The idea was a convenient one. We would use a cheap, flimsy bag to carry our groceries and goods from the shop to the car to the house. For all of twenty minutes, we would use this seeming miracle of plastics manufacturing, and then dispose of it in our bins after it did its job.

Since 1965, this has been a common phenomenon in cities all over the world. This temporary solution soon built up a staggering count of more than 500 billion plastic bags worldwide, which is now choking the life out of marine and terrestrial life.

In the early 2010s, initiatives like Bag Free World raised awareness of the growing micro plastics pollution in the oceans and landfill, which soon started a movement in various European and Asian countries, where law enforcement banned single-use plastic bags.

From the movement, International Plastic Bag Free Day was born.

International Plastic Bag Free Day has grown as an observance on the 3rd of July since 2013, and, now before its 9th edition, we would like to outline 3 marketing ideas you could use to impress the corporate environmental responsibility (CER) of your brand to its target audience.

#1 Outreach with Bag-Making Workshops

If your region does not have a ban on plastic bags, a great alternative is fabric (or cloth) bags. You can use this medium to solve another social problem: fast fashion waste. A major percentage of waste in the form of old clothes also pollutes the land and seas, given the presence of dangerous polyesters and polymers in fast fashion clothes.

To cut down on waste, your brand can organize an outreach and awareness program, with workshops on how to make fabric bags from old clothes. Tie up with several other brands and make the target region aware of the dangers of plastic bags.

#2 Organize a Clean-up Drive

A clean-up drive is one of the most effective means of CER. It organizes locals into action for a greater cause. What brands can do in the week preceding International Plastic Bag Free Day is to create advertisements and social media posts around the event. Make sure to create incentives and prizes for volunteers such as eco-friendly giveaways. These can be awarded after the clean up is effectuated! The plastics can be sent to a nearby recycling plant!

#3 Promoting Reusable Alternatives

The main idea behind cutting down on plastics waste is through reusable items. Your brand can encourage the use of reusable alternatives, such as cotton bags, grocery totes, recyclable drawstring pouches, and recycled polyester backpacks. Now, while some of these will also contain plastics, they tend to be a lot more durable than single-use plastic bags, which will reduce waste over time.

You can sell these to retailers, environmental organizations, and other initiatives, or promote them through your own website, giving them away in bulk directly to customers. These bags will have ample imprint area for your brand messaging, artwork, and logos, so get your copywriters and designers to come up with their best work.

For more eco-friendly concepts and products to give away, contact an established promo product distributor like Promo Direct. We have been working in the industry for decades, knowing what touch points work best and how. Give us a call or send an email at the slightest notice!