Top 10 Eco-Friendly Promotional Products For Earth Day 2024

April 22, 2024 is Earth Day and we encourage you to do your part with sustainable and recyclable branded swag. Now is the best time be intentionally environmentally friendly with your giveaways!

This also bears true in most consumers’ shopping habits. A study by Nielsen indicated that a full 66% of individuals would be willing to spend more money for environmentally-friendly products. That percentage increased to 73% among millennials.

“Sustainability” is no longer just a buzzword; it’s something people actively seek out. In fact, a study (also by Nielsen) illustrated that 81% of respondents globally believed companies should take an active role in combating environmental degradation.

Earth Day, which occurs every year on April 22nd, is fast approaching. Show off your company’s environmental awareness than by providing eco-friendly promotional products as nice giveaways. You will be giving your prospective customers something useful. You will also demonstrate a corporate social responsibility that informed consumers want out of their companies.

But, which Earth Day giveaways are going to be the most successful? We’ll give you 10 of the best choices below.

1. Custom S’well Water Bottles

S’well is one of the leading companies when it comes to custom water bottles. It was also founded with an environmentally-conscious idea in mind: the lack of access to clean water in many parts of the globe.

Of course, reusable water bottles by their nature are great Earth Day promotional items. They are replacements for the much less eco-friendly plastic water bottles. Those bottles ultimately often find their way to landfills or waterways where it can take them literally centuries to decompose.

“It is estimated that by 2050 the ocean will contain more plastic by weight than fish.” – Forbes

Custom S’well water bottles are also just exemplary containers. They maintain both hot and cold temperatures well and will immediately become your customers’ favorite water bottle. There’s no question that they will get a lot of use out of these bottles, ensuring that your branding will accrue a ton of impressions.

2. Apparel Made from Recycled or Sustainable Material

Everyone loves a good t-shirt or baseball cap, but they would love it even more if some of the materials were recycled. There are plenty of options for you to choose from if you want to go that route.

At iPromo, we have a collection of shirts, sweatshirts, and hats that employ the use of recycled polyester. Recycled polyester is good for the environment because it’s obviously made from recycled materials and doesn’t require nearly as much petroleum to produce (which limits pollution).

If recycled materials are good, sustainable materials may be even better. Hemp, a material found in several apparel items, needs 50% less water and land than cotton to produce the same yields. Hemp and recycled polyester trucker hats make great sustainable giveaways for Earth Day.

Clothing also has a very practical marketing component in that people will wear these recycled promotional products, and your branding will be seen. It’s really a win-win situation.

3. Custom Tote Bags

Like reusable water battles, custom tote bags are an environmentally-friendly replacement for their plastic counterparts. Again, estimates suggest that plastic bags (the type you’d normally get at a grocery store) can take centuries to decompose. Tote bags obviously remedy this problem by being reusable.

On top of that, many tote bags are becoming necessary as more and more governments seek to place an outright ban on traditional plastic bags. So, whether your target audience cares about the environment or not, the legal trends suggest they are going to need reusable custom grocery bags anyway.

Tote bags are also simply very useful. In addition to hauling groceries, these bags can tote around literally anything that can fit inside. You can also opt for a doubly sustainable bag that uses recycled material. Again, this is another option that gets a lot of views because of how often it is used.

4. Custom Reusable Metal Straws

The prevalence of plastic straws has become a hot-button political issue over the past year or so. This has caused many restaurants to consider a ban on these straws in favor of more sustainable options.

Custom reusable metal straws, however, give people the power to avoid the environmentally-damaging plastic versions at their own convenience. Some options are collapsible and most come with carrying cases that can show off your branding quite efficiently. Metal straws are also talking points that can help get the environmentally conscious nature of your brand spread by word of mouth.

A convenient straw is also just a nice thing to have. Most people wouldn’t even use a straw for certain drinks, but if they have on readily available they may be more open to the idea.

