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Environmental issues in the promotional products industry

About the general conditions for carrier bags

“Standing out at all costs” has long since changed in the promotional products industry. From understatement to well thought-out, environmentally conscious purchasing, the industry has long been a designer and pioneer in environmental issues. After all, it's all about their customers' image. And also their reputation.

Legal Matters

In the area of carrier bags, a voluntary commitment was made with retailers in 2016 to significantly minimize the use of plastic. This was followed by the EU Plastics Directive in 2019, which Germany implemented as national law, and finally the ban on certain plastic bags in 2022, which affected most conventional single-use plastic bags in the retail sector. Since then, no stone has been left unturned in the industry when it comes to environmental issues.

Materials

Special sustainable plastics were developed, paper bags including modern environmentally friendly coatings and textile and reusable solutions from cotton and non-woven to grass, algae and mushroom materials came onto the market. Consumer awareness of these modern alternatives is often still lagging behind - “if it feels like plastic, it must be plastic”. Yet many of the plastic materials have a better CO2 footprint than some paper bags. The development of exciting materials is not slowing down. Just like the use of relevant environmental labels.

Question mark porto carrier bags environmental protection

Standards

Numerous standards or certifications provide consumers with proof of sustainable production, such as FSC, OEKO-TEX or the Blue Angel. The use of these labels is subject to an extremely strict and meticulous process. Even an incorrect placement or printing color can lead to problems for the distributor. The background to this is that too many companies have used the labels without a license in recent years. The penalties for incorrect use can therefore be correspondingly high.

Packaging Act

In addition to the labels themselves, there is also the Packaging Act in Germany, which requires every distributor to pay in advance for the recycling of packaging materials. The aim of such licensing is to increase the recycling rate. Every initial distributor of any packaging material is legally obliged to do so. In the rarest of cases, customers or agencies are familiar with the relevant regulations or the administrative effort involved. This is where the advertising agent must fulfill his duty of care. Even if they do not face any penalties, good business manners should protect customers and partners from possible restrictions.

“The majority of our customers are not aware of the administrative and legal framework conditions and the awareness rate is unfortunately low. Even with large companies, I have seen the incorrect use of labels or non-compliance with packaging legislation. This can lead to enormous problems, as the sums involved in issuing warnings far exceed the production of the bags. And yes, even the new carrier bags would then be a case for the shredder in the worst case scenario,” says Uwe Steeb, Managing Director of WS-Team Verpackung + Werbung GmbH, owner of the porto carrier bag brand.