must be grown in soil free from conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waster, or sewage sludge and be processed without ionizing radiation or food additives. For animals, they must be reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones. In most countries, organize product must not be genetically modified. Terms that apply to recycled cardboard.

Terms that apply to recycled cardboard

1. Post-industrial or pre-consumer waste/recycled content: Term used to describe material that is being reused/recycled before it ever goes to market; or, waste material generated during the manufacturing process.

2. Recycled cardboard: The material is made from cardboard that has been discarded or once used by a consumer.

Terms that apply to recycled leather

1. Recycled leather: Material is untreated and is made with leather scraps - recycled to save waste. (As opposed to the scraps going into a landfill, they are recovered and reprocessed to make recycled leather material.)

Environmentally conscious gift giving is always an excellent idea. Not only is it easy to find stylish and functional products, but many companies now offer eco-friendly inks for imprinting that enhance your positive impact even more!

So if you happened upon this article because you are considering "going Green" for your next promotional gift campaign - congratulations! You have decided to join the ranks of those progressive and clever companies who have realized it is possible to gift responsibly while impressing your customers with a high-quality, tasteful gift that also sends an important message that goes beyond the business world and touches the greater world that we all share together.