It's Bob Marley's 67th birthday next Tuesday [Monday — excuse our typo], and we're celebrating the life of the late and legendary reggae pioneer and social crusader by giving away a pair of headphones by the company (run by Marley's son Rohan) that's carrying on his legacy with a line of environmentally friendly listening products that we first looked at during our celebrity headphone shootout. We were excited about the sound of the Exodus then, and more recently the top-of-the-line TTR has impressed our reviewers.
Courtesy of the House of Marley, we're giving away a pair of Positive Vibration headphones (we'll be reviewing them soon, by the way, so look out for more). The nice folks at HoM will also be throwing in a T-Shirt and some other goodies for our lucky winner.
To qualify to win, as in our previous contests, all you need to do is leave us a comment below. The question you'll need to address: big consumer electronics firms have come under fire lately for alleged ethical and environmental lapses in bringing us the gadgets and gear we love. House of Marley has expressed a commitment to use recycled products in its supply chain, and to make it's own products sustainable, renewable, and recyclable; it also donates a percentage of its earnings to charity. Is it important to you that the firms that make your gadgets make those gadgets green or in an ethically responsible fashion? Or should they just focus on bringing us the biggest bang for the buck? Or maybe — depending on your economic beliefs — you feel that regardless of a few glitches along the way, in the long run they are doing the right thing by bringing us the best bang for the buck? Share your thoughts, and qualify to win.
We're not grading you on your political or moral position here — the winner will be chosen randomly from among those who leave on-topic comments below, so don't be afraid to speak your mind. You will have to register, however — no anonymous commenters, we need a valid e-mail contact address to inform you of your win. We'll take entries until midnight (Eastern Time), on [the day after] Bob's birthday (that's next Tuesday, February 7), and notify the winner via e-mail on Wednesday, February 7th. We'll then get in touch with the winner to get important details (like name, address, and T-Shirt size); HoM will then ship the headphones and prize package directly to the winner.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: We made a typographic error when we put this up, so we'll stick to the initial time period and end the contest on midnight the day AFTER Bob's birthday (His birthday is MONDAY the 6th — but we'll accept entries through midnight on Tuesday the 7th as originally stated.
Providing a good product at a fair price is always one of my highest requirements when selecting a product. A companies ethicla and environmental policies are also high but I tend to not to research the company for these policies prior to a purchase. If I am aware of an issue, I will take that into consideration.
I am hoping that bob marley's son would not endorse unless he felt really strongly about them
It's great to see a small company put out a great product! Can't wait to hear them.
It's great to see a small company put out such a high quality product. I can't wait to hear them.
I'll bet they sound great. Glad to know they're using recyclable materials too.
I'd love to listen to Marley on my Marleys!
The environmentalist attitude of a company is a great plus, though not critical at the moment of purchasing a product.
It'd certainly be nice if that attitude was widespread in all major companies.
The "dorms" where the people who make most of the gear is atrocious, coupled with the long hours that they have to work, makes you want to but thing made in the USA.
As long as consumers pay ridiculously high prices for a product the whole industry will follow and price there products out of reach for the everyday audiophile.
It's important that different firms bring different goods, but I think that the important thing is to remember than PEOPLE make these products for our consumption, and I think it's worth paying more to get recycled materials, and especially to ensure that products that we purchase are produced in an ethical manner. Vote for the kinds of products you want with what you buy.
Anytime we can create something through recyling is a win win for everyone
It is important to me that a company commits to ethical manufacturing standards.
Yes, we can have both great music reproduction/listening, and an environment that can sustain this pleasure-if, and only if, both the product producers, and the end users are determined this WILL happen. So Listen up; please, make it happen-for the good of all.
Great prize! Enter me to win.
I think its a good thing.
Hey, my birthday is February 6 also, so I should win!
I personally won't seek out green electronic products to purchase... I just want the best I can buy for my money. HOWEVER, I am very concious about how I recycle my electronics and I think there should be good oversight on this. Many have been collected and shipped to poor countries to have destitute peoples strip the precious metals and parts under unsafe conditions. BAD.
