FULLERTON, Calif. (Sept. 17, 2007) â€" Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC) today launched Eco Treadsetters (www.ecotreadsetters.com), an online environmental social network that offers daily green news and forums, “how to” guides for protecting the planet, exclusive interviews with musicians as well as weekly prizes and a grand prize eco trip to Costa Rica.

“This is a content-rich site that doubles as a ‘MySpace-like’ social network,” says Fred Koplin, YTC director of marketing communications. “We even sent a video crew to Bumbershoot, Seattle’s Labor Day weekend music and arts festival, to talk to environmentally-conscious musicians. We’ve got some amazing footage. 

“Our goal is to create an entertaining, newsy, socially relevant site. A perfect example is that we’re going to be receiving regular online reports from four recent college grads making a 40,000-mile road trip from Southern California to the tip of South America, all created to promote green living and a sustainable lifestyle.” 

Yokohama Rubber Company (YRC), YTC’s parent company, recently issued an environmental mandate, known as Grand Design 100, to coincide with the organization’s 100th anniversary in 2017. The plan, available at ecotreadsetters.com, outlines how Yokohama will reduce the environmental impact made by every one of its products, including passenger, commercial and aircraft tires as well as adhesives, sealants and golf accessories.
For the initial eight weeks that the site is live, visitors who create a personal profile are eligible to win a weekly prize â€" a gift certificate from Patagonia and iTunes. Members are also invited to submit videos, photos and written descriptions pertaining to eco-friendly projects they have initiated. The grand prize winner, to be selected in late November, will receive an eco-trip for two to Costa Rica, including lodging at the Lapa Rios Rainforest Lodge and a VIP tour of the Corcovado National Park.
Eco Treadsetters is only one small piece of the environmental puzzle,” says YRC President Tadanobu Nagumo. “The key is…if all of us work together globally, we can assure that the earth will forever remain the blue planet.”

Yokohama Tire Corporation is the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., a global producer and distributor of premium tires since 1917. Servicing a network of more than 4,500 points of sale in the U.S., Yokohama Tire Corporation offers a complete line of tires, including high-performance, light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus, as well as off-the-road mining and construction applications. For more information on Yokohama’s extensive product line, visit www.yokohamatire.com.