Yesterday marked the one month mark until the official start of summer, June 21. The weather has been playing tricks on us for a few months, leading those in the Northeast to believe that summer has been here for a while. The only proof that is still spring is the unwavering bombardment of allergens. 

As a business owner or employee, now is the perfect time to start thinking about summer. Maybe you have a new product expected to come out in time for the summer or provide a service that sees a sales slump during the warmer months. Whatever it may be, businesses everywhere have a game plan for the summer months.

Worried? Don't be. It's simple to get ahead of everyone else. This week's spotlight item is three promotional products in one ready-to-gift giveaway. The custom imprinted Flyer, Visor, Sport Sipper Fun Kit provides a plastic visor, 9" flying disc and a large 32 oz. sport sipper bottle in a reusable mesh bag. Each of these items are made of recycled material and can be recycled if needed.

This product is great for handing out at the beach, at parks, boardwalks and other fun places outdoors. You can choose the color for each item to coordinate with the colors of an awareness event or your corporate logo. Motivators has the item on sale now and provides quick 3-day production. 

It starts out like your typical Coca-Cola TV spot. Young, attractive people socialize at the beach, taking swigs from that iconic red and white bottle. A pretty standard ad, alright -- that is, until the birds start dropping.

Confused? Watch the commercial below to see for yourself:

The video is meant to highlight the impact of plastic on wildlife, particularly seabirds. In fact, it's reminiscent of "Midway," a documentary by Chris Jordan which explores the effect of plastic on birds in the Pacific. 

According to The Age, the Australian advertisement was added to YouTube on May 5 and has already received nearly 1 million views.

I love that the awareness-building video is getting the attention it deserves. And while its message seems to be somewhat misdirected (Coca-Cola certainly isn't the only company that packages its products in plastic), it's important for people to learn and understand.

What do you think? Is Coke being unfairly targeted in Greenpeace's pro-recycling video?

For my work at Motivators, I go through a lot of office supplies. I use notebooks constantly to take notes in meetings and leave reminders of what I need to do later in the day. As a result, my pens and highlighters dry up very quickly. 

That's where the Oasis Recycled Bottle Stubby Highlighter comes in. Aside from having a unique shape and a large imprint area (unlike other traditional highlighters) the highlighter is made of recycled PET. Additionally, the ink provided is a brilliant yellow, and is resistant to fading. Choose between the clear or translucent blue barrel and when it does eventually run out, you can feel easy knowing it can be tossed in a recycling bin.

So, you've got a great compost bin going, but you don't want to mess it up by adding toxic materials. Good call.

But you'll be happy to know that you can safely add these unusual products to your compost. Take a look at the list, courtesy of Green Diva Mom:

1. Hair

2. Cotton swabs

3. Vacuum cleaner leavings

4. Used paper towels

5. Toilet paper & paper towel rolls

6. Paper egg cartons

7. Fireplace ashes

8. Nail clippings

9. Corks

10. Dryer lint

11. Clean rags

Sounds great, right? Just be sure you don't add anything with potentially hazardous substances, as they "may introduce toxic chemicals into your compost."

New York has had some exceptional weather lately. With the exception of today, (flood warnings, rain, etc.) we've seen high temperatures in the mid 60's and even 80's just in the last week. The temperature is climbing and although unusually early to be seeing this trend, Tri-Staters couldn't be happier. 

So why would you consider getting a promotional giveaway that keeps people cooped up inside like a pen or business card holder?

Motivators has a custom imprinted Recycled Zing Ring that is perfect for young, hip companies to reach out to the young, hip audiences (and adults desiring a return to youthful freedom). Whether approaching people at the park, beach, music festival or at a street fair, this giveaway is sure to get people's attention.

The only thing cheap about this Zing Ring is its price. At a mere $0.69, (as of May 2013, price is subject to change) the flyer is USA Made/Union Made with 100% recyclable polypropylene. Add onto that a 3 day production offer, a lowest price guarantee and an imprint around the perimeter of the ring and you have a giveaway that is a no brainer.

Your clients will love how easy and worry-free this toy is. The flyer is FDA compliant for contact with food, molded from a dog-friendly co-polymer and is child safe. 