I think going green is important and if I have a choice, that's where my money will go. That being said, the quality needs to be there, too!
There are two separate items regarding House of Marley's policies:
1. Their donation of a percentage of profits to charities
This is commendable and a contribution to society - it proves that they are in business with the awareness to give something back to society. Just the way Bob himself would have wanted it!
2. The use of recycled materials
Being a green aware company is great, if the resulting products are not a trade-off for quality and performance. If both design criteria can be met, then kudos to the company, but at the end of the day in my particular case it would not tilt the balance towards which product I would chose for a specific application our use. It's great that companies are "green aware", but consumers in my opinion have the bulk of the responsibility of what they do when they receive and dispose of the equipment.
a) Receive: consumers should recycle right away all boxes, documents, and other items that they won't be using.
b) Dispose: consumers should make a conscious effort to either donate the equipment to a reputable institution, or to take it to a recycling center that will dispose of the components properly. The reality is that in consumer electronics (and the sound and vision gear we love), there many electronic components and other materials that make up the gear that are tough to impossible to design as 100% green, so disposing it properly it's the big difference maker.
In...
I'm all for going as green as possible while keeping the price reasonable. Would love a pair of these. Never have seen them before.
Thanks
I believe that manufacturers using envorinmentally friendly packaging and materials is a win-win for society - Obviously , the less unnecessary packaging included with a product means less material finding its way to landfills, while reducing the cost of packaging reduces costs for both manufacturer and consumer. Having the finished product made of environmentally friendly products will also be of positive effect in the long run.
On a more personal note, I fondly remember my youth in Jamaica ,particular while enroute to school in Kingston when we'd pass or be passed by a brown Volkswagen bus with lots of little dreadlocks on board en route to St. George's etc -yup you guessed it, the Marleys ....
Babylon by Bus indeed,heheheh
I believe that the use of recycled and recyclable materials is a win-win for both manufacturers and consumers. The less packaging material included with products means less material delivered to landfils, and of course reduces the cost to both manufacturer and consumer. The use of more easily renewed material and otherwise recyclable material in the manufacturing process is also of long term benefit.
On a more personal note, I fondly remember my youth in Kingston, Jamaica, being enroute to school and frequently viewing a brown Volkswagen bus with lots of little dreadlocks also enroute to school - yup you guessed it, the Marleys.
Babylon by Bus indeed,heheheheheh
I vote for the biggest bang for the buck.
It is very possible to go green with any quality consumerelectronic products; in fact, with flat panel monitors using far less power than in the past and quality getting better in almost every technical respect, including these headphones, the consumer electronics industry can only benefit in a number of ways including tax benefits (which allow for more R&D to make potentially better and greener tek products) and so on.
It also represents empowering consumers to go green by just buying these products.
Nice headphones. The more we support green products the more "change" we will encounter on this planet.
Nice headphones. The more we support green products the more "change" we will encounter on this planet.
Nice headphones. The more we support green products the more "change" we will encounter on this planet.
Nice headphones. The more we support green products the more "change" we will encounter on this planet.
Nice headphones. The more we support green products the more "change" we will encounter on this planet.
I believe a company should be ethical, but not neccessarly green. I do believe too many companies are throwing the green card out there to get the liberal purchase.
I would like to win these.Very nice!
How can we say that there is no God
I need help reading the test
House of Marley is an excellent environmental headphone company. Not only do they sound good, but HOM are the leaders in the green world. thank you so much for being the innovators of these headphones. They look amazing and please keep up the good work in the way you donate to charities. You guys are truely the best.
I can use a new pair of headphones!
Yes, indeed we all have a responsibility to ourselves, communities and world around us. We cannot however, in a free and capitalist society mandate specific 'ethical or environmental' policies on businesses. Within the free and fair market society we can vote with our dollars to do business with those that act and espouse our beliefs and principals. Businesses have a singular responsibility within this context - their balance sheets, period. They cannot compete for our dollars otherwise.
