Eco-friendly promotional products: Why (and how) your brand should use them

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Branded promotional products are excellent ways to connect with prospects, clients, employees, and other stakeholders. When using eco-friendly promotional products, you show others your commitment to environmental and social issues. 

Investing in quality, sustainable products will create a lasting impression for your brand, unlike other “conference swag” that will likely be thrown away.

In this article, we explore the meaning behind eco-friendly claims and share inspiration and tips for using eco-friendly promotional products to support your organization’s ESG values.

three tote bags with branding, b corp, fsc certified, and a recycling symbol

What does “eco-friendly” mean?

The term “eco-friendly” or “sustainable” refers to a product that is not harmful to the environment or makes an effort to minimize its environmental impact. To ethically claim an eco-friendly product, the manufacturer should include details about how or why it is eco-friendly. The term is a generic “catch-all” that signals a more sustainable product, but you must ensure the product’s specific attributes (e.g., certified organic) are supported with appropriate certification.

In Canada, eco-friendly products must:

Using eco-friendly promotional products for your giveaways and gifts can help support your ESG and sustainability values and messaging.  

Why use eco-friendly products?

Choosing ethically sourced and made promotional products can have a long-lasting, positive impact on your brand image and reputation. These products show your prospects, employees, and other stakeholders that you care about your environmental impact. 

A McKinsey study found that companies with honest ESG values saw an average of 28% cumulative business growth over five years. Promoting ESG values through promotional products is a great way to stay top of mind, earn new or repeat customers, and grow your business. 

Eco-friendly promo products support less wasteful giving. Many products and gifts are either for one-time use or discarded shortly after receiving them. Instead, quality eco-friendly products have a far less negative environmental impact and are often used continually by the recipient, cutting down on landfill waste. 

Options for eco-friendly promotional products 

If your business values sustainability, consider incorporating these values into promotional products you buy. Responsibly sourced branded promotional products are a great way to promote your brand and ESG values. 

These products can be given for:

To support your ESG values, look at sustainable promo products made from eco-friendly materials that have accompanying certifications (e.g. FSC Certified):

If you’re looking for promotional products with an even greater positive environmental impact, consider zero-waste products. This approach prevents wasteful and polluting practices from product design to disposal. It’s pivotal to creating a circular economy, ditching disposables, and practicing more sustainable lifestyles. 

Looking for branded, sustainable promotional products for your business or organization? Check out these ideas: 

Also, be mindful of the packaging you use for your products. Look for sustainable packaging options that minimize plastic and use minimal recyclable materials (like paper or cardboard) where possible. You can also select from many carbon-neutral promotional products.

Beware of greenwashing

Businesses are under much customer scrutiny, especially regarding eco or sustainability claims. It’s essential to promote eco-friendly promotional products without greenwashing.

Greenwashing is when a company promotes its products as eco-friendly or sustainable but does little to implement sustainable practices. If the company you’re trying to buy eco-friendly products from can’t back up their claims, it may be greenwashing. Likewise, if you promote your ESG values but don’t live up to your promise, that’s also unethical.

Learn more about what greenwashing and recyclability claims to watch out for in your promotional products.

Building sustainable cities: A case study

The City of Abbotsford and the District of Mission (in BC) wanted to make their communities leaders in the sustainable city’s movement. They created initiatives and resources for residents to limit their unnecessary water use. 

These communities used branded merchandise to communicate their initiatives and provide actionable tips on how residents can contribute to the solution. Products with their “Our Water Matters” messaging were placed on fridge magnets, seeded paper bookmarks, and reusable tote bags. These items were given out at events and schools in the region.

Smartly chosen and used sustainable products like these aligned their messaging goals with custom-branded products.  

Read more about their initiative and how Fairware helped them curate a simple collection of promotional products to reinforce water restrictions and drought-resistant planting. 

Where to get eco-friendly promotional products

As society seeks to increase sustainability practices, people want to support businesses that are making positive changes in this landscape. By making your promotional products sustainably made and eco-friendly, you’re contributing to this change.

Eco-friendly practices have evolved in recent years. The options for sustainably made promotional products have grown and will continue to grow as the market demands such products.  

Demonstrate your commitment to environmental responsibility with eco-friendly promotional products in your corporate gifting, employee gifts, conference giveaways, and other customer thank yous.

To find the best eco-friendly promotional products for your organization, talk to the Fairware team today. We’ll provide quotes or ideas specific to your project, brand, and budget. 

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