Printable Promotions Weblog

Our Arches line of eco-friendly promotional products are made from 51% post-consumer recycled materials (food and beverage containers.) These are stylish products that you can feel good about using!

Promotional products in our Arches line include journals, backpacks, totes, duffels and messenger bags.

For every Arches order we receive, a tree is planted by American Forests.

See the Arches line of promotional products on our website

Owl is one of our top selling eco-friendly brands.

All Owl products are made from either 100% or 51% post-consumer recycled materials (yesterday’s discarded water bottles and yogurt containers, to be exact.) Each product has a tag inside that details the material composition.

Products in our Owl line include a selection of bags, journals, travel wallets, business card holders, and laptop cases.

See more Owl eco-friendly promotional products on our website

Our primary journal/notebook/planner supplier has recently become the first in our industry to earn Certification from the Forest Stewardship Council.

According to company president Tom O’Boyle, “Earning our FSC certificate demonstrates our commitment to sustainability of our planet’s resources and our commitment to our distributors and end-users that our products meet strict, social, environmental and economic standards.” O’Boyle also noted the FSC’s rigorous testing and standards. “At the end of a 5 month process we had to pass a very challenging audit by an independent firm. However it was worth it because distributors now have an “FSC certified” source for journals and planners”. “An increasingly common demand from savvy end-users” he noted.

The company celebrated their achievement and commitment to be an eco-friendly company by honoring its employees with a luncheon.

Plant Manager Tim Klima and production supervisors grilled steaks and served the entire staff. According to O’Boyle, “The company cookouts have been a long-standing tradition, however the exciting thing was this event was paid for entirely through proceeds from recycling scrap-magnesium dies, printing plates and paper.”

These FSC certified journals and books are available on our website. There are almost infinite customization options, and we can help you design a book that’s perfect for your next meeting, conference, event, or other promotion.

The Forest Stewardship Council is internationally recognized as the world’s leading third-party verification agency dedicated to sustainable development and improvement principle applied to forest management. Only paper produced under strict FSC oversight and companies operating under FSC standards may use this mark. Visit www.FSC.org for more information.

As a country, we’re making better choices of late on our planet’s behalf. Every week there are more stories about organizations taking steps to change their manufacturing methods, purchasing requirements or corporate policies, all in an effort to think green and help sustain our environment.  Fortunately, eco-minded promotional product buyers have the ability to make a difference as well. You now have the option to select merchandise made partly or entirely from recycled, biodegradable or organic materials. To achieve maximum impact and truly “wow” your target audience, however, your best bet is to use your imagination when integrating environmentally-friendly promotional products into your activities and campaigns.

In this report, you’ll find a variety of promotional product ideas designed to help organizations present their offerings in a meaningful, memorable and environmentally-friendly manner.

These suggestions should result in the spreading of positive messages about your organization, ultimately leading to stronger ties with clients as well as new client relationships.

Read the rest of our special report

Looking for a universal business gift that’s sure to please everyone? Our Portable Dynamo Charger should do the trick.

This handy gadget plugs into any cell phone or mobile device and allows you to charge the battery with a simple hand crank. One minute of cranking will provide 10-30 minutes of power (depending on the device.)

Anyone who’s ever been stranded with a dead cell phone battery will instantly see the value in this. It’s also more eco-friendly than plugging into the wall, so die-hard greens may find themselves cranking a few minutes a day to get their planeteering fix.

Here at Printable Promotions, we’ve fielded a lot of questions about eco-friendly shirts, jackets and caps but very few people ask if the printing method is green as well. Using an environmentally responsible screen printing shop is just as (if not more) important than choosing an eco-friendly garment!

Our primary screen printing factory in Chicago has gone to great lengths to reduce their environmental impact:

What does being green mean?

