Guidance in choosing the eco friendly promotional product

David Platt • 2 January 2023

Refill NOT Landfill

REFILL NOT LANDFILL

To buy promotional products that are ‘environmentally friendly’ we often consider only those items which are either plastic free or made from biodegradable or recycled material. There is however another approach to environmentally friendly and that is to choose items which are used repeatedly and not consigned to land fill. Or a product that replaces a landfill destined product. The idea is to think REFILL rather than LANDFILL.

1. Is a plastic water bottle environmentally friendly?

A polycarbonate drinks bottle made from Titan. More plastic? Well because of the nature of this bottle, which made from polycarbonate, it is likely that it will last years of usage. Unlike the cheaper polythene bottles the crystal clear polycarbonate is very hard wearing and does not scratch. After a couple of years the one in my gym bag is still going strong. Prior to using this refillable bottle I would use the standard supermarket bought supply of water packed in

The small disposable plastic bottles would have been put into the recycling – but compared to the Titan bottle – is this really environmentally friendly?

1. So much better to use a biodegradable bottle?

There are a number of water bottles on the market which are biodegradable. They are either made from a vegetable starch or from plastic with an additive which helps them breakdown to micro size pieces (actually this is not biodegradable and the worst possible material to use but that is a different post)

A biodegradable bottle (starch type) clearly advertises your brands environmental credentials. But is it the most responsible thing to put into circulation?

What will the end user do with the bottle – put into the waste stream for the bottle to breakdown in landfill? Well, it is likely given the lack of oxygen in a landfill that the bottle will actually breakdown because the microbial activity required simply does not exist in a standard landfill.

Will they place the bottle in the recycling? This could be even worse. The plastics in the recycling are manually separated and the starch type bottle resembles standard polythene so my end up in that recycle stream. The only problem from a recycling point of view is that the starch does not recycle and will contaminate the standard polythene waste.

What appeared to be a simple environmentally sound choice could do more damage!.

Hence a good environmental choice is to think re-use of products of REFILL and NOT LANDFILL.

Share this blog:

Checking arbon Footrint

Evaluating Carbon Footprint in Branded Merchandise

by David Platt • 13 April 2026
SUMMARY: Comparing eco promotional products is difficult because of the range of materials used Carbon footprint is a measure which allows comparison Need to look at CO2 equivalent because of the use of organic solvents in promotional merchandise There is a difference between Cradle to Gate and Cradle to Grave in the measurement, because we never know whether the end user will attempt to recycle products  Pavilion is a specialist in providing branded promotional products, which are sustainable. The most common question we're asked, of course, is what's the most sustainable branded product? And how would you measure that? And that's a difficult question and often comes with hesitations. Why? This blog aims to try and explain eco credentials, particularly for promotional merchandise and how you might compare them. The first problem you have, is that you're comparing different materials. This is why it's difficult is because there's no true standard of sustainability. There is no international marking that says, this one's a 10, and this one's a 1. The nearest you have is carbon footprint. Carbon footprint generally means the amount of carbon dioxide measured in kilos, but you have to be a bit careful with that, particularly for promotional merchandise because carbon dioxide is not the only greenhouse gas. You may be fully aware that methane, natural gas has a global warming effect 50 to 60 times more than CO2. So, you don't need to measure just CO2, you've really have to look at a CO2 equivalent. In other words, converting the methane. And why do I mention that? Promotional merchandise is often printed and unless you are using water based inks, there will be solvents, and therefore, CO2 equivalent is what you need to measure. The next problem that you've have is what are you measuring the carbon footprint of? Are we talking what's termed - Cradle to Grave or Cradle to Gate? The concept is explained in the diagram.
Sustainable Cork

Cork for Eco Branded Merchandise

17 February 2026
Cork - what is it? where does it come from and is it a sustainable product? This blog answers these questions and explains why cork is such a great material
Eco Promotional Products

Factors affecting the Price of Promotional Products

by David Platt • 16 February 2026
The factors affecting the price of branded promotional merchandise
Show More