How eco-friendly products can take your merch to the next level

Forget the cheap and nasty promotional and marketing products you’re used to – nobody wants yet another fridge magnet or stress ball that will only end up in landfill anyway. Founder and director of sourceym, Emily Murray, shares why choosing more eco-friendly packaging and promotional options are not only better for the environment, but also better for your business.

Eco-friendly products are a hot topic right now. But it’s always been high on our agenda.

Flashback to ten years ago, and the sole reason I started my promotional product business was that at the time, promotional products were cheap and nasty – think fidget spinners and stress balls – and were more than likely to end up in landfill.

I wanted to create a business that considered the end user and create unique products for brands that reflect their brand values – and that the end user will keep and love and use.

In a world where we are constantly being told to think greener, the irony is the amount of cheap junk still circulating in the promotional product space.

Each year, companies of all sizes produce an array of branded items to increase brand recognition and awareness amongst target markets. The Australia and New Zealand promotional product industry is big business, with an approximate $1.5-2 billion turnover.

Yep, it’s BIG.

green jobs

The benefits of going green in your business

So, how can you make promotional products more eco-friendly and help make your business greener?

A business needs to source unique promotional products for companies to reflect their brand values that the end user will keep, love and use forever.

The results of this are twofold:

Not only does a carefully-curated promotional product strategy stop products from ending up in landfill, but you’ll also;
Yield more impressions with a longer-lasting product that will continue to remind the consumer of your brand.

A real win-win!

If your brand is focused on sustainability, you’ll need to consider what your promotional product is made from, where it comes from, and how it is packaged.

But more of that in a bit.

How to make more environmentally-friendly choices when choosing corporate swag

There are several factors to consider when choosing the most earth-friendly products for your company merch.

Become a leader of change in this space and make better product choices by opting for:

Recycled materials
Upcycled materials
Natural materials – seeds, organic compounds and responsibly-sourced bamboo are great choices
Good quality products for better longevity – stainless steel straws for the win, not silicone, because, well … they are awful to use
Eco-friendly, super-useful products with a high impression rate – such as reusable, quality tote bags
Locally made products – opting for Australian-owned and made where possible
Carbon offsets – when dealing with freight

By considering these factors, we’re making better, more sustainable product choices, and you can too. If you’re ready to be the change in your industry, we suggest you use this to guide your decision-making.

two lakes in the shape of footprints within a dense forest

Don’t forget to consider your product packaging when choosing sustainably

There is no point in ordering a bamboo pen wrapped in poly plastic. Can you believe that there are still manufacturers who wrap pens individually? And when you’re ordering 10,000+, that’s a sh*tload of plastic!

Don’t be afraid to question this when you engage with a promotional products company. You don’t want something that will be detrimental to the message you are conveying.

Thankfully, eco-friendly options in the promotional products industry are improving.

If the last few years of the pandemic have taught us anything, it is not to put all our eggs in one basket and become reliant on the cheaper overseas alternative for production. As a result, more companies are choosing to be less reliant on overseas production. They are voting with their feet by opting to support Aussie manufacturing and road freight.

While it can seem overwhelming to make the change with your promotional products, you will reap the benefits down the track.

So take this time to reconsider becoming the next contributor to landfill and get one step ahead of your customers by going greener.

(Featured image provided by sourceym)

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