Managing Lifecycle with SwagCycle

Boston, Massachusetts, 2021-Apr-28 — /EPR Network/ — If you think that once you’ve sold your client promotional products what happens to them is not your problem, this post isn’t for you.

On the other hand, you know your customer will always have some of that product you sold them left over. Whether it’s just the few extra shirts from the standard size run quantities for a one-time promotion or the larger problems created by re-branding or even a corporate acquisition, your client will have inventory they need to dispose of. And you might be able to score a few points by helping them as much at the end of product’s lifecycle as you did at the beginning.

That’s exactly what the startup SwagCycle is trying to do, by establishing a network of charitable and recycling partners to either recycle or repurpose obsolete promotional merchandise. It’s an idea worth shining some light on—keeping items out of landfills ethically and affordably. I asked Ben Grossman, the co-president of Grossman Marketing and founder of SwagCycle, how this concept might gain traction in an industry so concerned with adding any additional cost. “Although cost always matters, we have seen significant interest from our clients in responsible sourcing and environmentally friendly practices. As members of the Fair Labor Association, working with the very best suppliers that adhere to the strictest environmental, social, labor and compliance standards is very important to us.”

Grossman suggests it just makes sense to bookend responsible sourcing with responsible disposal. “One thing that has bothered me for years is that when companies rebrand or get acquired, a lot of swag unfortunately can find its way to a landfill. This isn’t generally due to a lack of caring on the part of the company.” He says the real problem is that those in charge of the rebranding effort, like internal marketing and procurement teams or external ad agencies, are often trying to juggle multiple tasks concurrently under very tight deadlines. “We launched SwagCycle to solve this problem. Consider what we do landfill divergence. We’ve developed a simple and efficient 3-step process: (1) Assess the inventory of unwanted items; (2) Confirm brand guidelines to determine if excess items can live on with charitable partners or should be recycled; and (3) Match items with appropriate charities and/or recycling partners.”

As a former end-user, I’m familiar with the challenges inherent with proper merchandise disposal, including marketing initiatives ending, brand direction changing, even mistakes suppliers made in expressing brand guidelines, or, ahem, counterfeits. The cost to get that all-important certificate of destruction could be daunting. I asked Grossman how SwagCycle manages the costs for end-users. He replied, “Right now, the only cost for the client is the freight/handling fees inbound to the charity or recycling facility, and whatever recycling costs that are charged by our recycling partners. That’s assuming the end-user client decides that the goods cannot live on in the marketplace with a charitable partner.”

Grossman shares the thinking that we’ve expressed here often, that clients (who are consumers too) want to buy from socially conscious companies. It’s likely that it works for responsible disposal, too. “My sense is that companies publicizing their charitable partnerships and their commitment to landfill divergence through thoughtful swag stewardship will resonate with both internal and external stakeholders. Thoughtful environmental stewardship is good for the planet, and for companies too.” We couldn’t agree more. What do you think about the concept of “swag recycling” — and solutions like the one SwagCycle has developed? I’d love to hear your thoughts. 

 

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