How to Go Green with Your Giveaways?

Green Giveaways

Giving away promotional items is a popular way for most businesses and companies to give their brand some exposure and to get their brand into the hands of its attendees. This practice, however, can have a significant impact on the environment.

Do not be the company whose name appears on giveaway items which fill trash cans and risk sending a bad message about your business or companies to customers.

Instead, you can go green with your giveaway and have a thumbs-up not only to the people but also to Mother Earth herself. Here’s how you can go green with your giveaways:

1. Be Practically Green

The promotional giveaway products of your company must not only be green, but it must also have a practical function. If your consumers will not have any use of the item, then it could promptly end up in a landfill, thus defeating your green intentions.

For instance, for a tech company, you can have USB flash drives for your giveaways because it can be loaded with your company’s promotional message and used all over again. Or better yet, have an eco-friendly flash drive which is made of lead-free solder are available in order to reinforce your message.

You might also consider solar powered toys and solar powered watches for gifting.

2. Tell an Eco Story

Develop promotional giveaways which tell a story. If you can think of an item with educational components or story in order to engage the interest of its users, the chances of winning are inevitable.

For instance, Haworth of Holland, Mich office furniture maker, commissioned promotional giveaways made from logs that were salvaged from the bottom of the Great Lakes. Those logs were sunk during the 19^th-century lumber boom in Michigan along with the ships that carried them. However, these logs have now been resurrected in order to tell the sustainability story of Haworth.

3. Source Locally

You cannot claim to be an eco-friendly company and committed to quality if you are going to give away cheap imported products made of plastics. Meticulous and sophisticated buyers have no interest for that sort of thing.

So consider buying more items made in the US. Better yet, make a contract with a local source in order to make customized giveaway items within your community. If your prospects and customers care about the environment, chances are they will also care about your community stewardship as well.

4. Consider the Cost

Obtaining an internal approval to use green marketing giveaways is not always an easy task because going green usually costs a bit more. However, most companies feel that going green is what right for the environment and worth the extra expense.

So, you need to come up with some kind of plan since going green with your giveaways can be quite expensive. Also, you will need to pay the individuals who will make your giveaway items or contract an organization who will make your green promotional products.

5. Use Your Own Leftover

Sometimes, you only need to look at your own place before going somewhere. Look for any leftover materials from your company’s manufacturing processes and see if there is ANYTHING that can be salvaged and turned into your promotional giveaways.

Haworth, Steelcase, Herman Miller and Chrysler are some of the companies who use this kind of strategy. Promotional giveaway items that are made from your post-industrial waste products can provide a powerful and creative message to communicate the depth of your commitment to the environment.

6. Reflect Innovations and High Design

If you wish for your company or business to be seen as an innovative organization, then you need your promotional giveaways to be better too. And if you wish for your customer to think of high-end designs when they see your brand’s name, then you need to make sure that the image will come through as clearly as day via your giveaways. Customized promotional giveaways can be crafted in order to meet both objectives. You can also find reasonable solar hot water systems which are a great option.

For instance, The Grand Rapids Art Museum was the very first to earn a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED certification from the United States Green Building Council. When the museum loaded its gift shop, it used earth-friendly items such as hand tags that were produced by wind energy, journals made of 100% post-consumer waste and organic cotton T-shirts.

About the Author: This article is written by Jason Philips. Jason loves to write about environmental and social issues.