Droughts, floods, tornadoes, fires, make it clear to all of us that global warming is here, it is no longer the future but the present, and today, environmental awareness has become a necessity that we must carry out in order to protect the planet. The changes in the search for ecological alternatives as a priority are here to stay. However, many do not know what it means to be able to classify a product as ecological and the criteria that must be taken into account for this. Therefore, beyond the sustainability and recycling certifications that guarantee their condition as ecological gifts for companies. At Firstgreen sustainable business merchandising we wanted to make a classification of the products that we offer in our ecological online store, in which, evaluating all these criteria and with a score from 1 to 5, the client can choose from the most ecological, with level A, to the least sustainable, with level E, all of them being sustainable corporate products.

Sustainable Raw Materials

The basis of any quality product lies in the raw material. Sustainable raw materials in ecological products are those that are obtained in a responsible and environmentally friendly manner. Their production prioritizes a focus on the conservation of natural resources and the minimization of negative environmental impacts. They are sought to come from renewable and ethical sources such as recycling. The green label GREEN_Label would place renewable products such as bamboo, hemp, wood, and aluminum, glass, and stainless steel as ethical practices.

Corporate Social Responsibility

For a promotional item to be considered eco-friendly, the sustainability that the product provides is not limited to the environment, but there must be corporate social responsibility in the process of producing and marketing the product. Corporate responsibility is aware of work that generates economic benefits, benefiting the society in which they operate.

Organic products must respect labour rights, gender equality and contribute to the well-being of local communities.

Companies adopt fair trade and labour practices based on business ethics, commitment to the local community (contributions to charities and social organisations) and the surrounding environment (reducing emissions and minimising toxic waste). GREEN_Label conducts a study to rate the products it offers in its personalised eco-merchandising catalogue from highest to lowest , taking into account aspects such as audits by external companies, promotion of fair and local trade, and commitments to NGOs.

Discover some of these corporate impact items for training and business, such as the eco-friendly backpacks made of recycled cotton and rpet polyester to personalize with a 15” laptop compartment Impact Aware with a contribution to the NGO Water.org in various colors. GREEN_Label A rating.

Sustainable Transport

Globalisation makes it possible to obtain products from anywhere in the world in a short time. The distance a product travels from its place of production until it reaches the consumer also influences sustainability. A product will be more sustainable the closer it is to the consumer, which is why consumption of products manufactured locally or those that use more ecological transport methods is favoured to minimise the carbon footprint. In GREEN_Label, the catalogue of promotional products with ecological trends made in Europe, which includes gifts for companies with seeds, with European regulation, they are, in this respect, more ecological than those from China.

Bumble's customised wild flower honey jars with plantable bee flower seeds made in Europe with GREEN_Label A rating are the trendiest product in merchandising for events and culinary fairs, as well as for personalised gifts for weddings and communions.

Quality Products

The durability and useful life of the product are crucial in all these criteria, since the longer the product lasts, the less it consumes. A quality branded product that lasts longer contributes to waste reduction and responsible consumption. Sustainable, customizable promotional products that can be refilled, such as aluminum pens with ink refills, perpetual wooden diaries, or glass water bottles and reusable bamboo bags, are examples of sustainability that Green-label classifies as having the highest ecological performance.

Quality products also feature innovative and novel materials that are applied to green marketing strategies, such as the eco-friendly cork thermal bag for personalisation with an isothermal aluminium interior and a Lumida snap closure and GREEN_Label A rating.

Recycling and Reuse

It is clear that there are polluting materials, from fossil or limited resources, that already exist and that have a long or non-existent degradation, so their waste ends up in the environment, in landfills that, when burned, produce polluting emissions. Recycling allows us to avoid this waste and reduce the need for these limited resources. The GREEN_Label rating has also taken this into account to make your choice clearer, and here glass and aluminum are the kings, since they can be recycled indefinitely without losing their characteristics from the virgin product. Special mention should be made of rpet, since by recycling plastics, we reduce the amount of waste caused by a product as polluting and widely used as plastic.

Biodegradability and Compostability

Returning to the environment without harming the place where it ends its useful life is crucial to being considered ecological merchandising, which is why the ability of the product to decompose naturally at the end of its useful life cannot be missing from the classification that a sustainable label must take into account. Biodegradability and compostability are key factors for organic products. Trendy organic products such as wheat stalks meet these requirements very well, as do seed products, which take advantage of these qualities to create new natural resources.

Organic Certifications

In addition to knowing the eco-friendly materials with which sustainable corporate gifts that reach the consumer are made, providing sustainability and recycling certifications allows environmentally friendly companies to carry out sustainable advertising in which they can make better choices taking into account the sustainable practices that the green-labeled product entails. Some products have specific certifications that endorse their ecological category. Seals such as GOTS, RCS, PEF, EFC, GRS, etc. and Blockchain technology to verify the complete traceability of the promotional gift are taken into account in the assessment of a greater or lesser degree of sustainability.

Personalization

With the personalization of corporate gifts, our GREEN_Label rating is completed. Firstgreen allows you to design and personalize ecological promotional products. Through photovoltaic energy complemented by 100% renewable energy, laser printing, personalized designs of embroidered logos and even personalization through sublimation with water-based or ecological inks (they are less toxic and polluting than conventional ones), management of polluting waste.

In this field, the most environmentally friendly customization is considered to be laser.

The GREEN_Label has emerged as a response to the increasing awareness and environmental responsibility of companies and customers. The wide variety of ecological corporate products that already exist has led us to make it easier for you to make the most appropriate choice for your level of commitment to the sustainability of the planet and the ethical and social commitment that ecological products entail.