The Redbows Promotional Gifts Blog

I am being very green this week and looking at what we can do at Redbows to reduce our environmental impact. We are working on ISO 14001 as a management system and this really does get you to look at your business as a whole. An interesting website for anyone interested is Envirowise. This organisation provides free information to businesses in practical ways to increase profits and reduce their environmental impact. In a recent FSB survey 40% of respondents wanted advise and guidance to get them onto the right path. Off course it takes one small step to go ‘Green’ and at Redbows we like to offer ECO alternative gifts wherever we can. The survey also provides the insight that 41% of respondents bought products that were environmentally friendly. Perhaps ECO Gifts will appear in the 2008 Google Zeitgeist after all.

There has been much talk about how environmentally friendly bio-fuels are this week. After being heralded as the major breakthrough we need in alternative energy it appears that they are not as environmentally friendly as we first thought. Now, news like this appeals to my fun side and I was wondering if the day would come when we can take a few cuttings from desk plants to power our cars on the way home. Perhaps a little unlikely for now, but did you know that desk top gardens are well within your graps? That’s right, they make the ultimate eco gifts - branded desktop plants and herbs.

The promotional gifts industry is pushing hard to improve its impact on the environment. We have ECO product ranges using recycled materials and suppliers who have actively engaged in environmental management systems. I myself have come up with two simple ways that could affect the whole planet. Firstly, I think all car manufacturers should ask if you want a spare tyre when you purchase a car. I would just to love to know what percentage of vehicles actually suffer a tyre failure during their lifetime. I bet that more than 95% of spare tyres never get used and eventually are simply scrapped because the rubber has aged or the vehicle is kaput. At Redbows we actually supply promotional coasters made from recycled tyres.

My second idea concerns electronic gadgets supplied with chargers. How often do you end up with a box of redundant power supplies because you already have one – mobile phones, digital cameras and camcorders are typical examples. There is a real opportunity here for manufacturers to capture some brand loyalty and make a real impact on the environment. Why not promote a generic supply (or supplies for different ratings) and offer discounts if you have a charger already ?

This year is going to be the year of the Green Gift, or ECO Gift or to give it a full title the Environmentally Friendly Gift. We are not the only industry being forced to move with the times and take a more responsible approach to our planet.

The other day I picked up a copy of The Big Issue and read with interest an article on Green Weddings. Research on the internet brought up some interesting websites for people who want to move away from the consumerist White Wedding to one with an ECO nature. Green Weddings is one of the first serving this new emerging segment and I am sure that we will see more of these types of websites offering all sorts of advice. What I did notice was a general theme of involving family members and guests in preparing for the weddings. I whole heartedly support anything that brings the family together back to what were once called ‘traditional values’ and a ‘family focus’.

Tom Peters said: ‘if you see a band wagon you’ve missed it.’ Well ECO gifts are turning into one as far as I am concerned. This week a new supplier phoned me who said that he had heard that I was one of the nicest people to deal with in the promotional gifts industry - go on smooth talker! Then he says that he has a load of ECO gifts coming through including Lanyards made from milk. Now STOP right there young man! Surely we are pushing the limits of what can be recycled in order to give a gift some USP - Unique Selling Points - of which I can think of very few for a Lanyard product made from milk.

These are a great addition to our ECO range of products. Made from recycled tyres these promotional coasters are available in round or square shapes and have the option for a 1-4 colour print. Off course the background colour will always be black. For this type of environmentally friendly gift the pricing is now bad either, and off course is volume dependent. I think that these type of gifts represent great value for money and in a more ECO aware world we are seeing a growing demand for products that are either made from recycled materials or can be recyled later. We already have pens, mugs, paper and other such products available in ECO format and I am sure that this will grow further in 2008.

I have seen quite a few promotional gifts companies now offering environmentally friendly gifts and jumping on the ECO gifts trail. My question is just how ECO friendly are these companies and their suppliers and what carbon-footprints do these items leave as they move from place of manufacture to final usage? Any gifts made off-shore to their point of use will lose their ECO benefit thanks shipment via sea freight or cargo plane. So if you are really interested in purchasing ECO labelled promotional items, start by asking where are the goods manufactured, how and from what. See if the manufacturer has an ISO14001 or equivalent Environmental Management System or at least an environmental policy. Check out their green credentials and don’t just be taken in by the ECO tag on supplying websites and brochures.

Expect to pay a little more or the same for your ECO gifts if you want quality items. Popular items of the moment include: coasters made from recycled rubber tyres, cups from old plastic and pens from corn maize. I am sure that this segment of the gifts market will grow in importance and that standards will be set for what can carry an Environmentally Friendly label but until then it is a case of let the buyer beware.