Read some of the Recycled Zing Ring reviews. Once you're ready, get your imprint ideas ready and give Motivators a call today. Then choose your flyer color(s) - eco-dark green, eco-navy blue, black or white. Either way, you'll be pleased with the results.

Summer's just around the corner, so now's the time to get that garden ready. I unfortunately do not have the greenest of thumbs (plants seem to come to my house to die), but luckily our friends at Housekeeping.org recently shared a comprehensive article on how to create a beautiful spring garden.

There are three steps to building a good-looking garden. They are:

1. Prepare the garden
2. Choose your plants
3. Maintain

Housekeeping.org's article actually provides seven resources for each phase, but today I'll go over one favorite from each.

Prepare the garden

I personally do not have a garden -- at least not one that can be salvaged. Everblossom.net's "Get Ready to Garden – 5 Tips for Spring" is particularly useful for people in the same boat as me.

Choose your plants 

Are you familiar with the names of flowers you can grow in your area? If I'm being honest, I haven't got a clue. That's why I'm referring to this list of early spring flowers on Squidoo. The detailed list even provides photos of each flower to help you find your favorites.

Maintain

I've never used fertilizer in my plants (maybe that's why they never make it?). This fantastic post from paulena32's blog explains how to feed your plants so they grow effectively.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but this one might leave you speechless.

A volunteer for WIRES, a New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service rescue operation, snapped this photo of a koala looking lonely and confused. The marsupial's home was recently destroyed by loggers in Australia.

"It is common for koalas to roam back to their home range afterwards and become confused to find nothing there," WIRES NSW general manager Leanne Taylor told The Daily Telegraph.

A worker witnessed the koala sitting on the pile of wood for over an hour.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the animal was taken to a local veterinarian before being released into a nearby koala colony.

It's not often that you come across an eco-friendly key chain. Motivators carries a few eco-friendly key chains but you've never seen any like this:

The custom imprinted Natural Wood Key Ring is a beautiful wooden key ring that looks like we went right into the woods and cut it from branches. (note: We didn't.) Truthfully, the key ring is eco-friendly and has a rustic design perfect for eco-friendly corporations and environmental marketing campaigns. Each piece of wood has a metallic key ring to house keys and attach to bags, backpacks or other key chains.

This product is on sale at Motivators and guarantees the lowest price. Act now before supplies run out and/or your campaign comes to an end.

Picnic-lovers, festival-goers and road-trippers, rejoice! There is a promotional product that will satisfy your musical tastes and save you time, money and eco-props by not using batteries. 

The custom imprinted Leeds Solar Power Speakers is the perfect eco-friendly way to listen to your music. The Solar Power Speaker system provides crisp, clean, competitive sound quality in a system far more portable and lighter than most battery-operated speakers. The speaker can be fully charged in direct sunlight in 9 hours or use USB technology to charge in just 2 hours. However you choose to charge this speaker system, you'll find that it'll last a long time.

This system can be used with a 3.5mm audio connector - your mp3 player, laptop, tablet, even your smartphone (iPhone, Blackberry, Android, etc.) can be connected to this speaker system instantly. With an included carrying pouch and instruction manual, this speaker system is ready for gifting and perfect for travelers.

Take advantage of discounts across the board and 3-5 day shipping opportunities today. 

With summer just a few months away, people are beginning to book all sorts of vacations, cruises included. But is cruising eco-friendly? And if so, how?

According to Iglu Cruise, many of the most popular cruise lines incorporate designs that take the environment into consideration. Let's look at a few examples:

Royal Caribbean does a few things to be more environmentally-friendly. The company recently spent $100 million to convert waste water treatment systems into advanced purification systems. Plus, it provides only biodegradable water bottles to passengers. Nice!

Another cruise line that does quite a bit to be eco-friendly is Disney. Used cooking oil is recycled and reused for machinery at Castaway Cay, a private island. The cruise company also provides environmental and education programs for guests and crew members.

Also worth mentioning are Celebrity Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Lines, both of which have made respectable changes as well.

Generally speaking, most cruises boast greener ship designs, improved energy conservation methods and improved recycling facilities.

Will you choose to cruise this summer?