BlogHer - How your BlogHer Shwag got recycled by Zwaggle - Comments

Hey Zwaggle -- Thanks for

greenlagirl — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:41:33 -0500

Hey Zwaggle -- Thanks for helping US out! Me thinks you should market yr services to SXSW! :)

I agree--this was SO cool! Thanks Zwaggle

Jory Des Jardins — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:46:17 -0500

I was amazed at how much was amassed in that room. And I loved that Zwaggle made swag availble to people who, say, wanted ANOTHER Michelin tire gauge or item. It's all about choice, the choice to take something, or two of something, if desired,

Jory Des Jardins
BlogHer
Personal Blog Pause

Great Idea

Stimey — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:32:54 -0500

I was thrilled to use this room. I hated the thought of throwing things away when they would be a perfectly good item for someone else. It's great to hear how the leftovers are being taken care of.

Thanks

Zwaggle — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:21:59 -0500

Thanks for the post Siel and thanks for everyone who came by the recycling room to help reduce the waste from the conference or to just say hi. It was great meeting everyone.

Zwaggle Blogging Team

Awesome!

debontherocks — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:10:53 -0500

Fantastic green innovation.

As a marketer I have been in the unenviable position of designing and purchasing swag for different purposes, and I think your vendors are lucky to get feedback from the room--what bloggers kept, and what they recycled is useful information.

That said, I'm intrigued about people who gave away a free panty coupon. Are they very particular about their panties? Or perhaps they run commando? Chicks who blog are complicated!

Deb

www.debontherocks.com

blog

http://www.3smartgirlz.com

consulting

Thanks, BlogHer and Zwaggle!

whymommy — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:51:50 -0500

The recycling room was a FANTASTIC idea, and lots of fun too!

http://toddlerplanet.wordpress.com & http://motherswithcancer.com

I'm glad to know this

Virginia DeBolt — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 07:05:29 -0500

because I was wondering about it. Sounds like they did a great job finding ways to make use of everything.

When I go to SXSW Interactive, I see great piles of discarded magazines, newspapers, and fliers that people dump out of the schwag bag almost as soon as they receive it.

The recycling room was a great idea.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer Technology Contributing Editor
Web Teacher
First 50 Words

How your BlogHer Shwag got recycled by Zwaggle

greenlagirl — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 00:56:08 -0500

If you were at the BlogHer conference, you know about Zwaggle, a site for parents who want to trade kids’ stuff -- because Zwaggle ran the recycling room for unwanted shwag at the BlogHer Conference last week. At that time, Zwaggle wasn't quite sure how they were going to recycle all the items, especially since the company didn't know what shwag people would be getting.

Post-conference, Adam of Zwaggle sent me an update. It looks like the recycling efforts were a huge success! If you've been curious about what happened to those trial DVDs and magic 8-balls, here's your answer:

>> A few items -- including the Quickbooks and Raggs DVDs, free panty offers, and CFL bulb recycling kids -- went back to the sponsors.

>> The Magic 8-balls, Boca burger magnets, T-shirts, and some DVDs were donated to Create Now, an LA nonprofit providing creative arts mentoring to kids. The shwag'll mainly be given out as prizes at talent shows or put in gift bags.

>> Must of the rest -- including magazines, fliers, and water bottles -- were recycled.

What remains, according to Adam, is just a "4 lb box of random one-offs (lotion, pens, small block, stickers)" that he's still trying to find homes for. This reduction's a grand feat, since the recycling room was very popular with Blogher conference attendees. I guess a lot of people really hate seeing all the shwag go to waste at other conferences!

Writes Amy Lenzo of Beauty Dialogues about the recycling room: "To me, this is a very good sign, and I'd love to see the practice adopted in all conferences." Stimey of The Junk Pyramid too loved how the recycling room helped her de-junk. Others, like Ariel of Inside Voice vowed to de-shwag further in the future: "Next time I'll be more judicious about what exactly I take home. Until then, anyone want a DVD of The Closer?"

All of this has me thinking about last year -- and how much more we can reduce the amount of plasticky trash generated at BlogHer. This year's greening efforts were a tremendous improvement over previous years, but many attendees still were bothered by all the one-use plastic containers and other items used and tossed at the conference.

Got a suggestion about how we could make BlogHer Conferences even greener? Comment or email me at greenlagirl@gmail.com with your ideas, and I'll compile them into an action plan of sorts as well as send on the suggestions to the organizers.
____

BlogHer Contributing Editor Siel also blogs at greenLAgirl.com.