While everybody else might be thinking of cutting out carbs and caffeine, there's a lot to be said for making merch part of your New Year's resolutions.
January is a time of change, and new beginnings. While that may be another way of saying that it marks the end of the joyous holiday period and the beginning of what many would see as a dreary time of year, you can still use it to make a fresh start.
What is true for business, as it is at a personal level, is that New Year's resolutions can be applied as a spark to ignite so many different things. Whether it's working out little ways to make your personal life better, or wheeling in a new company structure in the hope of making it a better place to work for all involved, more often than not they simply come from a desire to grow and improve.
It might not exactly be the first thing that comes to mind, but the benefits of putting sustainable merch ideas somewhere on the agenda for things you want to work on in 2023 is not something to be sniffed at. There are plenty of benefits to putting more thought into it, and many of them might not be all that obvious.
Putting your sustainable foot forward
If sustainability was on everybody's mind in 2022, it's only going to ramp up in 2023. There are plenty of good reasons for that to be the case; the simple fact is that urgent and drastic action is going to be needed for us to make any headway in protecting our environment.
Putting it at the heart of any decisions you make on behalf of your business is not just a good place to start, it is a mantra for you to live by. From the energy output of your own premises, to the companies you choose to work with, sustainability is an ever more important consideration for small and medium-sized businesses. It means making decisions that will work to lower pollution, CO2 output, and reduce waste.
This is where merch can come into play. Because in days gone by it has resulted in an absolutely astonishing amount of waste. It's impossible to guess how many tonnes of mass produced t-shirts, cheap plastic bottles and unwanted branded junk has ended up in landfills over the years, but you just know that it wouldn't be a number you would want to hear.
Sustainable merch isn't just better for the environment, it's better for you as well. Not only can you be a bit more confident that your money isn't going down the drain, but the overall quality of the finished product is bound to be so much better as well.
Making waves
It's understandable if you're not going to be convinced right away by a merch company telling you how great an idea it is to buy better merch. As much it might be taken as a straight-up sales pitch, the fact of the matter buying sustainably-made merch is worth more to the environment than buying mass-produced junky swag.
There is still a lot of that kind of stuff floating around, which is bad on so many levels. Being part of the solution and showing a desire to find a better solution isn't just something that you can pat yourself on the back over, but rest assured that others will pick up on it as well.
And it begins working straight away to create a good impression your company. We bet that the recipient of your merch will be able to see the better quality of the product. Just as you can bet someone who put a bit of time into finding the right Christmas gift is going to get a better reception than the guy who picked up a set of tweezers in the gas station, it can go a long way.
Regardless of the occasion, spending more time on well-chosen and sustainably-made merch is going to go down better than the cheaper alternative. Be it a little something to welcome the newest addition to your team, a corporate gift for your favourite clients, or a matching set of Hawaiian shirts for the next company outing, each and every one of the smiles you've put on people's faces simply would not have existed if you hadn't made the extra effort.
By asking yourself what you would like to receive yourself, it should become more obvious what the right choice would be.
Another way in which the impact of good merch can be felt is in the impression it gives the wider community of what your company is about. Finding a better way to do something should always be celebrated, not just at New Year's, so good quality custom merch can communicate something that words alone couldn't really ever manage.
It's a great bit of news to share across your social media, or that of the recipient. Everybody likes to receive a gift, but they'll like it even more if it's sustainably-made and sharing it carries some social clout!
Starting the process
Many of the aforementioned New Year's resolutions require you signing up to some ultra-complicated, painful plan or sticking to insanely strict regimes. You'll likely be glad to hear that dipping your toes into the world of custom merch isn't that big of a commitment at all, as the first step of it is nothing more than shooting the breeze.
Our design team specialise in creating unique merch that stands out from the crowd, and we're confident in our ability to create something worth remembering. If 2023 is going to be the year you really up your game and find merch that makes an impact, we're here to help you figure out what options would work best for you.
All of our merch is custom-made, so you won't have to feel like your options are restricted to a shortlist of items on a catalogue. We always approach every brand in a unique way, as we all want and need something different. Simply reach out to us if you want to kick start your 2023 merch plans.
A look ahead to '23 - Merch Stores
How does this sound? If you can forward plan your merch requirements, it allows you to select slower shipping on your merch fulfilment, which saves you money on your merch, and makes your merch procurement practices more sustainable, which in turn affords you more money to spend on efficiency and better planning. It's not about creating positive PR it's about saving your company money by creating a sustainability virtuous circle.
All of this is made more achievable by building your very own Merch Store - a place where you can easily create, store and send merch through your own app. It's going to make planning and managing your merch 100x easier. And it's going to make your merch practices so much more sustainable as a result. We've already begun to build these stores for some of our customers and in 2023, you'll be hearing a lot more about Merch Stores.