It took discovering the Halloween candy on sale in our local supermarket on the hottest day of August for me to realize that that the winter holidays are rapidly approaching and I’d better get cracking on this year’s Green Gift Guide. For those of you not familiar with our annual Guide, it’s a project I started a few years ago to help tech-savvy folks find gifts, gadgets, toys, and essentials for daily living that use technology to improve our quality of life without trashing the planet in the process.
This year, I’m hoping you’ll help me shine the spotlight on the companies who are starting to change the way we make and use technology.
Although I’m a certified sandal-wearing tree-hugger, it doesn’t mean that I don’t like my toys so I’ve tended to bias the Guide entries towards things like electric bicycles, green computers and peripherals, or solar-powered products that I wanted to find in my own Chanukwanzamas (Since we’re an Afro-Judeo-Episcopalian family, we celebrate Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa here.) stocking: see our 2006 Guide to see what I mean. That’s changed a bit this year as we’ve opened up the process and are inviting you help add items to our green wish list.
If you’ve found a product that’s so cool you feel it deserves a place under the eco-conscious consumer holiday tree, we’d welcome a chance to post your review in our 2007 guide. Writing a short review of your favorite green tech toy is easy to do -- here are the basic ground rules:
The products you write about should be exceptionally fun, useful, or otherwise interesting as well as have environmentally-positive features. This can include use of green power or energy-efficient operation, reducing or eliminating consumption of natural resources, or being produced using eco-friendly practices. We’ll be accepting your entries from now until Friday, November 9, 2007.
When you submit a candidate product, please include the following:
- Product name, model, and brief description
- A short list of important features and specifications
- A list of eco-features with as much detail as possible
- A review of the product, including what you like and dislike, as well as anything you find especially interesting about it, or the way it was made. Length can range from 25 to around 250 words, depending on how much there is to say and your writing skills
- Pricing and availability
- A URL where your fellow readers can get more information and perhaps even order the product
If you can, please supply a photo or two of your favorite product to publish with your review. Photos should be in the web-friendly JPEG format.
Finally, please let us know if you want us to include your name and home town in the review, or if you’d prefer to remain anonymous
There are already a couple of really exciting green goodies on my holiday list, including the worlds’ first production electric motocross motorcycle, but it’s almost certain that the best stuff for this year’s Guide will come from you.
Feel free to send your reviews, comments, questions, or visions of digital sugarplums dancing in your head to me at lhg at en-genius.net. I’d also love to kick around any ideas you have for green gifts on the EN-Genius Blog - just click below to add your spontaneous two cents.
