Eco Friendly Promotional Gifts – Know the Facts

So you have decided to go the eco friendly route with your next promotion. Great! But there are a few things you may want to know before you do so. If your intention is to draw attention to ecological issues as well as promote your company, there are many eco products to choose from. If on the other hand, you are hoping to really make a difference with your purchase, you will need to ask your suppliers these three questions.

Where were the eco friendly gifts manufactured? When people think about recycling old plastic products and making new things out of them, they generally think they are doing something good for the environment. However, most ‘eco friendly’ products are currently manufactured in large factories in the Far East. This means that your recycled drinks bottle promotional pen could have been manufactured in Beijing and then transported by sea or air thousands of miles to get to you. If you are hoping to reduce our carbon footprint, there a much better ways of doing so. I am not saying that there are not some very nice and popular eco products manufactured in China but if you really want to make a difference, pay a little more and get something manufactured closer to home.

What certification is there that the product is eco friendly? More often than not, the answer will be none. This is a new area for most business gift suppliers. Often, products that are called ‘recycled’ only have about 10% recycled product in them. A few name brand pen manufacturers are guilty of this practice so be sure to get the facts. If you really want an eco friendly product, look for products made out of wood that was manufactured from wood in FSC certified forests.

Are you sure the employees that manufactured these products are treated well? There is no point purchasing a recycled tire mouse mat if the people that produced it were six years old working fifteen hour days and paid peanuts. Conditions in Far Eastern factories are improving but unfortunately this is not always the case. It is therefore a good idea to deal only with suppliers who know their Far Eastern suppliers and feel comfortable that their staff are treated ethically. It is of course difficult to ensure that everything remains the same after their visit but I can assure you I have spoken with companies I would never even consider using because of their poor working conditions.