Last spring, I visited Ecuador and found myself adorned, protected, glossed and clothed with promotional products—blue, dry-pack pouch for my camera, red promotional baseball cap from a local golf course, promotional lip balm imprinted with our company’s logo and a blouse emblazoned with Ralph’s signature logo.

As I disembarked from our chartered dinghy, heading to dry land in the Galapagos, promotional gear sheltered my valuables from an accidental dip in the ocean. While I didn’t plan it this way, when I look at this photo, a true naturalist pose, I can’t help but notice I use a lot of promotional merchandise wherever I go.

Later on, while enjoying a drink high up in the Andes in the middle of nowhere—Termes Papallacta Springs, to be exact—I noticed a custom-shaped, imprinted drink stirrer emblazoned with the Papallacta logo. If I had remembered to carry the stirrer back to the hotel, I would have documented it with a picture. But I wasn’t exactly thinking about writing this article until I got back to the States and looked through all of my colorful photos online.

As I flipped through the digital documentation of the trip and of the other vacationers on Galapagos, a theme popped up. Chad had his collection of custom printed t-shirts from the Charles Darwin Station, folks were filling up logoed beverage containers with filtered water, and our chartered boat was pushing its company brand by handing out complimentary, zippered, waist pouch packs with its logo in a one-color imprint. Promotional merchandise was not only all over me but also everywhere I looked.

So, why would Papallacta spend money to imprint a drink stirrer? My guess is because it is a necessary item to stir your drink. As with so many promotional products, buying supplies, such as pens, notebooks and sticky notes, for corporate use on a daily basis doesn’t cost a penny more (sometimes it’s even less) to produce and imprint with the company logo. So, it is a no brainer to buy branded supplies and pick up the additional marketing buzz, rather than serving them up blank.

It makes good marketing sense for Papallacta to invest in an imprinted comb and a logoed drink stirrer. And I can attest to the value of a comb when visiting the hot springs. How nice that they were thinking of me! These useful, imprinted freebies elicit a warm feeling. Even the t-shirt paid for in the gift shop will serve me well in the fond-memory department.

Maybe Because It’s Earth Day
In spite of all the marketing value, practicality and feel-good intentions behind the promotional products industry, I can’t escape the tiny voice that asks: Would our landfills be smaller? What is the carbon footprint of our business anyway? And what about the charity that could have taken its $10,000 and put it toward the homeless instead of buying those light-up ice cubes?

I am afraid I may be sliding down a slippery slope, but do you ever have these thoughts? Maybe because it is Earth Day or maybe, in this moment, I find myself a bit conflicted about the impact on the planet of what we buy, sell and consume.

Today, these questions weigh heavy on my mind, and believe me, in my more than 20 years in this business, this isn’t the first time I have had these thoughts. So what are we to do when these thoughts bombard us?

With the growing popularity to market recycled, green and eco-friendly products, there is an inescapable proof that we all feel a responsibility to our planet. Maybe we are ready to have a heart-to-heart talk with one another. Maybe it’s time to ask ourselves and the industry how we can make a difference to better our environment.

Even as I write these words, I can offer no hard and fast solutions, but today seems like the perfect opportunity to engage in the conversation, to brainstorm about better business practices and alternative resources, to educate ourselves and the public, and to take a small step that begins with a question.

Dale Kirby is director of marketing for Sherwood, Oregon-based distributor Promopeddler.com (UPIC: Bagpe110).
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