PROMO MEETS SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

 

Social Responsibility (or Corporate Responsibility as it applies to businesses), declares that companies, and individuals within those companies, have a duty to act in the best interests of their environment and society as a whole.  Social responsibility, as it pertains to our supplier partners, stretches far beyond our immediate environments, and is implemented in many ways through various initiatives.  For us, this has become more of an expectation of the supplier partners we choose, rather than just an added value benefit, and we think you’re going to feel the same way.

 

The demand for Go Green initiatives everywhere continues to rise, although many of our partners have been implementing these practices for over a decade. The obvious changes include recycling in all facilities, with distribution centers having the biggest impact.  Invoices are almost always now sent to us electronically rather than via snail mail, allowing us to pay online regardless of the payment method, and huge successes across the board have been seen from paperless initiatives alike.  Technology advancements allow us to store all pertinent information, from purchase orders to artwork and everything in between, electronically as opposed to printing copies and killing trees for our records.

 

Energy-saving practices are implemented in our partners’ corporate offices and distribution centers, and simply switching to energy-efficient light fixtures has proven to substantially cut down on energy use.  Some are even taking saving energy to the next level by building solar system panels at corporate, with the ability to derive 100% of their power from those panels as the end goal.  Huge savings have been reported by reusing cartons at their distribution centers, and plastic consumption is quickly lowering by reducing the number of products individually wrapped.  Even logistics companies are starting to jump on the bandwagon, with initiatives committing to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in their global operations.  Greenhouse gas (in words the common folk can understand) is essentially designed to cause the greenhouse effect.  In 2017, UPS committed to reduce overall carbon intensity by 20% (2007 baseline) by the end of 2020, and recently reported they’re on track to achieve that goal earlier than expected.  Many of our vendors are actively moving logistics business to UPS as a result of these efforts.

 

At-home programs are becoming the norm with our top partners, providing their employees everything they need to do their job just as effectively as they could in the office from home sweet home.  This provides a better work-life balance for their employees, resulting in decreased turn-over rates and increased overall company morale.  The impact of that plays a big part in the top-notch service level they strive to provide to us, which in turn gives us more confidence that what they help us deliver to you is nothing short of perfect awesomeness.  Thinking big picture, this obviously takes more cars off roads everywhere, drastically reducing air pollution, which is one of the major causes of global warming.  Those located in metropolitan cities also often provide free bus passes for employees, and have reward programs in place, such as monetary bonuses or an extra paid day off, based on how many days in a row they get their bus-riding on.

 

The global stretch of social and corporate responsibility is entirely too massive to dive into, but we also actively seek partners who are members (some of them elite members) of the Fair Labor Association (FLA).  The FLA’s mission, in short, is to “create lasting solutions to abusive labor practices, advocating for greater accountability and transparency from companies, manufacturers, factories and others involved in the global supply chain.”  Among many things, they ensure all workers are working in safe, non-hazardous conditions, are paid fair wages, and there is a zero tolerance policy in place for child labor.  Many of our partners, specifically our apparel partners, do this through a factory monitoring program with rigorous third-party verification, and is strengthened by their own independent monitoring by conducting announced and unannounced factory visits throughout the year.

 

Why is all of this behind the scenes information important for us to share with you?  Great question!  We’re so glad you asked.  At Brand-On we strive to be more to you than just the makers of your branded promo and apparel.  Choosing to partner with vendors that are passionate about all aspects of social and corporate responsibility gives us the ability to assure you that the products we offer to amplify your image is more than just a product.  It’s a product manufactured by partners we trust and believe in, and you can feel better knowing that branding your business through us greatly and positively impacts the lives of thousands, as well as good ol’ planet earth. 

 

For more ideas on how we can help you amplify your image, go to brand-on.us/contact-us/ where you can also subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest on sales, product releases, industry news and more.  Don’t forget to follow us on instagram using the handle @brand_on.life – all the cool kids are doing it.