Tips to ensure no promotional products go to waste
Do you know what happens to your publicity materials after your event? According to the Department of Environment and Energy, most of them end up in the kerbside recycling bin. Plastics, cardboard, paper, metals and glass packaging make up about 25 per cent of the country’s recycling. However, many recycled materials still end up in landfills due to contamination of co-mingled wastes at materials recovery facilities.
Still, you can help by recycling your publicity materials, such as T-shirts, banners, calendars and notepads. That way, you can help in your own little way.
How can you recycle your publicity materials?
There are several ways that you can recycle your publicity materials. Here are five ways to get started.
1. Turn promotional shirts into bags.
T-shirts are an excellent way to promote events such as races, marathons, team building and charity events. If you only have an estimate of the number of people attending, chances are you will be printing more than you actually need. After all, it is better to have extras than to run out of shirts during your event.
Now, what can you do with these excess and unclaimed promotional T-shirts? The easiest thing to do is to turn them into tote bags. Don’t panic – you don’t need to be a master tailor or seamstress to be able to do it. This video will show you how easy it is to make tote bags out of T-shirts.
You can give these T-shirt bags to volunteers as a way of saying thank you, or give them away at your next event.
2. Turn medals into trinkets.
Do you have quite a lot of leftover medals and don’t know what to do with them? You can get creative and turn them into ornaments. One way to do this is to remove the ribbon and attach a magnet on the back. Voilà! You got yourself a fridge magnet.
Another way to reuse old and excess medals is to turn them into Christmas tree baubles. So, instead of throwing away these medals, you can give them away to customers, friends and volunteers during your event. You will not only be making some people happy, but you’ll also be able to preserve the memory of your event for years to come.
Alternatively, you can talk to a commercial metal recycling company to see how much money you can get for these medals, or, you can donate them to schools, hospitals and other organisations with charitable sports initiatives.
3. Donate to charities.
Promotional shirts and tote bags don’t have to end up in landfills. One of the best ways to put your excess publicity materials to good use is by donating them to local charities or organisations that are close to your heart.
You can donate:
- stationery items such as notebooks, drawing pads and pens to schools
- drink/water bottles to children’s sporting teams
- clothes and bags to thrift stores and second-hand stores
- printed and writing materials to start-up local artists
4. Anything can be repurposed.
The day is almost over, and your event is coming to a close. You know you will have some leftover publicity materials and promotional products that you don’t want to throw away. Here are some ideas so that they don’t end up in the trash bin.
- Give them as a gift to customers who purchase from you.
- Give them as a giveaway item to prospective buyers.
- Give them to courier drivers as a token of appreciation.
- Add them to raffle prizes or gift baskets.
- Give them as a giveaway on social media or as a prize for contests.
- Store them to be used at your next event.
5. Use your creative imagination.
There are some products that you don’t want to donate or give away to friends, such as old promotional clothes that somehow got buried underneath a pile of other things. So, here are some creative ideas that you can explore if you don’t want to go to the recyclers yet.
- Use them as something else. For example, you can turn a plastic drink bottle into a flower pot
- Turn them into art pieces, such as a paper mosaic art and a collage of printed materials
- Some products are compostable
Recycling is your last option if you think that none of these ideas will work. Just remember that not everything can be recycled. Here is a list of what can and cannot be recycled, as well as what to do to avoid recyclable items from contaminating other products and then getting thrown into landfills.
What can you do to avoid excess publicity materials?
While recycling is a good thing, minimising the number of items that will need to be recycled is even better. Here are some tips on how to prevent producing excess items.
1. Consider the 10 per cent rule.
It is common knowledge that some registered participants or those who RSVPed don’t make it to the event. In the case of racing, the 10 per cent rule says that about 10 per cent of these participants don’t show up on race day. You might want to consider taking this rule into consideration when you are ordering your promotional products and other publicity materials.
2. Avoid printing the date on T-shirts and bags.
A smart way of making sure that some of your publicity materials can be used in future events is to leave out the date from shirts and bags. This will likely work, especially if you have a nice, attractive logo and design.
Jennings Print promotes sustainable printing and eco-friendly initiatives.
At Jennings Print, we have more than 45 years of experience in digital and offset printing, as well as corporate colour reproduction. We offer a variety of products, including flyers, corporate stationery, docket books, stickers, posters and pull up banners.
Don’t have a design for your publicity materials? No problem. We offer graphic design services as well, and can work with you to get your products right. Request a quote today or call us at 02 4933 5735 to learn more about what we can offer you.