Keeping on trend is the best way to get the best “bang for your buck” when it comes to selecting promotional products. This is the first in our #Trending2021 series that will help showcase the leading trends that will be prominent throughout the year along with product ideas, based on those trends, that you can incorporate into your specific campaigns.
With three straight years of seeing linear growth in sustainable, eco-friendly products in the promotional merchandise industry, 2020 was looking like it would completely blow the industry out of the water. Unfortunately, thanks to an economy-rocking pandemic, what we saw was a massive regression. It became somewhat of a Dark Age for the “Sustainability” category in the promo world as businesses instantly, but understandably, folded their wallets, leaving the promising trend in a limbo if it would recover.
After a tumultuous few months when consumers wondered how long the pandemic would last or how to interact and raise their brands within a new social framework, a generational development occurred. Consumers in both retail and promo had a shift in consciousness. There was a desire for products and brands to amplify the general zeitgeist. Consumers began to care more about how their products were made and by whom. The BLM movement that sparked in the United States also elevated the discussion of diversity suppliers.
Sustainability & Empathy Highlight 2021
This trend will continue to gain momentum in 2021. A wave of optimism and support for others has led to a growth in interest for products with associated givebacks campaigns, made by socially responsible manufacturers, and a return to the desire to have the option of products made with more sustainable, renewable, or upcycled materials.
It is important for brands to embrace these movements as consumers grow more aware and show more care towards them. This is especially true for any brand looking to target Millennials and younger.
Product Brainstorm
In keeping with a movement to more global consciousness, products that fit this trend will have an impact both environmentally and socially. The promotional items chosen need to bring awareness in the production materials and methods, diversity owners looking to bring change to the industry, and to provide a returning value to local or impoverished communities. We all live on this planet together, so let’s make it count!
Fill it Forward Bottles incentivize users to fill up and hydrate which, in turn, triggers the company’s givebacks towards charitable projects!
MiiR products set aside a portion of revenue to fund projects focused on clean water, a healthy environment, and strong communities. Not enticing enough? They are also a Certified B Corp, Climate Neutral Certified, and are part of 1% for the Planet!
Redwood Classics Apparel will check off a lot of boxes. Ethically sourced and produced in Canada, leaving a smaller carbon footprint, Redwood is minority and women owned (WBE certified) and are instrumental in educating our industry to be better.
Find more #Trending2021 ideas in our What’s Hot for 21 trend guide!
1. Ketchum – Brand Reckoning 2020: How Crisis Culture Is Redefining Consumer Behavior, Loyalty and Values
2. ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute) 2020 Global Ad Impressions Study
