24hr Production: A Brand Marketing Podcast · Gary Chan

We Are More ECO Than You Think

·34 min·2 clips

A third-party study ranked promo merchandising among the lowest carbon-impact advertising channels.

Gary opens with Melissa beside him and says it has been a while since they last recorded. They frame the episode around promotional products, branding management, and digital marketing. The topic they pick is sustainability, under the title We Are More ECO Than You Think. They start from a common industry assumption that giveaway products end up as waste and sit outside the eco conversation. From there, they argue that the opposite is increasingly true. Sustainability is becoming normal practice rather than a separate premium category. Recycled paper is one example they point to. Biodegradable plastic wrap is another. They explain that the wrap they use now is meant to break down instead of lingering in the environment. Aluminum comes up as a material they are seeing more often because it is highly recyclable. They also talk about post consumer recycled plastics. In their telling, those plastics can become fabric or another form of plastic after being recovered. They move on to pouches and fabrics. These are presented as alternatives to plastic bags and part of a broader move toward reusable formats. Reusable boxes are another recurring example. The hosts mention that when they split shipments from suppliers, they sometimes use reusable or recycled boxes rather than creating a new one. That choice is framed as practical and better looking. The episode then turns to a more unusual material. They describe mushroom packaging made from mycelium and aquaculture waste. They explain it as a molded protective material that can replace the shaped inserts people often see in electronics packaging. The comparison is easy to picture. If you have opened a product box from a store like Best Buy and seen a strange protective form inside, that is the kind of application they mean. The discussion keeps coming back to the same point. Eco friendly production is not a future promise here. It is already built into ordinary supplier and packaging decisions. The hosts also keep the tone open and conversational. They welcome listeners back after the hiatus. They invite people to find them on LinkedIn. They mention their website, where previous episodes can be revisited and questions can be sent in. The close is simple and direct, with a nod toward doing another update later and continuing the series with a different trend or topic.

As heard by us

A practical snapshot of eco materials already showing up in promo merchandising.

Gary and Melissa make a straightforward case that sustainability is no longer a side note in promotional merchandising. They keep it grounded in materials people actually use, from recycled paper and post-consumer plastics to aluminum, fabrics, pouches, and mushroom packaging.

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Why you'd press play

You want a practical reset on eco-friendly promo products.

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