1st Annual Eco-Choice Awards

by Poornima Apte

GREEN Awards

Winners of the first-ever Eco-Choice Awards were selected by retailers at the August 2009 New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®), with top honors bestowed to "green" gift and home products in three categories: Most Innovative, Most Sensitive Use of Materials and Most Sellable. The winners are outlined in the pages that follow.

The awards, which are co-sponsored by GREENRetailer magazine and NYIGF, recognize the industry's most innovative, environmentally-responsible products. More than 175 "green" products in NYIGF's SustainAbility: design for a better world® display were considered by retailers, and winners were selected for inventiveness, newness, aesthetics and functionality.

"NYIGF's SustainAbility display exists to showcase the industry's best examples of 'green' product design," said Dorothy Belshaw, NYIGF director and GLM senior vice president. "We're taking it a step further by asking retailers to identify those products which they find particularly compelling."

"GREENRetailer magazine's core mission is to help raise awareness of eco-friendly business practices in the gift and home furnishings industry," said Patricia Norins, publisher. "The Eco-Choice Awards recognize companies who are already leading by example."

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