Sourcing sustainably made promotional products doesn’t have to be difficult. That’s the message Top 40 distributor Proforma (asi/300094) wanted to send with a self-promo campaign it put together for its affiliate-owners earlier this year.

“A lot of people don’t understand just how many different types of everyday products can be sustainably manufactured and sourced,” says Xanthi Katsigiannis, creative manager for Proforma’s corporate office.

Proforma created this Simply Sustainable campaign to show clients how easy it is to source eco-friendly items in promo.

Proforma’s “Simply Sustainable” campaign was distributed to 1,000 contacts chosen by its affiliate-owners. Many elements were offered digitally, but when printing was necessary, Proforma used brochures made from 100% recycled paper, according to Katsigiannis. Each of the products – sourced from Top 40 supplier Polyconcept North America (PCNA; asi/78897) – was made from natural or recycled materials.

Products included a recycled cotton drawstring bag and a wheat straw bento box with utensils. Wheat straw, an alternative to traditional plastic, is made from the stalk left over after wheat grain is harvested. There was also a fleece blanket made of 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET), essentially recycled polyester. Each item was sent with a cardboard tag indicating what material it was made from to further educate clients on sustainability.

“We really tried to make it the full package,” Katsigiannis says. “We can offer a more sustainable approach for promo, from start to finish.”

Since its launch, the campaign resulted in around $1 million in sales, with a high conversion rate from lead to buyer for affiliate-owners. “In addition to the metrics, our owners continue to set appointments and have great opportunities associated with this program,” Katsigiannis says.

In many ways, Katsigiannis adds, the campaign was catching up with what Proforma owner-affiliates were already asking for. “A lot of owners were prioritizing this,” she says. “They were, in their own businesses, looking for ways to continue to be more sustainable. We were really able to shed a light on what they’re already doing.”

Proforma creates themed self-promo campaigns for owner-affiliates to take advantage of on a regular basis. And, Katsigiannis says, she hopes to continue to source more sustainable products in upcoming bundles. Rather than the theme be explicitly about sustainability though, she’d like “to weave more of those products” into regular campaigns, noting their eco-friendly aspects, without focusing solely on them. “That’s the goal,” she says.

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