Green is the new black. What you can do to make your fairgrounds a little greener.

by Steve Trash
 
Lets face it.   Everyone is going green these days.  From
corporate boardrooms to TV bedrooms everyone seems to
be seeing environmental green.  So what can we do to show
we – as fair producers, promoters, entertainers, venders, et
al – are also in the game and doing our part to protect the
planet? 
 
Being green seems to be really complicated, but basically it
boils down to this… look at what we TAKING, what are we
MAKING, and what are we WASTING.  Ask these questions
and you’re well on the road to making a good green choice.  
 
Here are a few specific ways to green your fairgrounds
without a lot of extra work. 
 
•  The most innovative green thing I’ve found this year are
paperless text message promotions.  In effect, the
promotion/contest takes place on your fairgoers cell phone
through text messaging.  You save trees, energy, and time, 
by not printing the promotion or contest on paper.  And best
of all,  because your fairgoer has opted in… to get these text
messages…you get better participation in contests and build
more on site excitement at your fair.  Chris Watland or Jeff
Judge at InteractiveMediums www.interactivemediums.com 
seem to have the edge on text message campaigns on
fairgrounds this year, give them a call and build a green
successful mobile marketing campaign.  Have your green
people text my green people.
 
 
•  Recycling is just imitating what Mother Nature is already
doing.  Air, Water, Earth are all just recycled over and over
and over again.  Buying stuff made of recycled materials is
smart and can be pretty fun.   IAFE member Christopher
George at Highland Products Group
www.highlandproductsgroup.com offers very durable and
attractive picnic tables and benches made of recycled
materials. Made from a high-performance recycled plastic
wood lumber substitute, these tables and chairs are
unaffected by sun, rain, snow, mildew, saltwater, and even
chlorine. The high-density recycled plastic has molded-in
permanent solid color.  No need for painting.  They are
terrific for fairgrounds. Many other cool recycled products are
available. 
 
•  Another IAFE member Art Rogers at Berk Paper & Supply
www.berkpaper.com assures me they offer a complete line
of green supplies for concessions. 
 
• Linc Darrow at Southern Bleacher Company in Graham,
Texas told me that all the Bleachers he sells
www.southernbleacher.com have a great deal of  recycled
aluminum in them.   Over the years our aluminum recycling
has become so excellent that it’s now cheaper for bleachers
and stands to be made out of recycled aluminum than it is to
buy virgin aluminum – which is made from raw bauxite ore. 
See we are winning the green thing!
 
 
•  PolyJohn  www.polyjohn.com   sells portable sanitation
equipment, including sanitation stations for the public to
wash up on fairgrounds.  Lets say your fairgoer has just
visited a livestock/animal area or they just couldn’t control
that huge Corny Dog that’s now all over their hands.  They
need to get those hands clean... pronto!  The SaniStand with
Antiseptic Foam kills 99% of germs on hands, including E.
coli and salmonella.  The cool thing it requires NO WATER. 
That’s right.  You’re actually conserving natural resources…
specifically water… because you don’t need it.  Wash your
hands thoroughly at the sanitation station and you’re good to
go.  And I think some of the units are even made with
recycled material.  
 
•  TreeCycle sells a really awesome variety of green
products.  They range from recycled paper napkins – with
100% post consumer waste, to green cleaning supplies, to
really cool biodegradeable plates and forks made of
potatoes.  The biodegradable spudware utensils are
excellent for hot items like soup. They have the look and feel
of plastic, but outperform plastic in boiling and microwave
testing and are completely biodegradeable and of course a
renewable resource… just grow some more taters. 
www.Treecycle.com. 
 
•  Printing.  Jakprints is one of the most excellent green
printers I’ve ever met.  They use soy/vegetable based inks
on their stickers and posters, , and they have an entire line
of organic & bamboo t-shirts. I’ve seen their work and it’s
really quality stuff.  I’m not kidding… this is not your hippy
dippy 70’s VW van stuff… it’s hot looking and excellent
quality.  You don’t have to create a sub-standard product to
be green.  Check em out. www.jakprints.com.  Tell ‘em
Steve sent you.
 
 
So there it is.  A few relatively painless ways you can make
your fairgrounds just a little greener.   Oh yeah, be sure to
tell your fairgoers what you’re doing to be green.  Let them
know that you’re using soybased inks on those programs, or
recycled plastic in those benches, or potatoes in that terrific
coffee cup, or text messaging to keep it tree free.  They will
love you for it. Way to go!
 
By the way, Mother Nature sends her best and she says,
“thanks.”
 
Steve Trash www.stevetrsh.com  is an eco-entertainer and
green magician.  He blogs about green stuff at
http://stevetrashrockinecohero.blogspot.com  He’s excellently
represented on the fair market by Dean Short Talent
Agency.