Product Hub May 29, 2019
Are Customers Thinking About Sustainability?
In the June issue of Wearables, we explore the apparel industry’s journey toward sustainability, as well as a few simple ways decorators can make their own shops more sustainable – and save money in the process. Consumers, particularly younger ones, tend to rank sustainability high among their concerns, but that interest doesn’t always translate to their wallets. Still, we were curious to learn what our readers are hearing from their own customers and whether sustainability is part of the sales conversation.
Annina Ferrand, Brandinc (asi/145212): We find that around 10% of our clients request sustainable products. More of our clients show interest, but ultimately don’t want to pay for these products. It’s up to us to inform and cultivate our clients in ways to be sustainably minded by starting small and adding an element of sustainability within their product choice.
For example, recently we produced a sustainable brand Love+Earth for our client Global Green, a not-for-profit environmental charity based in the US. The product line has a percentage of sustainable materials included such as bamboo, hemp, recycled materials, PET plastics, organic cotton and so on. While it’s not 100% sustainable, it’s an effort to offset and include the theme of sustainability into our client’s programs and activations.
Going forward, we expect interest in environmentally friendly practices to increase. Thanks to the anti-plastic movement, businesses and individuals actively want to reduce their waste footprint and are seeking information and products to help achieve this. More eco products are available within the promo market so we are now seeing a positive shift for change. It’s getting easier for us to reinforce and support “ditch single use” initiatives to our clients. Look at the dissolvable plastic bag – made from renewable plant materials – this is a fantastic game-changing innovation.
As part of our social responsibility, we encourage clients to think about replacing non-recyclable with earth-friendly products, using less, disposing of less, thinking about giving back in some way. Good practices are more important now and where possible we engage in carbon off-setting programs such as wind farms, clean water initiatives and replanting forests.
The promo industry gets a bad rap for being environmentally indifferent, but if we all get behind good practices and work together with our suppliers and clients, we have no doubt sustainability won’t be a question, only a given.
Annamarie Geraci, Culture Studio (asi/700559): We’re aware of our global footprint, and our goal has always been to find improvements in day-to-day business operations wherever possible. We’ve taken steps to adapt environmental friendly practices internally; from the types of inks we use, apparel items made from recycled properties and even by moving toward a paperless management system called Stokkup. By promoting our mission to become more environmentally friendly to clients, we’re noticing a shift toward the use of more sustainable eco-friendly apparel. Customers want to promote that they are ahead of the curve, and what better way to promote that than by wearing it for the world to see. It’s a badge of honor, physical proof that each person is making a conscious decision to buy eco-friendly.
Jeff Clark, Polar Promotions & Sportswear (asi/138454): The topic of apparel sustainability comes up more today than it did. Not so much in terms of the material compositions, but more on the chain of custody side. Clients want to know where their apparel comes from and who’s making it.
Tim Holliday, Children’s World (asi/161711): We were one of the original companies certified by the Sarasota Green Business Partnership, we’ve been recognized by the state of Florida for our recycling efforts, we have an Energy Star rated building and much more. We’ve used that experience and knowledge to help guide customers to eco-friendly choices. Eco-friendly apparel does not come up a lot, but certainly other promotional items do, especially with the anti-plastic straw movement. Plus, our state has introduced legislation that, if passed, would ban single-use plastic bags. I fully expect the eco-friendly product movement to continue to gain interest as time goes on, out of choice as well as necessity.
Dana Bird, Black Duck Screen Printing and Embroidery: Sustainability, organic and other feel-good words and products we would love to use have had little impact on our business. A few years back, garment vendors created a big push to get these products out in the market, but at that time, the price difference between eco-friendly and everyday products was too great for customers to make the switch. We even found the “Save the Planet”-type customers were not willing to open their wallets that far to use these products.
Time has passed, and the margins between products have narrowed, and we do sell some to the environmentally conscious market. There’s a segment of the market that wants to use these products, but only if they don’t have to pay too much for being an earth-friendly consumer. I think the supply and demand for these products will someday meet, and we’ll be using these products on a regular basis. We’ll all be happier and have a more positive impact on the planet.
Shelley Oliver, DSE Inc. (asi/181326): I work with large (very large) distribution corporations, and there’s always an interest in sustainability efforts. That said, they’re not always looking to pay the added expense for recycled goods and will often place an image on a less-expensive garment instead.
Andrew Haslam, The Sticky Brand: We have plenty of clients who never ask us questions about sustainability, but more and more, we’re hearing from customers who only want to hear about recyclable or already-recycled materials. Our options are quite limited right now in our industry, but we feel things are changing, and we want to be able to stay ahead of the curve and offer long-lasting, durable and sustainable options to our customers.
Bryan Webb, Metro Printed Products – Proforma: Sustainability is an important concept that we and our clients try to implement. With access to unlimited amounts of information, society is slowly becoming more educated, especially in terms of our environment. Currently, it’s more of an effort on our (the distributor) end to educate and offer eco-friendly options, but that’s not to say change isn’t on the horizon. Industries such as CBD dispensaries have been looking toward more sustainable options, such as eco-friendly product packaging and hemp-blended material (apparel, tote bags, etc.). Their overall awareness and care for the environment extends beyond business-to-business relationships and into impacting the world, one product and eco-friendly decision at a time.
Jeffrey Koerner, Five Fish Press: Currently, it’s not a topic. I do see interest in eco-friendly apparel and inks increasing in the future. Hemp will bring a major shift in the industry. It can be grown organically very easily, and is said to be longer-lasting than cotton. Plus, it gets softer with age. We’re looking forward to hemp products in screen printing.
Howard Potter, A&P Master Images (asi/102019): For most customers, it’s never a question. Fewer than 5% ever ask for anything eco-friendly. We tried promoting eco apparel in the past, and most people don’t want to pay extra.
Laurie Woodruff Jackson, WOODY’Z (asi/98175): We supply plastic drinkware. Sustainability has been a concern, and it’s becoming more important for more of our customers, as they’re getting pressure from the consumer, especially with the anti-plastic straw movement.
Gregg Emmer, Kaeser & Blair Inc. (asi/238600): As a large distributor, we’re one step back from the client. But in managing the catalogs K&B publishes and the day-to-day promotion of selected line/suppliers, I get the requests to promote more safety, phone accessories, travel mugs, etc. What I’ve not been asked about is sustainability.
When establishing some larger programs, the client will ask about country of origin, factory conditions for workers and other social responsibility issues, but in general, it hasn’t been a driving force (yet!). As news reports about problems (child labor, factory fires, building collapse) show up, regardless of if they involve the promotional industry, it raises the awareness for a while. And with the very significant percentage of millennials now in decision-making positions and their general interest in social awareness and environmental impact, I expect that sustainability, along with other areas, will continue to grow as a factor in our industry.
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