Four major drinkware brands – all of which are offered in the promotional products industry – have joined forces in the fight against climate change. YETI, Klean Kanteen, MiiR and Stanley have created the Drinkware CoLab to look for opportunities and actions that will reduce carbon emissions across the drinkware supply chain.

The CoLab is part of the Outdoor Industry Association’s Climate Action Corps, which is exploring ways to reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing. The primary goal is to move industry suppliers to 100% renewable electricity and to develop science-aligned emissions reduction targets for supplier facilities.

Reusable drinkware is a hot market – particularly as it positions itself as an alternative to single-use plastic bottles. Globally, the reusable water bottle market is expected to reach $10.6 billion by 2028, according to consulting firm Verified Market Research.

In the promo industry specifically, drinkware ranked second in industry sales (behind T-shirts) last year, accounting for 9.7% – or $2.25 billion – of distributor revenue, according to Counselor’s 2022 State of the Industry report. That’s the largest annual percentage for the category since Counselor started tracking product data in 2008.

The glut of drinkware poses a concern, however, since it reduces the amount of items that reach or surpass their environmental payback period, also known as the number of times a consumer must reuse a product for its environmental impact to be equivalent to the impact of a corresponding single-use product. “If you’re somebody who goes to five different conferences a year, and at each one you get handed a cotton tote bag and a reusable tumbler or water bottle, you’re canceling out the benefit of that reusable,” explained Daniel Cardozo, president and CEO of Ethix Merch (asi/189731) and advisory board member of ASI Media’s Promo for the Planet, earlier this year.

Efforts to reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing reusable drinkware could help lower the payback period of such items, making them an even more attractive product choice for buyers seeking sustainable promotions. 

Representatives from the four drinkware brands say collaboration is necessary – and welcomed – to meet their environmental goals. “The threats of climate change are real, impending and affecting our most vulnerable populations,” said Devon Richardson, giving and sustainability manager at Miir. “The only way we can make meaningful change is together, and we are so grateful to be a part of this cohort.”

The Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), a Boulder, CO-based trade group for outdoor manufacturers, suppliers and retailers, facilitated all aspects of the CoLab and provided project management for the brands. The costs of the CoLab are being shared by the participating brands, suppliers and third-party funding the OIA received for the project. The OIA hired a sustainability consulting agency to identify and oversee areas of improvement, emissions goals and progress. The agency will assess each of the brands’ facilities and work to develop decarbonization roadmaps, outlining the changes each supplier can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing energy efficiency, developing renewable energy procurement and implementing management systems.

“This project is enabling our drinkware brands to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their supply chains with increased efficiency,” said Sarah Rykal, senior manager of the OIA Climate Action Corps. “Many supply chain problems are too grand for any individual company to address single-handedly. We see these types of collaborations as a key puzzle piece in reaching the corps’ climate goals, as well as each brand’s individual goals, and we ultimately plan to use this project as a model for future CoLabs to follow.”

Klean Kanteen, a certified B Corp, 1% for the Planet member and Climate Neutral Certified brand, is offered in promo by Top 40 supplier Polyconcept North America (PCNA; asi/78897), among others. Multiple promo suppliers offer Stanley and YETI drinkware. Top 40 supplier Gemline (asi/56070) entered a strategic partnership with MiiR in 2019 to sell the brand’s stainless-steel drinkware in promo. MiiR, also a member of 1% for the Planet, a B Corp and Climate Neutral Certified, has a robust giveback program, having donated more than $3.5 million to nonprofits over the years.

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