Eco-Friendly Gifts ~ Why Customization Helps Boost Your Green Factor ~ Zazzle ~ Pamper The Earth Collection 2012

How many gifts does your family purchase each year? Between birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduations, special occasions and the holidays, the number is actually astounding.  Certainly more than a hundred gifts each year, and, perhaps in hundreds!




Of those gifts you select, how many times are you challenged to find the right gift.  Are you left frustrated, resorting to gift cards or feeling that the odds of your gift being returned are great?  Even worse, are you worried your gifts will be appreciated for the thought but left unused?

What happens to all these not-quite-right gifts?  Best case scenario, they are exchanged or donated, however many may simply add to an already overwhelmed source of discarded items, only to be replaced with the right item.

Even beyond purchased gifts, how many times have you purchased an item that was close to what you really wanted, but not quite what you were looking for.  Perhaps the store was out of stock on the color you had hoped to find or the design you had in mind was unavailable.  Although we will often purchase something that is not quite right, even for ourselves, more often than not, at some point in the future, we'll find the right item and purchase that as well.

Finally, get exactly what you want.

Excited to discover Zazzle, a site that offers seemingly every customizable gift under the sun, this Mom couldn't help but to explore!

What's Zazzle really all about? Describing our company is hard, so - we cheated - and made you a video instead! The punch line: we believe in a future where you can finally get exactly what you want... and make anything your own. The best part? Customization helps make our planet a cleaner place. It enables local manufacturing to thrive, which lessens shipping pollution and reduces landfills – both rampant problems in the prevailing economy of mass production overseas. Join our community of millions and help make this future possible. And, stay tuned… we may surprise you ;-)

I'll admit,  typically when I think of customizable products, the first words that come to mind are not quality, selection or even desirable.   Zazzle quickly changed my mindset!  Rather than an eclectic collections of pens, plastic mugs and frizbees of questionable quality, I discovered a tremendous selection of desirable gift and personal items that spoke loudly of careful selection for inclusion, as well as quality.

Stylish Pet Bowls
Home & Pet Department

With an easy to navigate site and specific category departments, brimming with all manner of customizable products, this Mom would be challenged to not find an ideal gift for any recipient or for any gift giving occasion!

                   Paul Cézanne - Annecy Lake Print

Gorgeous reproduction art prints
from Art Nouveau to Post Impressionism to Ukiyo-e

My Take ~ 
Having been given an opportunity to personally explore the quality of items offered by Zazzle, again, this Mom was pleasantly surprised.  With the spring sports seasons upon us, every member of the family needs a refillable water bottle at the ready.  The selection of recycled aluminum refillable bottle designs from Zazzle was simply astounding.

Recycled Aluminum, Recycle Design Water Bottle
Available in 13 background colors and two sizes

My son loved selecting from the hundreds of eco design water bottles.  Being able to select his favorite background color was an added bonus.  Created "fresh", exactly to his specifications, as opposed to being pulled from stock, the bottle arrived in about two weeks time.  Fairly quickly, all things considered.  The quality certainly met our expectations for a bottle described as "rugged".  The sturdy design assures this Mom that this bottle can withstand the riggers of 11 yr old use.  100% BPA free and dishwasher safe, I'm happy to know this bottle will be carefully guarded by my son and not forgotten in his daily travels.

Stainless Steel Travel Mug in Leopard
Perfect for the Teen Diva

Now that the Teen Diva is driving, she's always on the go.  Between school, lacrosse practice and games and even her part time job, this Mom isn't surprised that she loves to have a cup of her creamy coffee delight on hand.  She was absolutely tickled to find a mug to match the leopard print theme inside her car!  (Oh, yes...it's all diva-fied!)  She happily reports that it is both easy to drink from and does an excellent job of maintaining both hot and cold beverages at their desired temperatures.  This item arrived within days and this Mom is happy to note, despite a thorough testing period, the much admired leopard design is showing no signs of wear!

Explore Zazzle ~ 
With both Mother's Day and Father's Day fast approaching, I highly recommend a visit to Zazzle to explore the wide selection of gifts you can personalize.  Make this year's gift an eco-friendly choice and something you'll be confident that they'll love!  Take advantage of a special FREE SHIPPING offer for Mother's Day with code FREESHIPFORU. Special restrictions apply.

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I received Zazzle products to explore for the purposes of creating this feature.  The opinions above are both honest and of my own experience.  Some information and images sourced from various Zazzle sites.  Gift Image FreeDigitalPhotos.net.