A big Thank you to HKTDC for featuring our company on the Gifts & Premium April Issue!

Eco-friendly Promotional Products – GREEN, PRACTICAL, SUSTAINABLE

Promotional products are meant to deliver a company’s message to its customers as well as build up brand loyalty.

For socially-conscious companies, eco-friendly promotional items are ideal to do good while doing business.

Peggy Ng, director of sales and business development at Adan Promotional Concepts shares her insights and the different possibilities in the flourishing market.

What’s the eco-friendly promotional product market like at the moment?

Peggy: International companies have been putting effort into personalising gifts, while local companies are slowly educating themselves to be more creative to get customers attention. The green movement has created strong demand for eco-alternatives in the local and international markets in recent years. More and more companies are focusing on green practices and willing to spend more money on products that has a positive impact on the environment. They’re not scared away by the higher cost as they expect it to cost more. We find it encouraging to see companies doing their part to educate the public on green lifestyle and designing eco-products. Compared to their international counterparts, I’ve noticed that Hong Kong companies are less familiar with the different types of materials that’s available, like corn fibres and straw fibres. However, there’s definitely a big interest in the different types of materials available for the eco-side of things. We’re optimistic of the demand locally and internationally.

What qualifies as an eco-friendly promotional product and who are they right for?

Peggy: Eco-friendly promotional products involve creative use of sustainable materials as an alternative to the conventional ones, incorporating recycled, upcycled, renewable or natural material in the production process. This pays effort to reduce impact on environment by preserving natural resources, reducing waste, energy and carbon footprint. Companies that promote sustainable products create a positive powerful statement about its company’s commitment towards the environmental impact. So not only can they help protect the environment but also allow for a positive image as well.

What are some popular products in the category?

Peggy: Cork notebooks and natural wooden USB flash drives are good for corporations and universities, while reusable lunchboxes, natural utensil sets and reusable shopping bags are popular for all markets. However, eco-friendly promotional products are not limited to just houseware items. It could be any type of products. At a recent event with the WWF, we gave out a 100 per cent silicone straw to the public to promote the “no straw” movement. We also offer other plastic straw alternatives made from stainless steel, paper and glass.

We try to be different and creative with our products such as the seed pencil. The concept is simple as one part of the pencil holds the seed. When the pencil is used up, it can be placed into soil and, with some water and sunlight, a plant will grow from the seeds. Another item is an RFID credit card holder made from natural wood which can help prevent identity theft. We are also getting into upcycled products such as wallets, bags and key tags made from old rubber tires and other upcycled materials. It’s a very new concept, but it just shows that there’s much more to producing eco-items beside tote bags.

What are some challenges for the category?

Peggy: In the beginning, the pricing was much higher to produce eco-friendly products but today the production process has evolved and the cost is much lower. There are newer methods and materials as well as a much bigger demand for them now. As more companies learn about what eco-friendly-wise options are out there, the demand will continue to grow, bringing the cost further down.

What are your thoughts on the potential and future of eco-friendly promotional products?

Peggy: The demand for eco products has led to innovation in both materials and processes. With the upward trend on green products, there are increased alternatives and quality improvements in natural material production such as utilising straw fibre, stone powder or post-consumer recycled content (recycled tire rubber, circuit boards etc.)  We foresee new processing technologies to evolve due to the increase in recycling and manufacturing methods which can cut down cost and make them more cost-effective. We continually look out for the newest materials to incorporate with new product ideas for our eco-line. It’s very exciting, there’s such a big demand for it.

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