Essential Guide to Shopping for Eco-Friendly Promotional Products

Deciding to go green in your promotional products plan is the best choice you can ever make for your brand. However, we need to take extra precaution when shopping for environmentally friendly promotional products.

As consumers, we have to be discerning of what we buy. Eco-friendly promotional products are made differently from traditional ones so we have to learn the materials used, the certifications that they’re under, and the benefits as well as the trade-offs. To help you, here are some shopping tips to help you find the best environmentally friendly promotional products.

Find out the make of the eco-friendly promotional products

Since eco-friendly promotional products are made differently, it may use materials and production methods that you may not be aware of. Items can be put under different categories. Here are the different categories that promotional products are placed under. (Please note that some items can have several categories apply to them).

Biodegradability

When promo items are said to be biodegradable, it means that they can be decomposed by bacteria, water, or other means. When disposed of, they wouldn’t stick around for long, unlike other waste materials. Most eco-friendly items are made to be biodegradable. Such examples are items made of recycled paper waste such as cardboard pens, wheat straw pens, and recycled notebooks.

Organic

Branded merchandise made of organic materials or natural ingredients. Those that use materials straight from nature with minimal modifications or processing are considered to be organic. Such examples are 100% organic cotton satchels and organic cotton t-shirts.

Recycled

Recycled promotional products are made from materials that have been repurposed or used before. For those hesitant about using former waste materials, you can rest assured that they have undergone rigorous processing and sanitation to make it clean and safe for reuse. Aside from the recycled materials mentioned above, perfect examples of recycled branded items are bamboo pens, reusable rice husk coffee cups, and 100% recycled PET headwear.

Efficient-Use

A branded merchandise is considered to be efficient if it can be reused over and over again and limits waste. Promotional items that replace single-use items are considered efficient. These items are stainless steel straws, tote bags, and reusable cutlery.

Sustainably sourced

Sustainably sourced materials can be easily regenerated while providing social, economic, and environmental benefits. One example of this is bamboo, a strong, durable, and easily regenerated material that helps farmers earn while also saving the earth. Bamboo can be used for a lot of items, including bamboo coasters, bamboo pens, bamboo power banks, bamboo tote bags, and "bamboo coffee cups.

Check for ecolabels/certifications

Another way to ensure that eco-friendly promotional products are made ethically is to check if they have ecolabels or certifications. These ecolabels and certifications are granted by non-profit auditing firms whose sole purpose is to check if the environmental standards are met by the products. Some of these eco-labels and certifications are Food-Safe, SAA, CE, RoHS, and SGS.

Look for eco-friendly alternatives of harmful products

For items that are considered harmful to the environment, there are already eco-friendly alternatives out in the market. For balloons, you can replace them with biodegradable decors such as Chinese Paper Lanterns, Paper Buntings, Bang Bang Sticks, and Colour Bubbles. On the other hand, plastic bags can be replaced by Paper Bags and Tote Bags.

Want to order eco-friendly promotional products?

If you want to make sure that the eco-friendly promotional products you order can actually do good for our planet, there is no better way than to ask for our help. If you want to get recommendations on the freshest and most environmentally friendly promotional products, request for our help through this form here. You can also talk to Jessie the Brand Saviour and her team of marketing experts at 02 8072 3350.