PPB February 2016

MATERIAL MATTERS

EYE ON APPAREL

F YOU’RE PITCHING GREEN PRODUCTS to

clients as if green is its own category, it may be time to

rethink your approach.

“Today’s buyers, in particular Millennials, are too smart for

that,” says Danny Braunstein, vice president of sales and busi-

ness development for Canadian distributor Talbot Marketing

(UPIC: TALB0001). “They want to purchase locally sourced

and eco-friendly products because it makes sense and they legit-

imately care about the environment. Treating green products as

if they are a category like writing instruments is a mistake.”

Distributors can bring value to clients by keeping the envi-

ronment in mind with every promotional campaign. “The earth

is a closed, living system with finite resources that must be pro-

tected. A radical paradigm shift is necessary in order to heal the

health of our planet. Choosing organic and sustainable apparel

and accessories is among one of the many things we can do to

co-create a thriving planet,” says Kriya Stevens, brand manager

at supplier econscious (UPIC: Econ). “Collectively, our choices

act as a vote for more responsible agricultural practices and the

kind of world we want to leave for future generations,” she adds.

Whether you’re creating promotions using apparel and

accessories made from recycled plastic bottles (RPET), organic

cotton, hemp, bamboo or any other recycled or earth-friendly

material, you’re not just being green, you are aligning your

clients with what many of today’s business customers want—to

show that their brand respects the environment.

JULIE RICHIE IS ASSOCIATE EDITOR FOR

PPB

PROMOTIONS FEATURING ECO-FRIENDLY APPAREL APPEAL TO TODAY’S BUSINESS BUYERS

BY JULIE RICHIE

INNOVATE

12 •

PPB

• FEBRUARY 2016