Introducing ecojot's new "Buy One, We Give One" campaign.

Have you heard? ecojot commits to giving one for one.

As I've mentioned, I've been busy helping launch an exciting new ecojot give campaign. In fact, we're currently in the midst of adding information to our main website. As a special sneak peek, here's the 411...

ecojot’s “Buy One, We Give One” campaign is the company’s new business model committed to directly advocate children’s arts and literacy in developing countries. In many poor areas young students cannot afford school supplies, nor are they provided them. In an effort to equip children in need with basic school supplies, ecojot will donate a notebook for every ecojot journal, jumbo journal and sketchbook purchased.

ecojot is partnering with three organizations to make this happen:

• Ve’ahavta - A non-profit Jewish humanitarian and relief committee whose mandate is to accomplish tikun olam, the betterment of the world

• Free the Children - The world’s largest network of children helping children through education.

• The Stephen Leacock Foundation for Children - Dedicated to helping disadvantaged youth in South Africa.

ecojot understands that the success of the campaign is dependent on ensuring that the notebooks are delivered directly to the correct recipients. Therefore ecojot’s first shipment will be sent in a sealed container via the Ve’ahavta KinderKits Program, along with medical supplies, already destined for Zimbabwe. Kenyemba Primary and Secondary Schools will be the first recipients of ecojot’s “Buy One, We Give One” campaign.

Mark Gavin of ecojot says...

“ This becomes a deeper purpose for our business, so we can play an active role in helping better the global village we all belong to.

Inspired by the Toms Shoes model and by Whole Foods founder, John Mackay’s new commitment to conscious capitalism, I wanted to have our business play a part. Being that we make notebooks, it was an obvious decision to donate these to help needy children become educated and literate. ”

While ecojot is officially launching their new give campaign this year, they have in fact already donated 4,000 to 5,000 school supplies so far, and plan to donate 20,000 to 25,000 by spring 2010. Read more about it in a recent CJN news article here.

So now every time you jot or sketch in an ecojot, not only will you feel ecoAwesome, but you will also feel wonderful knowing a child in need is getting a chance to jot and sketch too!

Can't wait to hear what you think about the new give campaign! Have a great week!

xo,

ej

I've gotta feeling... that I love giving!

I love helping great causes, especially ones that encourage reading and writing, and most of all creativity and expression, so it was so wonderful to hear back from one of the events that I personally helped donate ecojot workbooks to!

Check out the lovely thank you email I received the other day....

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Dear Ecojotter,

On behalf of the Spencertown Academy, I would like to send my deepest gratitude for Ecojot's generous contribution of 50 notepads to the Festival of Books event last September 4th - 13th. The Festival was well-attended by visitors and locals alike. The notepads were a topical addition to the 2nd weekend of the event, when we showcased a New York State Poet Laureate, who read from her latest collection, thus inspiring would-be poets to start jotting down thoughts and feelings. How handy the notepads proved to be!

The Ecojot notepads were a hit among the school-age children; they especially liked the "cool" and "fun" designs and the fact that they were made from recycled materials.

Thank you again for your support and generosity.

Sincerely,
Marie

Volunteer, Spencertown Academy

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It was my pleasure, Marie! Am so pleased to hear the little ecoWorkbooks were such a hit!

Want to know a little secret? Well I'm at ecojot headquarters this afternoon and I am currently working on something huge for 2010 with Mark, one of the owners of ecojot. Something very inspiring and very philanthropic. Something that will make you feel warm and fuzzy every time you purchase and use an ecojot notebook, and not just because it's 100% recycled! Something I can't wait to tell you more about... But can't (sorry!) until it's all finalized. But I promise you'll hear it here first on blog ;)

But in the meantime, I just want to share this great video clip that you've probably already seen floating around the interweb, but if you haven't, you gotta check out... Watching it each time just makes me smile and want to get up and dance, it reminds me how everyone can do their little part and end up getting together to do something huge, fun and exciting!

Happy Hump Day!

xo,
ej

A Request for Help for the Victims of Typhoon Ondoy

Photo: Francis R. Malasig

Today's post is a little more on the solemn side of things... Please take a moment to read about the recent floods in Southeast Asia that have severely affected the Philippines. This natural disaster is without a doubt directly related to how we treat Mother Earth. Please remember that Everyday is Earth Day.

As you have likely heard...

On Sept. 26, the Philippine capital Manila and its neighboring provinces suffered one of nature's worst beating. Typhoon Ondoy, international code name Ketsana, poured more than a month's worth of rain in six hours, submerging most parts of the bustling metropolis, drowning at least a hundred people as of press time. My prayers to the victims, and may we emerge victorious and live by the lessons of this tragedy. (Photos by Reuters. Music by Ennio Morricone, "Love Theme" from "Cinema Paradiso."

I happen to be originally from the Philippines so this hits very close to home. In fact my parents and one of my brothers live in Manila, as do my grandmothers, many aunts, uncles and cousins and friends. Thankfully with the exception of some being stranded for a few hours, all my friends and relatives are safe and sound, however many others are not...

I didn't post this yesterday, as I was waiting for Red Cross Canada to include this recent calamity to their list of online donations. This morning I made a personal donation to help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy (listed as "Philippines Typhoon"). Please consider making a donation too. The minimum online donation is only $5, and even that much will go a long way.

RedCross.ca will accept donations from Canada and the US, but if you're American and would prefer you may make a donation at RedCross.org, or wherever you may call home at the Red Cross near you.

If you make any sort of donation large or small (no need to tell me how much), please let me know as I would like to personally thank you via snail mail :)

Thank you for taking the time to read this appeal for donations. Every bit helps, even just hopeful thoughts and prayers :)

xo,

ej

Sigg in serious troubled waters...

In case you haven't heard, Sigg the well-known Swiss metal water bottle makers admitted "last Friday that the closely guarded secret ingredients of the lining inside all Sigg bottles made before August 2008 contain traces of BPA."

Tsk, tsk, considering the popularity of Sigg bottles grew dramatically as word-spread of the potential harmful links of BPA.

In case you're wondering what exactly BPA is (a.k.a. Bisphenol A)...

"BPA is a chemical used for making polycarbonate plastic baby bottles and sippy cups. It's also a material in the resin linings that coat metal food cans (think soup, beans and the fruits and veggies in your pantry) and beverage containers, (think Coke, Pepsi and all the brands that wish they were)."

As author, Nena Baker continues to point out in her article titled "Why I'll Swig from My Sigg No More," she "learned how stacks of peer-reviewed studies plausibly link BPA to infertility, prostate and breast cancers, a decline in semen quality, Type 2 diabetes, obesity and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. And [she] saw chemical manufacturers using tricks straight out of Big Tobacco's playbook in an attempt to downplay the hazards of BPA."

You can read the full Sigg CEO letter here, that state "To be clear, all SIGG bottles made since August 2008 contain our new BPA free EcoCare liner. SIGG bottles manufactured prior to August 2008 have the former water‐based epoxy liner which contains trace amounts of BPA. These bottles have been thoroughly tested and showed 0% leaching of BPA."

Regardless, I think Sigg is in serious hot water. And I must admit, I for one, am glad I do not own one! I have a metal water bottle I picked up in Paris at Au Vieux Campeur before my trip to India last year. I'm not carrying it with me at the moment, so I don't recall the brand, but I do recall checking to see it was BPA-free. Anyway, I'd been considering buying a smaller one to carry around. Loved the designs of Sigg, and I can honestly say now... No thank you. Talk about serious greenwashing, in fact, more like plain out consumer-lying!

So I just thought I'd pass along this email forward from my friend Simon, "How Can [You] Tell When A Product Is Being Greenwashed?" Thanks, Simon. And thank you, Leiko for posting this original Advertising Age article, "Marketing News: Sigg Does Damage Control" that lead me to investigate all this further.

Tell me... Do you own a Sigg bottle? Are you concerned? Would you mail it in for a new one, OR consider switching to Klean Kanteen? They may not have designy patterns... But they have beautiful bright colours to choose from!

Okay, all this water bottle talk is so serious... I know many of you already follow DesignerJots' blog, but if you don't, and/or didn't know, she's hosting a cross-blog giveaway (two giveaways!) check it out here... You can win a signed copy of Illustrator Claudia Pearson's "Tribal Alphabet" and/or DesignerJots' newest jumbo journal designs!

That's all the news from Ecojot headquarters... I have to pack up some little ecoWorkbooks for Spencertown Academy Arts Center's Fourth Annual FESTIVAL OF BOOKS! It's a great event that will "explore the relationship of books and readers in the digital age with twenty outstanding guest authors including Francine Prose, Mary Gaitskill, Lynne Sharon Schwartz, poet Sharon Olds, and many others."

The even starts this Friday, but since it was a last minute request, they'll be getting the ecoWorkbooks next week =) If you live in and around Columbia County in Upstate New York be sure to check the event out!

xo,

ej