Sustainability
Ethical Swag is a Certified B Corporation and one of North America's dedicated sustainable promotional product companies.We help organizations source eco-friendly promotional products, build sustainable branded merchandise programs, and make sourcing decisions grounded in real information ā not marketing language. Sustainability shapes how we select products, evaluate suppliers, and support clients in making better choices over time. It is not a filter we apply to a small subset of items. It is how we operate.
What does Ethical Swag's approach to sustainability involve?
Ethical Swag helps organizations source sustainable promotional products more responsibly by combining product evaluation, supplier review, and value-based buying tools. We assess environmental and social factors across every product we carry - not just a curated eco-friendly section - so clients can compare options clearly and choose branded merchandise that fits their goals, budget, and values without getting through vague claims or greenwashed language.
Whether you are sourcing eco-friendly corporate gifts, sustainable onboarding kits, event merchandise with a lower environmental footprint, or a long-term swag program aligned with your ESG commitments, our approach stays consistent: transparent information, honest tradeoffs, and practical support.
Our B Corp Certification
Ethical Swag earned a B Corp Impact Score of 81.9 - well above the 50.9 median for ordinary businesses and above the 80-point minimum required to certify. This certification is independently verified by B Lab, is renewed every three years, and requires documented evidence across social and environmental performance, governance, accountability, and transparency.
B Corp certification evaluates the whole company - not just the products we sell. It measures how we treat employees, how we manage supplier relationships, how our environmental footprint looks like, and how we communicate as a business. When you work with Ethical Swag, this standard applies to everything we do, not just the items on our product pages.
This certification process requires completing the B Impact Assessment, passing a risk review, and legally changing corporate governance to account for all stakeholders - not just shareholders. It is one of the most rigorous business certifications available, and one of the clearest signals that a company's sustainability claims are independently verified rather than self-reported.
Our Four Sustainability Pillars
Our sustainability framework is built around four pillars that define how we review products, assess suppliers, and help our customers source responsibly. These are not aspirational statements - they shape how we operate, day to day.
1. Sustainable sourcing
We evaluate every eco-friendly promotional product we offer against defined environmental and social criteria before it appears on our site. This includes:
- Material composition - recycled content (rPET, recycled cotton, recycled polyester), organic materials (GOTS certified cotton and textiles), and renewable inputs (FSC certified wood, paper, and bamboo).
- Circularity of design - designed for easy product repair, re-useability.
- Supplier compliance documentation - maintained on file, reviewed regularly, and available to clients with specific sourcing or procurement requirements.
- Third-party certifications - B Corp, Fair Trade, GOTS, FSC, SA8000, and others where applicable.
- Give-back programs - products supporting 1% for The Planet, reforestation initiatives, or social causes.
Rather than treating a handful of items as sustainable promotional products and leaving the rest unexamined, we apply this review across our full range. The result is a more consistent standard for what we offer - and a clearer basis for the decisions you make.
2. Social Impacts
Sustainable swag is not only about materials. It is also about the conditions under which products are made. We assess suppliers on labor protections, worker safety standards, and supply chain transparency, and we prioritize sourcing that addresses risk from deforestation, low wages, and toxic exposure.
We look for responsible sourcing practices in factories where available, and we ask harder questions about supply chains and sourcing partners than most promotional product distributors do. When we cannot verify a claim, we say so.
3. Community Impacts
We support give-back programs built into the eco-friendly promotional products we source. Through our membership in Pledge 1%, and our partnership with the Benevity Environmental Foundation, a portion of our business activity is directed toward environmental and social causes beyond the transaction.
We are also a Canada Women-Owned Business through WBE Canada - supporting supplier diversity for clients whose procurement programs require or prioritize it.
4. Continuous Improvement
B Corp certification keeps us accountable and requires demonstrating measurable progress - not just maintaining a baseline score. We update our supplier standards, expand verification practices, and improve transparency as expectations and available data evolve.
How does Ethical Swag evaluate and source eco-friendly promotional products?
Every sustainable promotional product we carry goes through a structured review before it is offered on our site. We collect and maintain supplier compliance documentation so that the information behind our product selection is available when clients need it - not just when it is convenient for us to share.
Our sourcing criteria for eco-friendly branded merchandise include:
- Recycled content - RPET drinkware, recycled cotton apparel, recycled polyester bags and accessories
- Organic materials - GOTS certified cotton and textiles, organic bamboo
- Certified sustainable inputs - FSC certified paper, bioplastics, and wood-based products
- Fair labour standards - Fair Trade certification, SA8000, or documented supplier code of conduct
- Give-back components - 1% for the Planet, reforestation programs, or social enterprise suppliers
- Country of origin - listed on every product page
This process creates our full catalog. When you browse sustainable promotional products on our site, the information behind each product has been collected and reviewed - not generated on demand.
How does our product rating system work?
Our Good / Better / Best rating system - displayed with emoji on product pages - helps clients compare eco-friendly promotional products across more than 15 supplemental criteria. This includes recycled content, organic materials, give-back programs, supplier certifications, country of origin, and overall environmental and social performance.
The system is designed to make tradeoffs visible and decisions easier, not to push every client toward the most expensive option. You can filter by attributes and find sustainable swag that fits your priorities - whether that is the most environmentally responsible product available, a balance between sustainability and cost, or a specific material like RPET, organic cotton, or FSC certified paper.
Why does transparency matter in sustainable promotional products sourcing?
The promotional products industry has a well-documented greenwashing problem. Products get labeled eco-friendly or sustainable without meaningful transparency around materials, manufacturing conditions, or supply chain practices. Buyers end up making decisions based on claims they cannot verify - and organizations with genuine sustainability commitments end up paying a premium that does not reflect those commitments.
Our approach is different. Country of origin is listed on every product page. Supplier compliance documentation is maintained on file. Our Good / Better / Best rating system is built on collected data, not marketing impressions. And our B Corp Impact Score of 81.9 is independently verified - not self-reported.
This matters particularly for organizations with ESG reporting requirements, sustainability goals with stakeholder oversight, or procurement teams that need to justify sourcing decisions. When someone asks why you chose a product, you should have an answer that goes beyond "it said eco-friendly on the website."
How does Ethical Swag help reduce waste in branded merchandise programs?
Most waste in the promotional products industry is a planning problem before it is a materials problem. Bulk orders placed without a clear distribution plan, generic items nobody asked for, deadlines created to fit a price break rather than meet an actual need - this is where swag ends up unused.
We help organizations take a different approach to sustainable swag programs:
- Choice-based gifting - recipients select from a curated range of eco-friendly promotional products, which increases the likelihood items are kept and used.
- Company stores and pop-up shops - controlled distribution with inventory visibility reduces over-ordering and duplicate purchasing.
- Warehousing and on-demand fulfillment - so organizations are not forced to order more than they need at once.
- Territory product selection - fewer, better-chosen sustainable branded merchandise options aligned with local use and clear purpose.
Reducing waste is not separate from sustainability. It is part of it. A well-run swag program that avoids over-ordering and distributes with intention has a lower footprint than any individual eco-friendly product choice made in isolation.
Ready to source more thoughtfully?
Explore our product rating filters, download the Sustainable Buyer's Guide, or connect with our team to find eco-friendly promotional products and sustainable branded merchandise that fit your goals, budget, timeline, and values - and that you can stand behind when someone asks why you chose them.