In the crowded space of creating promotional marketing materials, Evergreen Promotions, an eco-friendly e-commerce company that sells personalized promotional products, strives to offer their clients a truly green product through their green sourcing and operational practices. All of their promotional products, including laser engraved water bottles and pens, embroidered shirts and hats, and printed bags, are made from sustainable materials in an effort to combat the problem of throwaway promo items that end up in a landfill somewhere.
The company joined Green Business Bureau to manage and support their green business initiatives. Evergreen Promotions uses GBB Certification as a way to validate their sustainability accomplishments and showcase their commitment to their customers through the recognizable and trusted Green Business Bureau seal. They recognize that eco-conscious shoppers are serious about who they do business with and therefore need to ensure they will be taken seriously when a customer researches their company. This commitment to sustainability gives them an opportunity to differentiate themselves and their products, allowing consumers to be more selective in their purchasing decisions as a truly green option.
Green Team Drives the Use of Eco-Friendly Materials and Suppliers Committed to Sustainability
Green Team leaders, Adam and Christopher, are diligent in their research of their suppliers to ensure that the materials they source are coming from like minded organizations that put an emphasis on environmental health, giving back and carbon emission reduction. Each product is made up of biodegradable and/or recyclable materials, along with being produced with a low-to-no carbon impact. This focus even extends to their electricity provider which Adam says is solely renewable energy. “We’ve been at it for 2 years, and we’ve saved the equivalent of roughly 250,000 pounds of carbon emissions just by using renewable energy sources for our production.”
A Green Culture With Engaged Employees
The company’s focus on a green business includes making internal operations more sustainable. CEO Christopher Schoen, developed and implemented a Recycling Incentive Device to gamify recycling and reward team members for their recycling efforts and encourage a culture of sustainable behavior. Chris coded a randomizer program on top of a Raspberry Pi (simple single board computer) with a red button attachment placed near the recycling bins. Team members push the button after dropping an item into the recycling bin, and have a 1 in 100 chance of winning an Amazon gift card. There’s even a winning sound, the theme song from Captain Planet, that is heard in celebration. This program has kept the team incentivized and makes recycling not just the right thing to do but a fun activity.
Flexible Minimum Order Requirements to Minimize Waste and Support Small Business Orders
Another unique aspect about Evergreen Promotions is their flexibility to offer low and sometimes “no” minimum order requirements. This is something that is not common in the promotional product industry. Evergreen Promotions has the capacity to meet large corporate orders as well as fulfill small batch or single item orders for small and medium sized businesses and individuals. Providing low and no minimum order restrictions also avoids unused excess items from being tossed out. So, the next time you are shopping for your next workplace event or simply needing a birthday gift for a friend, Evergreen Promotions has you covered.
