Most people have received corporate-branded swag before. Pens, water bottles, keychains, shirts—a lot of it ends up in the trash.
Sonali Diddi, an associate professor at Colorado State University, focuses on sustainability and said corporate swag is far from environmentally friendly.
“They always end up—at the end of the meeting or back home—they're just trashed,” Diddi said.
The swag industry is estimated at roughly $20 billion, according to IBISWorld, a research and market report agency. Much of that merchandise ends up in the bottom of trash bins or sitting around the house. Certain products, such as branded tote bags, also have a strong negative environmental impact.
Diddi decided to try and come up with a better way. For the 2023 Fashion and Circular Economy Symposium, she made attendees name tags from scratch.
“We did use scrap wood from our 'makers lab' at the Richardson Design Center," Diddi said. "From there, we did the scrap wood, we lasered everybody's names on it."
Part of her solution was not just to use sustainable materials, but to also remove branding from her swag items.
"We made it generalized with no affiliation, so people can reuse them at any other official or unofficial meetings or gatherings," Diddi said.
Diddi's swag creations are also relatively cheap to make, and are made with sustainable materials like scrap wood and leftover CSU lanyards.
Diddi tried a few other methods to make the event more sustainable. She used compostable plates and silverware, did away with print schedules, and insisted attendees bring their own water bottles.
For employers who want to reward hard-working staff but leave less of an environmental footprint, Diddi recommends cutting the branding on giveaway items altogether so that they can be reused. She also said experiences tend to leave more of an impression on people than cheap water bottles.