Speaking of ethical, I will utilize this space and opportunity to draw attention to what I believe is immoral, unethical practice at the big box electronics store in which the staff wear blue shirts. I was looking for a interconnect cable for my A/V system recently. Whether the sales personnel are mis-informed or are trained to up-sell the expensive fancy packaged cables is immaterial. The sales person either lied or misinformed me so as to sell me the more expensive cable. His explanation was that my Plasma display was capable of receiving it's video signal at up to 600 MHz and as such their 'standard' HDMI could not carry the signal at that rate, which is why I should spend 3 times as much for the other cable. I continued to question the sales representative to ascertain the level of his competence/ expertise. My opinion is that he's being trained in this manner and doesn't know what the 'truth' is.
Thank you for the opportunity to win gorgeous of Marley headphones!
The greener the better. I'm all for companies who can produce quality products that are also environmentally friendly, but more often than not I'm going to buy a product based on its performance and not on it's environmental footprint. Companies need to take a proactive stance to be as environmentally conscious as possible while still producing quality products for us consumers.
Obligatory "I hope I win" comment. ;)
Great giveaway. Always looking forgood sounding, eco-friendly products. Unfortunately, your dates are wrong. Tuesday is the 7th, not the 6th. I still.looking forward to the contest.
It's absolutely important for a company/corporation to set an example to consumers and other businesses to manufacture goods from as much recycled material as possible. They have the means and capabilities to start the campaign to save the planet. We as consumers, would much rather purchase (or win!!!) something that we can be proud to use knowing it came from a company that cares about the preservation of our earth. If a company cares about our earth, then it also cares about the people it caters to.
chichijunk at cs dot com
The harder they wear the better they'll sound!!!
When possible, I think that companies should use green substitutes in there products. I also agree with some above commenters that te ethical treatment of workers in the supply chain is important... I would rather see a company pour money back into the supply chain than donate to charity.
Beautiful look. Hope the winner enjoys!
Nothing wrong with makling a fair profit and as long as Green is really Green it's the way to go! Have to leave things better for the kids!
As long the products are similar in quality and price I will choose the greener!
If believe that is crucial that all manufacturers take the initiative were appropriate and financially reasonable to ensure that their product is Eco-friendly. However, for companies to take these actions they must be motivated by their consumer base to do so; ultimately, it resides with the consumer to use the power of their purchases to dictate this action.
I think that with great power comes great responsibility. If you decided to be a multi-million dollar conglomerate, there needs to be a certain code of ethics that you follow. In this economy, if you are lucky enough to be turning a profit, you should at least be responsible about it. I think every company, not just electronic manufacturers, needs to make environmentally sound decisions. That being said, who would know if you didn't? I purchase electronics all of the time, but at the point of sale , never stop to think about the ethics of the company that produced it. However, if i was aware of an especially responsible manufacturer, I would opt to purchase from them.
Nice! I hope to win a pair
Bob is greatly missed....but he lives on still to this day in his songs. I wanted to post an educated comment, and not ever having a chance to actually listen to these headphones, I tried to at least learn more about the company, which I did. I applaud their commitments. I am a HUGE fan of Headphones, and it is a fact that the market is flooded with 'signature' headphones, and I do not know when ANY of the House of Marley Cans started being produced, (THAT is one piece of info that I could not find, and I thought that was a bit unusual), but actually, that does not matter if they're product quality stands up to it's advertising. That being said, being Green is very 'PC', as it should be....but I'm sorry to say that it is my belief that these days, the almighty dollar is what comes first and formost with most companies.
Many companies put profit first. It is commendable that the Marley family puts quality and environmentalism as a part of it's marketing.
Bringing latest bang for my dollar is important, but NOT at the cost of lives. Every manufacturer must make sure that conditions are safe and humane with a wage that is commensurately livable for the country that they live in.