How Going Green Will Save Your Business
More and more people are making an effort to do business with environmentally responsible companies. Show your clients that you care about them and the planet through the promotional items you choose.
Ditch Disposables
When you are putting together gift and promotional packages, assess what disposable items could be replaced with more durable, reusable goods. For instance, instead of disposable paper or plastic bags, use earth-friendly totes that can later be used as shopping or beach bags.
When picking green promo items, do double-duty with those made from environmentally-friendly materials. For instance, organic cotton is grown without the use of artificial pesticides; this reduces air and water pollution and helps maintain soil fertility.
Help Your Customers Cut Down on Waste
One of the ways you can have a positive environmental impact is to make it easy for your clients to use reusables over disposables, as well. The Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable has a calculator that allows you to estimate how much waste a daily takeout coffee habit creates; someone who drinks coffee from a disposable paper or styrofoam cup every weekday will throw out 260 cups a year. Help customers kick their daily styrofoam cup of coffee habit with chic insulated travel mugs that keep waste out of landfills.
You can also help them cut waste in other areas of their life. Water bottles with a built-in filter make it easy for your customers to make the switch from bottled water to tap, saving hundreds of bottles. And, laminated lunchbags help cut down on takeout containers.
Pick Promo Products with Lasting Appeal
You know you've hit the promo bullseye when someone takes an item from your booth and says, "Oh, I've been looking for one of these!" When you pick promo items that people will actually use, that keeps your message and brand in front of recipients for months or even years. People hold on to and use items that they deem useful; investing a bit extra in something that your client will use instead of throwing away or tucking in a drawer has the double benefit of keeping your brand visible and benefiting the environment.
Do some brainstorming to decide which items are both relevant to your brand and likely to be used by your prospects. Pens, mugs, and totes are always useful and generally appealing. Those whose work involves medicine or healthcare can get a lot of mileage out of pill cases or keychains. B2B vendors can hit home runs with refillable daily planners and portfolios.
Keeping your promo items green requires more thought, care and often a somewhat larger investment. But, the goodwill from clients and the good you do for the environment pay back many times over.