Being green, sustainable, socially responsible, and overall just a great place to work has always been at the heart of our family. When we started this company over 25 years ago, we didn’t realize how progressive our actions were. Good business practices and common sense have always been guidelines by which we conduct ourselves. When we discuss the things we can do to become a stronger company we do not separate green initiatives from production and service efforts. We have developed a culture that incorporates environmental impact and social responsibility as key success factors in everything we do. From choosing the paint color on the walls (soy-based paint), to which chemicals we use on the production floor (citrus-based, not solvents), we are always looking for alternate ways to do what we do better. We believe that it’s not enough to just understand the products we are using, but it is also important to know how responsible the company is that manufactures them and how those products will effect our staff and nature. We support many small start-up chemical and consumables companies with very innovative natural products.

Types of cleaners:
In the printing industry the primary chemicals that both employees and the environment are exposed to are traditional thinners and solvents used to clean up inks, tools, screens and even the floor. We have replaced any dangerous chemicals with a product that is citrus- based and completely safe for both bodily contact and disposal. And the shop smells like oranges!

Types of inks used and disposal of waste:
As a screen printer, it is impossible to get around using plastics. That said, how to dispose of that solid waste is a huge area of concern for us. We have contracted with a company that picks up our plastic ink waste and sells it to a company that further refines the sludge to make roofing tar for homes instead of putting it into a landfill. This means NO LANDFILL for our sludge, making a hugely positive impact instead of a dramatically negative one. Drums of chemicals that sit in landfills for years and years have major seepage issues and end up contaminating the earth around them.

Any new and amazing techniques that are earth friendly?
Currently in research and development are 2 great innovations we are excited to bring to the t-shirt printing marketplace. The first is a line of sustainable and organic shirts. Organic cotton apparel has been around for a while, but have you seen 60% soy? Or how about 60% bamboo, 40% organic cotton? These fabrics encourage fewer pesticides in the cotton industry and are incorporating sustainable, not just organic, components into the textile world.

The second is the development of fresh inks. There are small companies out there making 100% organic plant-based inks for t-shirt printing. These inks, however, are so unstable that they cannot be shipped because they spoil so quickly. The only way to get an organic ink in the shop is to make it right here. We have just begun the development of natural ink chemistry and are excited to have samples to show soon. How would you like to buy a t-shirt made of soy and printed with inks made from vegetable oils?

How does your company recycle?
We have been recycling for years but we’ve really stepped up our game in the last 24 months. We implemented departmental goals with incentives to decrease landfill trash and came up with innovative recycling options.

It’s working! We are proud to say we have gone from needing 2 huge trash containers picked up 3 times a week to needing only 1 container picked up once a week. We now have 2 different recycling containers, which are picked up twice a week. We have not only transitioned more to recycling than landfill use, but we have also decreased our overall waste in a time of increased production.

In what ways is your company working towards a more sustainable business?
We have invested in new highly energy-efficient equipment that recycles up to 90% of the hot air needed to dry ink on shirts back into the dryer. This has reduced our consumption of electricity and lowered the overall temperature of our employees’ work environment.

We started a corrugated re-use program to cut 50% of our waste and reduced our new corrugated purchases by 70%. We have also developed custom packing solutions for regular customers which provide boxes strong enough to send product back and forth up to 10 times before the boxes have to be recycled.

We are 100% focused on creating a great place TODAY for each of our 125 employees in Chicago and an even better world TOMORROW for our children, grandchildren and yours!

When you’re ready to place your next order for eco-friendly screen printed apparel, make sure to request that your it’s printed GREEN!

Take a tip from the Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival in Indio, CA:

This weekend-long festival is held in a polo field in the middle of the desert every April. Temperatures can soar to over 100 degrees (it reached 114 degrees the first year I went) and drinking lots of water is imperative for safety.

Although they are one of the rare festivals to allow concertgoers to bring in outside beverages (and yes, they provide free water stations for refills), they still sell a LOT of bottled water. We all know what that means: a lot of plastic going into landfills. If only there was a way to get everyone to recycle.

