How many businesses and brands are there in NYC? According to reports from the BLS, there are over 200,000 large, medium, and small businesses across the city. Can you even imagine the number of pens, notebooks, and mugs people of New York City receive each year from some of these brands during events? It is safe to say that not only NYC but the entirety of the USA is drowning under the burden of cheap plastic pens, plastic bottles, and other poor quality promotional products.
If you are not careful about the quality and usability of your promotional products, they will end up in the abyss of drawers or the trash. Today, it is imperative for every brand to maintain an environmentally conscious or eco-friendly image. Most brands have come to realize that there is no point in contributing to disposable waste in terms of flimsy pens or low-quality apparel. It is time to embrace the change and invest in promotional products that are not only of superior quality but also represent your environmentally friendly nature.
1. Offer them an experience
It is incredibly pocket-friendly but useful to gift packets of seeds to people. If you are a pet brand, you can offer seeds of Catnip and other herbs that are good for the pooches. Otherwise, you can stick to small plants that do not require extensive fussing and can grow in small pots on windowsills.
Handing out seed packets will tie your brand’s name to the person’s experience of sowing the seeds and then watching the saplings grow. Every time they will look at the greenery in their apartment or on their window, they will recall your brand. It is one of the most efficient New York City promotional products you can offer to your consumers, provided you remember to customize the seed packet with your brand colors and logo.
2. Keep it simple and sustainable
Jute bags and cotton totes with peppy quotes and designs are quite the hit among the NYC activist crowds. You can offer your help to save the environment by providing your consumers branded totes made from recycled materials.
Most brands would shrink away from the prospect of offering something “recycled” to their potential buyers. However, only the true environment lover knows how important it is to reuse and recycle. If your consumer base exclusively consists of environment lovers and activists, then you can surely invest in customized and branded totes.
- Support sustainable habits
We have seen quite a few brands give away cheap plastic bottles or travel mugs that end up in the trash within a week or two. If you believe in sustainable business, you should encourage the sustainable habits of your consumers too.
You can begin by introducing clear, sturdy plastic bottles or metal straws with safety covers. The use of BPA-free, transparent plastic bottles with snap covers, and water level markings are quite popular among the NYC health-conscious crowd. If you are targeting them, then these "sports" or "gym" bottles are great promotional product choices for you. If your budget is not as high, you can go with the customization and distribution of reusable non-plastic straws. Apart from metal, which is considerably more expensive than plastic, you can choose paper pulp and wooden materials for your straws. Choosing such reusable products brings out the sustainable side of a business.
3. Support the local artists and producers
Apart from doing your part for the environment, you might want to give the local economy a gentle boost. Choosing local artisanal products that you can later customize with the help of NYC printing companies can also improve your brand reputation among potential customers.
You can choose simple hand-painted mobile covers, notebooks, and drinkware as promotional products. The right promotional product design and printing company in NYC can help you print your logo and brand name on the products alongside the name of the artists. It is one great way to help the local talent, as well as boost your brand recall, all on a tight budget.
4. Focus on quality wearable
Apparels should be of good quality and natural fabric. You can focus on cotton t-shirts and linen scarves with small logos of your brand that do not look unsightly.
A recent survey shows that the people of NYC like wearing branded products on their vacations, during gym hours or while out with family, as long as they are aesthetically pleasing. It is up to you to pick the print and colors, but remember to consider the demographics of your target consumers to keep the items usable.
Brand events and business conferences produce tons of waste. It is your responsibility to use sustainable products like non-plastic drinkware and biodegradable lanyards for keycards and nametags. These small steps can help your business become genuinely green. The rising concern about the environmental impact of industrialization is driving millions of people towards green products and services. Once you manage to establish yourself as a green business, there is no stopping you from achieving all your short-term and long-term business goals.