Sustainable materials guide
Sustainability is integral when choosing branded merchandise and the materials that products are made from are a big part of this.
Recycling is considered an effective way to save non-renewable resources (e.g. plastic, metal) from becoming waste and is an important part of a circular economy. The source of the recycled content can be ‘post-consumer’ or ‘pre-consumer’.
Post-consumer refers to waste resulting from products used by consumers and then discarded, like plastic bottles. Pre-consumer refers to waste from production processes (factories) like leftover scraps of fabric.
Another good option for a more sustainable end product, is to use renewable materials (e.g. cotton, wood) instead of recycled non-renewable material in production.
On this page we'll take you through the most commonly used materials in the sustainable products we offer, and explain why they appeal to those wanting to be more enviromentally responsible.
Recycled Aluminium (R-ALU)
Aluminium is one of the most recycled and recyclable materials in use today, in fact there is no limit to how many times this sustainable material can be recycled.
Recycling aluminium takes 95% less energy than creating aluminium from raw materials.
Recycled Stainless Steel (R-SS)
Embossing and debossing are the processes of creating either raised or recessed relief images and designs.
An embossed pattern is raised against the background, while a debossed pattern is sunken into the surface of the material but might protrude somewhat on the reverse side.
Recycled PET (RPET)
RPET is short for Recycled Polyethelene Tetraphalate, also known as Recycled PET. Due to the thermodynamic qualities of PET, it can be heated up, melted and transformed into new materials over and over, making it a great choice for sustainable merchandise.
Bamboo
Bamboo is an earth-friendly solution for high demand products as it can grow up to 3ft per day with very little water and without chemicals.
It is also 100% biodegradable and extremely durable.
Ocean Bound RPET
Ocean bound plastic is plastic waste that has been discarded and at risk of ending up in the ocean, which generates 80% of plastic marine litter.
Ocean bound RPET material sets out to reduce this problem by using plastic that has been collected from coastal communities, where there is no formal waste management infrastructure, saving it from entering bodies of water and polluting waterways further.
New products such as logo branded pens, water bottles, bags and much more are made from this material.
Recycled Paper & Card
Paper recycling helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it takes 70% less energy and water to recycle paper than to create new paper products from trees.
It also heavily reduces the amount of space taken up by waste paper in landfill.
By choosing a product made from recycled paper, you will be helping forest conservation - far less trees are needed when paper is reused.
Organic Cotton
Organic cotton is responsibly cultivated cotton without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers or pesticides and it is not genetically engineered.
Organic cotton production eliminates the use of pesticides, fertilizers, and replenishes soil fertility, thus, reduces about 14% of GHG-emissions, compared to conventional cotton production.
Recycled Cotton
Recycled cotton fabric uses pre & post-consumer waste of virgin cotton products, to reduce the negative impact of traditional cotton farming.
This in turn reduces water consumption, CO2 emissions and decreases the amount of textitle waste that reaches landfill, providing it with a new life.
Recycled PU (R-PU)
Recycled PU (Polyurethane) is an environmentally friendly
material with a low environmental impact due to its great
durability and low melting point.
The material is created by breaking down used PU products and turning them in to new products, in our case, notebook covers.
The recycling of PU helps to reduce waste to landfill, helping the environmental impact of conventional polyurethane production.
Recycled Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE)
Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) is a plastic which can be bended under high temperatures and has a rubber-like flexibility.
This means it is very suitable for products such as charging cables and watch straps.
Recycled TPE saves more than 60% of GHG-emissions,
compared to the products manufactured from virgin TPE.
Recycled ABS
ABS stands for Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene. It is a plastic that is light weight and tough.
It is suitable for a variety of products and often seen in casings for audio/technology Items.
Recycled ABS can reduce about 80% of CO2-emissions, compared to the conventionally produced ABS.
Recycled PC
Polycarbonate is a thermoplastic which is strong and lightweight and can be used for a wide variety of products.
Recycled Polycarbonate saves about 52% of GHG-emissions, compared to the products manufactured from virgin Polycarbonate.