Modern society has become accustomed to consuming without awareness, however, in the recent decade, environmental causes have come front and center of the global conversation. More and more brands are moving towards a more sustainable way of conducting business, that be with their product packaging or their product sourcing. In this article, we’ll suggest some of the most popular eco-friendly products you can offer promotional merch for events or special giveaways.

What Makes a Product Sustainable?

The sustainability of a product is not only defined by the capability for repeated use or recyclability, it’s also defined by the materials used to make the item and the source from which those materials were procured.

For a product to be sustainable, it must be possible to produce and/or consume it in a way that doesn’t result in harm or destruction. If the production of a product requires nonrenewable resources, damages the environment, or results in harm to individuals or society, it is unlikely to be considered sustainable.

Sustainable Processes vs. Actions

Through process and resource optimization, some companies choose vendors, materials, production methods, hiring options, and make other business decisions specifically because they lend themselves to sustainability. This often requires extensive due diligence and may result in higher initial production costs.

Companies may also strive to improve their sustainability through actions that are separate from the manufacture of their product or the delivery of their service.

Why choose an eco-friendly product?

Price - In many cases, eco-friendly items are no more expensive than their non-eco-friendly counterparts, so why not?
Branding - If you're trying to send a message to your customers that your company cares about the environment, this is a great way to reinforce that message.
Doing Good - When you give away items that can be reused (like the water bottles and totes below), you're helping to make a difference.

Swag Made From Renewable Materials

Natural materials that can replenish themselves after use are called renewable resources. To avoid company swag that is not eco-friendly, you should avoid buying merchandise made from plastic. Plastic is made of oil, coal, and gas, which are all non-renewable sources. It means that many types of very popular branded merch is not eco-friendly — plastic pens, water bottles, PopSockets, etc.

Read 5 Ways Plastic Harms The Environment

Cork - Is harvested from the bark of cork oak trees and can be re-harvested over and over again.

Bamboo - is a great alternative to plastic and is considered a highly sustainable material. Bamboo is grass and not a tree; it’s fast-growing and self-regenerates from its own roots. It doesn’t require large amounts of water, pesticides, or labor.

Felt - This is a biodegradable by-product of the textile industry. Its raw material is wool and it is renewable.

Upcycled Materials - This is the use of existing materials that would otherwise be discarded or used inefficiently. Such products use less energy and have a smaller environmental impact than products made from raw materials.

Read A Guide To The Most Eco-Friendly Materials

Packaging

In order to offer a fully eco-friendly product, ensuring that the packaging is recyclable materials. it’s a good idea to make sure the product you buy isn’t using an excessive amount of packaging, and the packaging it uses favors paper and cardboard over plastic or foam plastic.

Check Out Guide To Product Packaging and Labeling

Top Eco-Friendly Merch

As a brand, you may be looking into offering branded merch or promotional items with your logo for events or as gifts for clients. We’ll list the top best-selling eco-friendly merch for any occasion or brand.

Canvas Tote Bag

Tote bags are reusable and purposeful, a canvas material can be recycled but there are also other options such as hemp, which can also be printed on using the screen printing technique.

Reusable Metal Straw Kit

This is a popular product because metal straws take the place of plastic straws, which are made with the worst form of plastic: single-use plastic. Single-use plastics have a short lifespan and are usually used once before being disposed of.

Sustainable Fabric T-Shirts

Ethically made fabrics are becoming more widely available with brands such as The Classic T-Shirt Company which manufactures soft simple tees ethically manufactured in California that guarantee fair wages, reasonable hours, and excellent working conditions. The Good Tee is another brand whose B-Corp certification and fairtrade certification elevates the brand to the top popular eco-friendly apparel companies.

Aluminum Reusable Water Bottle

Reusable water bottles are perhaps the most common eco-friendly promotional product. The popularity of aluminum bottles has increased in recent years as more and more of us move towards more sustainable ways to consume water. Reusable bottles appeal to all audiences and it makes for a great canvas for a company logo.

Increase the chances for the swag to be used

Ending up in the trash too quickly is probably the biggest problem with branded merch today. To maximize the chances for your product to be used, gift something everybody needs regardless of their design preferences, gender, age, etc.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

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In the corporate world, it is often customary to have branded pens, notebooks, or mugs. While having your brand on a pen is cool, we think you can do better! Much of the branded products you will find at a conventional office space are stationary and almost expected, but we believe that having more interesting merch brings excitement about your brand for both employees and clients. Promotional merch is also used to spread brand awareness and it can also be used to work with social media influencers to promote your services or products. In this article, we will show you a few ideas for cool branded merch ideas to fit your brand.

Remember! It is not about just having promotional products but about having the right promotional products that are geared towards your audience. Therefore, it is important to do your research before creating an item to promote your brand.

Unconventional Event Swag and Promotional Items

Fidget Toys are the new stress balls! Everyone loves a good fidget toy to entertain themselves while taking a mental break from your desk job. Especially now that more and more people are working from home and encounter more distractions than before. In addition to the improved learning benefits, fidget toys can also reduce anxiety and stress, enhance dexterity, improve coordination and fine motor skills. Besides the benefits, a fidget toy makes for a great promotional item for potential clients or current clients as it keeps your brand on their minds, but also, who doesn’t love a cool gift? Check out ‘Fidget Toys Are Not Just Hype’ - Scientific American

Conventional and Practical Branded Products

Promotional items are also great if you are looking to do a virtual giveaway. Depending on your business, you may be looking for more traditional items that can be used to promote your brand but still motivate people to want to participate. Promotional products such as t-shirts, hoodies, speakers, notebooks, and coffee mugs are more of the traditional branded merch and can seem boring to some but if you have a good design that also ties in your logo, chances are, people will want them. What is better than a free t-shirt? A cool free t-shirt. Incorporating giveaways can be an excellent way to get people excited about your event, while also spreading brand awareness in untraditional ways.

“8% of promotional product recipients remember the name of the advertiser on the products. 85% of the recipients do business with the advertiser on the product. 83% of people like receiving them.”

Why Promotional Product Work

Promotional products are a powerful marketing tool because they allow a brand to connect with consumers by engaging their senses. Branded items are one of the only forms of advertising that allows consumers to interact with a brand on a physical level, promotional products often create more memorable brand experiences and promote brand recognition.

Family Industries has worked with brands such as Praytell Agency to create a one-of-a-kind promotional items box which included a pair of bombas socks, a thermal mug, stickers, and a scarf. All products and the box itself contained a print of their signature logo.

How to Design The Right Promotional Item

When creating your own promotional items, it is tempting to try to pack as much information as possible, but we suggest you prevent overwhelming the design with too much text. Keep these points in mind when you're designing your promotional products to create memorable gifts.

Less Is More

Keep it simple, use your brand logo and a catchy tagline, website, and if you’re able to fit it in, a phone number or a social media handle.

Use Your Brand Colors

Choose a product with your standard colors to maintain consistency in your style and to improve the chances of brand awareness. If a product option is not available in your colors, select a neutral color that will allow your brand identity to shine through your logo and text, instead.

Usefulness

You will want your product to be useful time and time again. Novelty items such as fidget toys are great to raise a smile or promote a healthy work-life balance, but depending on your audience perhaps more traditional items such as travel mugs, t-shirts or flash drives are the best options. Do your research!

Key Takeaways

Promotional products are essential for your business, over 50% of adults use at least one promotional product regularly, and 85% of that group will eventually do business with the advertised company. Additionally, the cost of a promotional item compared to regular advertising is much lower, and corporate gifts build relationships and brand loyalty.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

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