So this year, they tried something new: a bottle exchange. Just pick up 10 empty water bottles and bring them to special recycling stations to receive a free, fresh, cold bottle of water. Simple, easy, and it worked!

Check out their flickr gallery for some serious recycling action – and notice how surprisingly litter-free the grounds are!

What can you do to encourage recycling at your next event?

So maybe attendees at your events (like meetings, conferences or trade shows) aren’t going to be influenced by the promise of free water. But there are plenty of other incentives that you can offer.

What about a special promotional gift (eco-friendly and useful, of course) to attendees who bring their own reusable water bottles?

Or, try building excitement around the recycling bins by stationing an employee there who gives away promotional items to people who make the effort to recycle.

And if you need help thinking of the perfect incentive, let us know. We’re happy to help you brainstorm for the perfect promotional product for your event.

More and more companies are turning to eco-friendly apparel for their promotions and staff uniforms. It’s easier than ever to go green with a multitude of new shirts, hats and jackets made from organic cotton, coconut fiber, recycled plastic and bamboo.

We just posted a new article in our resource center with four case studies that show how using green items can help boost your brand. Enjoy!

Our Ultra Club organic cotton shirts come in a rainbow of fruit flavors (like Skittles, but you can’t eat them. The shirts, I mean. Go ahead with the Skittles.)

The same fabric is available in both men’s and ladies styles of polo shirts, t-shirts and long-sleeve t-shirts. Here’s what the manufacturer has to say about them (again, the shirts, not Skittles. I didn’t ask the manufacturer about candy preferences):

“It starts in the fields, of course, with no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. To help it grow, they use only natural means like crop rotation and composting. They even use ladybugs to help protect the cotton from harmful insects. And in manufacturing, everything from dyeing the fabric to cleaning the machines is all done with natural materials. It’s all sustainable, environmentally-friendly agriculture and manufacturing.”

“UltraClub Organic is unique not just because it’s the first private-label organic in the industry, but because the shirts are organic, affordable and they’re great shirts. All the styles have a great price-point, come in a variety of colors, and are really comfortable. In fact, both the tees and polos are ring-spun, which makes them even softer than most non-organic styles.”

These shirts will be available on our website soon. In the meantime, just call us if you’re interested.

We’re always on the lookout for new eco-friendly products to help our clients with their promotions. But an often overlooked aspect is the environmental practices of the manufacturing and printing facilities. Making a greener product is great, but the overall operations of the factories can have just as much of an impact as the products themselves.

With that being said, we wanted to share a statement from one of our primary bag suppliers, who are (and have been) taking the necessary steps to become a more responsible manufacturer:

This year we have added environmentally-friendly paper bags that are made from 100% recycled material and plastic bags that are made from up to 40% recycled material and up to 20% of a non-petroleum calcium filler which reduces the use of petroleum based resins by as much as 60%. Our 100% recyclable and reusable non-woven bags are also made from recycled material that offers an excellent extended life comparable to similar woven bags like nylon or canvas. The non-woven material is non-allergenic, non-toxic and non-corrosive, making it safe for people and the environment. Yet it does not end there. We will continue to explore eco-friendly product options to help protect our environment.

• All of the recyclable scrap bags generated at our facility from the printing process are recycled by our local recycling service and our plastic bag sources
• Our imprinting waste byproducts are recycled into alternative fuel energy sources, further eliminating their disposal into landfills.
• We reuse most raw material cartons and packaging received to reduce the amount of new corrugated material that is required.
• We have implemented a company-wide recycling program to reclaim the everyday materials we use in our business (paper, bottles, aluminum, etc.) that has also significantly reduced the amount of waste going into the landfill.
• We have implemented energy-conserving lighting within our warehouse facility that is motion activated and only operates when personnel are working in the area.

You can see this manufacturer’s line here on our website. There are additional products not shown, and they can also help us create custom products for you on request.

In this video, Mitch Silver presents the plastic bags from this manufacturer: