Sustainability and innovation honored at New York gift show

The New York International Gift Fair held from January 29 to February 3 honored three companies with the Eco Choice awards for exhibiting innovative and environmentally responsible home and garden products.

The Eco Choice awards were jointly sponsored by the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) and specialist magazine GREENRetailer. Awards were presented to three companies across the categories of Most innovative, Most sensitive use of materials and, since it's an industry event, Most sellable. Retailers visiting the event voted for their favorite design from around 200 green products in the Design for a Better World display at the event.

The winning products in the Winter Eco-Choice awards announced February 4 were:

Most Innovative:
Growbottle Upcycled HydroGarden by Potting Shed Creations -
Created from repurposed restaurant wine bottles, the Growbottle is designed to be used indefinitely with re-planting kits.  The product grows plants quickly, using the hydro-garden method - that is growing plants using mineral nutrients in water without the need for soil.  Growbottles retail online from Potting Shed Creations for $35. International shipping is available.

Most sensitive use of materials:
Teatulia Premium 100% Organic Teas by Teatulia
All teas from Teatulia are certified by the United States Department of Agriculture as USDA 100% organic and both the packaging and the tea bags themselves are bio-degradable. According to the company Teatulia products are available across the United States and Canada - the nearest retailer can be located via the company's website. International customers can also purchase the Teatulia teas via their website but extra shipping costs do apply.

Most sellable:
Galison Green Bon Voyage Writer's Notebook by Galison Books
Made of 100 percent recycled paper and fully recyclable, a set of three Bon Voyage Writer's Notebooks   retail for $11.00 online at www.galison.com. The website primarily ships to addresses within the United States, however shipping to Canada is also available but at an extra cost. International customers are unable to purchase the item directly from the company's site but can find other Galison products on Amazon.com and its regional subsidiaries.

The NYIGF is open to trade professionals only and attracts around 35,000 visitors from around the world each year; more information can be found at: www.nyigf.com. The twice-yearly NYIGF is next scheduled for August 13-18. Other innovative household products will be exhibited at the International Home and Housewares Show March 6-8 in Chicago and at the Hong Kong Houseware fair from April 20-23.