Sustainable success: The advantages of using eco-friendly promotional materials
As the world has become increasingly concerned about the environmental crisis, companies across all sectors are striving to reduce their environmental footprint and demonstrate their dedication to sustainability. Sustainability is similarly becoming a concern for more and more consumers.
Promotional materials are a fantastic way to evoke positive brand perceptions and boost engagement. However, it is critical that the promotional items you choose resonate with your target audience. Eco-friendly promotional materials are, therefore, a key communication tool for brands to stand out and showcase their environmental commitment to customers.
Why are Sustainable Promo items such an asset to Brands?
Consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of their purchases and many customers have high ethical and environmental expectations. Eco-friendly promotional items can act as tangible examples of a company’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. This way, environmentally conscious merchandise can boost a brand’s reputation by aligning marketing efforts with the company’s commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
By meeting customers’ ethical and environmental expectations, eco-friendly promotional items not only showcase a company’s dedication to sustainability but also strengthen its credibility amongst conscientious consumers. Sustainable promotional materials are likely to resonate with customers’ values, which may foster customer loyalty. In a competitive market, adopting tangible, sustainable practices can offer a huge advantage.
How to Integrate Eco-Friendly Merchandise into Your Brand Strategy:
Choosing the Right Item
When choosing promotional materials, it is critical to choose items that will evoke positive emotions. If not, the item is likely to end up at the bottom of a drawer, or in the bin, resulting in minimal brand exposure or creating negative associations with your brand. Offering a disposable, low-value item suggests that your brand lacks value, and that you don’t care about the environment. Therefore, a poor choice of item could create a disconnect between your brand’s values and actions.
Select items that reflect your brand values and identity. Your chosen items should convey a message that aligns with your brand’s values. There are a range of sustainability criteria to consider…
Planet-Friendly Production: Upcycled or recycled products are created from repurposed materials, reducing waste and conserving energy.
Naturally Crafted: Products made from natural materials increase the perceived value of your merchandise and often generate a lower carbon footprint than alternatives.
Biodegradability and Recycling: Select items that are biodegradable at the end of their lifespan or can be easily recycled to reduce waste.
Origin and Production: Choose products manufactured using environmentally friendly processes, that minimise energy consumption, water usage and emissions. Customers typically favour more locally made items, and they are associated with a lower carbon footprint.
Durability: The more durable an item is, the less likely that it will break or be replaced, reducing waste. Plus, the longer the item is used, the greater the brand exposure.
Certifications: Look for products certified by reputable environmental standards. This will ensure that you avoid greenwashing and increase your credibility as a brand.
Packaging: Opt for minimal or recyclable packaging to reduce waste and the environmental impact.
Focus on Item Usage instead of Price
Cost can be a barrier to purchasing eco-friendly items. Typically, buyers opt for the cheapest promotional items, with a quantity driven approach. However, there is a significant downside to this approach when it comes to how much the items get used.
If you distribute 1,000 items, but 500 are immediately discarded and 200 are lost at the bottom of a drawer, only 30% of recipients are exposed to your brand. So, if each item costs R14, you’ve spent R14,000 and only receive a return of R 4,200.
For the same budget, you could buy 500 eco-friendly items at R28 each. If 400 of the recipients appreciate and use the item, the usage rate is 80%. You’ve achieved a significantly better return on investment, of R 11,200, and it produces a lower carbon footprint. Eco-friendly promotional materials are less polluting, more responsible, and less likely to be discarded immediately.