Coolest Sponsorship Without Being Drenched In Gatorade One way that promo is working on holistically embracing corporate social responsibility is by offering carbon-neutral event sponsorship at industry events. The sponsorships help fund the third-party data collection, calculation and verification of the carbon footprint of a particular event, so the host organization can purchase offsets in the same amount of C02 equivalence. For example, PPAI has partnered with 4imprint in recent years to help make NALC, WLC and Responsibility Summit certified carbon-neutral events. Coolest Supergroup Since The Traveling Wilburys Drew Holmgreen’s mission as president and CEO of PPAI is to elevate the role of promotional products – overhauling the industry-wide approach to end buyer and consumer outreach and messaging. He’s hit the ground running by creating and leveraging partnerships with other associations and trade groups. Partnerships are the coolest thing in promo right now," Holmgreen says. "They're strategic, they'll amplify our voice and they let us create joy together. Coolest Birthday Party Without A Ball Pit Celebrating 50 years of its most iconic product – the Beefy T – Hanes kicked off the festivities at The PPAI Expo 2025, where the North Carolina-based company built a giant booth adorned with vintage T-shirts, upcoming designs and a movie reel of various images displayed on a 22XL Beefy-T. Booth visitors could receive a free Beefy-T in their desired size, watching Hanes workers heat press the shirt right in front of them. “It’s the only T-shirt that people ask for by name,” says Chris Guard, director of product management at Hanesbrands. Coolest Elixir For Tariff Troubles One of the largest importers in promo, Greater Pacific is directly impacted by the additional tariffs recently imposed on Chinese imports. To diversify sourcing, the Seattle-headquartered supplier has turned to SourceReady, an AI-powered tool that integrates supply chain data from U.S. customs, directories and other sources to identify manufacturers from around the world. “We’re excited about the options this technology provides and the potential benefits it brings to us and our distributor clients,” says Ben Zhang, president and CEO of Greater Pacific. PPAI • MAY 2025 • 41 The Coolest Stuff in Promo | Must Read
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