I stopped by yesterday for a few hours at the now annual Eco Gift Expo in Santa Monica, CA.

And to my surprise, I actually enjoyed it: the intimacy that such a small venue lends itself to, the easy and local commute (carpooled with my significant other), the laid-back atmosophere and other factors contributed to an enjoyable afternoon. I felt the Eco Gift Expo was more in line with its advertised values too, whereas the Green Festival seems to have become or simply is, trying to sell itself as something more than it really is, in my opinion (see my previous mention about this regarding the SF Green Fest).

I think the future of sustainable products is better suited for this more modest-sized event for both the consumers benefit and the environments, since smaller venues means fewer people and cars, less emissions, etc.

If local grown foods and locally made products are some of the key components in changing our current energy habits and subsequent emissions, then shouldn’t events not adopt a similar principle too? I think so and can envision a time of interconnected, regional events throughout the country (if not world).

Anyway, to sum up my thoughts on this particular event…there was a modest but busy and interested crowd both shopping (it was afterall a gift-themed event ) and researching green tips, trends and such. There was a fairly decent mix of interests represented including books, music, photography, lots of clothing, fabric (including some really nice bamboo towels), jewelry, food, tea’s and other drinks, some great innovative ideas making use of recycled bike and tire tubes (as well as billboard materials) by Green Guru Gear, and much more; trash, recycling and compostable items all appeared to be well managed.

I’m sure this event will continue to grow in size but I hope for the sake of my argument above, that they find some way to moderate their growth. Perhaps a spin-off from this event focusing on another aspect of the green wave or maybe even repeating this one several more times a year?