Why Earth Day Needs To Be Every Day for Promo Companies

It happens like clockwork in the weeks leading up to April 22 each year. Promotional products suppliers and distributors roll out their latest green initiatives, release their shiny, new sustainability reports, unveil ambitious emissions-reduction targets or simply post some fun photos of their employees participating in a river cleanup or tree-planting project.

Don’t get me wrong. I love all of those things, and I think we should highlight and applaud their efforts. However, when the calendar flips to May 1, it’s important that the print and promo industries continue to prioritize and push sustainability efforts. As the saying goes, Earth Day is every day.

That’s one of the reasons that, three years ago, ASI launched its Promo for the Planet site, an educational resource hub sharing the latest news, biggest trends and best ideas to help build a more sustainable and socially responsible promotional products industry. For the site’s third birthday this year, we gave the page a refresh: updating the glossary of sustainable terms and listing of sustainable certifications and labels. We added a “Watch & Learn” section featuring six sustainability-related videos, which will be updated regularly with podcast episodes, quick-hit explainer videos and other multimedia content. Another section of the page focuses on what branded merch companies can do to kickstart their own sustainability efforts – whether by calculating their carbon footprint or partnering with companies like SwagCycle to keep outdated and obsolete merch out of landfills.

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The page also highlights some eye-opening stats, often gleaned from ASI Research. For instance, 100% of promo end-buyers ages 25-34 say it’s important that the distributors they work with offer eco-friendly products. And 88% of promo end-buyers of any age say it’s important that the distributors they work with offer socially responsible products. Those numbers were less pronounced when ASI’s research team asked promo distributors directly what their clients were looking for in 2024, but still paint a picture of consumers’ changing priorities. According to ASI Research, just over half (53%) of distributors said clients asked for more environmentally friendly products in 2024, compared to 2024. And 47% of distributors said clients asked for more socially responsible products.

Indeed, as we enter the second half of the 2020s, expect the emphasis on sustainability – especially paired with detailed metrics – to grow. “Sustainability will shift from a marketing angle to a fundamental expectation,” Brianna Mazze, vice president of compliance and sustainability at Counselor Top 40 promo supplier SRG, recently told me. “Businesses will be required to integrate recycled content, emissions reductions and sustainable packaging as standard practices, just like product safety and compliance.”

It’s vital to take time now to meet those impending expectations, so your company doesn’t get left in the dust.