5. Bamboo Cookware

We have already mentioned hemp as a sustainable material, but bamboo is another one that can be used to replace a lot of different materials. With cookware, bamboo works as a great alternative to the much less eco-friendly wood or plastic options. That’s because it is actually a type of grass that grows rapidly and requires few resources to do so.

You also can’t really tell the difference between bamboo cutting board and its more traditional wooden counterpart. Other bamboo-based options include a spatula and a large spoon. These all make great practical options for Earth Day giveaways because everyone needs cookware of some kind, and it is rare for any kitchen to have sustainable options.

6. Notebooks Made from Recycled Materials

Although digital options may have phased out the more traditional notebooks, it is still nice to write things down once in a while. Some folks may bristle at using a regular notebook that is made from non-renewable materials. Of course, you can give them a much more eco-friendly option.

There are several custom notebooks at iPromo that are made from recycled materials. In general, the front covers are made from recycled cardboard that is also biodegradable. You can also opt for a notebook that uses recycled lined paper whose lines are imprinted with soy ink. Some options even come with eco-friendly pens or embedded sticky notes for ease of use.

Again, notebooks are fun, but people actually use them. Typing on a computer or a smartphone cannot replace the feeling of writing something down. A recycled paper notebook is simply the best option for that.

7. Custom USB Flash Drives

You might not immediately think of custom flash drives as being environmentally-conscious, but they can actually be a great way to cut down on your use of paper. When you’re at a trade show or conference or simply trying to attract new clientele, the most common method of getting your message out is through paper materials.

A great way to be environmentally-friendly is to simply place all that information on a USB drive. You can also provide clients with more information on a flash drive than you would be able to with a piece of paper, anyway. A great way to deliver this information is with USB business cards.

There are countless different ways that you can use USB flash drives these days, and your recipients will be able to store data on or generally use the devices as they please.

8. Recycled Golf Balls

Does your target audience have a lot of golfers in it? Why not opt for a golf ball made of recycled material? There’s nothing quite like hitting the links on a sunny weekend morning. In fact, because of Earth Day’s timing, many more sunny days are right around the corner. It’s even better if you know you’re helping the environment with a ball composed of 100% recycled material.

If you’re concerned that this eco-friendly golf ball will lack the same capability of a standard ball, then just take a look at the manufacturer: Wilson. You know that you are still giving your clients one of the best golf balls in the business because of the great track record of the company.

So, again, golf balls are great promotional items in general, but if you want to take advantage of Earth Day and the increased consciousness of sustainability, the “Eco Core” golf ball is a great choice.

9. Custom Pens Made from Sustainable Material

Pens are some of the common promotional products out there, because they are simple, useful, and get a lot of impressions over their lifetime. You can improve on the standard pen by opting for a sustainable model made of eco-friendly materials.

This particular option comes with a barrel made of biodegradable cardboard and clip made of the ever sustainable bamboo. This is ideal for cases in which you are trying to convey a “green” message or establish yourself as environmentally-conscious without breaking the bank.

Like any other promotional pen, you’re going to get a lot of bang for your buck with an eco-friendly model. According to a recent Advertising Specialty Institute survey, pens generate 3,000 impressions before they become obsolete. That’s quite a return on your investment.

10. Custom Wristbands Made from Recycled Silicone

Wristbands are typically used to promote causes or simply to wear as a stylish fashion accessory. You can cash in on the “green” trend by choosing a wristband made from 100% recycled silicone.

As we have already clearly demonstrated, recycled materials make for the best Earth Day giveaways because they are geared toward environmental friendliness. Wristbands are also extremely visible, allowing your logo to be seen by anyone checking out your recipients’ stylish wrists.

In the end, you want to do something for your customers that is both good for the environment and good for your bottom line. These 10 Eco-friendly promotional items give you the best opportunity to establish yourself as uniquely aware while also working as an effective marketing tool. Contact us today to get an Earth Day strategy going as soon as possible.