In 2023, we’re looking at all of the best options for promotions. As a promotional product company, we’ve been doing this for years, in fact 35 years! As the world becomes more eco conscious, there is clearly a bias towards being more friendly to the earth. With that said, sometimes it’s not always the best option for your company price wise. Others are concerned the quality of the “eco” version will not be as great as it’s plastic alternative.
In this post, you will see the differences between plastic pens and their eco pen alternatives. We will also compare eco vs plastic pen products and measure them up against each other comparing the cost and quality. At the end we take a real life example where we gave one of our top clients the choice between four pens, two eco pens, and two plastic pens, and you get to see which pen won! But before we jump into it, lets first learn a little bit more about what an eco pen is and look at some of the pros and cons of buying eco promotional products.
What Makes an Eco Pen… Eco?
Environmentally friendly products are becoming the new craze on the market. These days many more companies are showing eco friendly products to stay up with the desires and expectations of the consumers. So what makes a product eco? There are a lot of different types of environmentally friendly materials. Some of these materials include:
- Recycled consumer plastic or RPET
- Recycled paper
- Bamboo
- Biodegradable materials like corn, algae, and cellulose acetate which act as natural plastics
What’s great about these materials is that they do not sacrifice comfort, writing quality, or imprint ability. To learn more about the different types of environmentally friendly product materials click here to see our in depth review of each materials.
Pros and Cons of Buying Eco Promotional Products
When buying promotional products there is a lot to consider. First ask yourself questions like, what is the purpose of this product, who will be the recipients of the product, how do I want my logo to stand out? Answering these questions will you help you narrow your search for what type of promotional product you are looking for. Pens, for example, can range from quality low cost pens that can serve as giveaways to high value, sleek, top quality pens that can serve as corporate gifts. Pens are a great promotional product because they literally put your brand into people’s hands and stay relevant on people’s desks, in their purse, or in their shirt pocket for years to come!
Pros of eco promotional products include:
- Eco products tells you and your brand cares for the planet.
- Eco products showcase your brand and logo just as well as their plastic counterparts.
- Eco products are economical for your bottom line.
Cons of eco promotional products include:
- There many not be as many options to choose from.
- People are not as accustom to the in hand feel of the eco material.
- Eco products can at times be more expensive.
Compare Eco Pens to the Plastic Counterpart
Let’s compare eco pens to their plastic counterparts. Below we are showing two styles of eco pens and two styles of plastic pens. We are comparing the style, cost, material, look and feel. As you scroll through think about which pen you’d prefer to use.
Eco Paper Barrel Eco Pen
This eco pen has a recycled paper barrel with recycled plastic parts made from corn-based material. It comes in four solid colors or natural with a colorful trim. If you’re in need of a great way to get noticed, this is it.
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Bic® Tri Stic Plastic Pen
With a three-sided design to keep it from rolling away, each side can be individually customized to create an eye-catching promotion — with multiple colors and imprints on the same pen. Add your organizational or company logo, emblem or message to customize.
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Madison Translucent Ball Point Plastic Pen
This Black Ball Point Pen is designed with a colored barrel and matching comfort grips. Choose a vibrant color and make your imprint stand out!
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Panda Bamboo Eco Pen
Go green for your next promotional product with the Panda Bamboo Eco Pen! This bamboo barreled pen features a natural design paired with several color choices to complete your item’s look. It’s always a great feeling to help the environment, and this pen lets you advertise at the same time!
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We Asked Our Client to Choose Between Eco and Plastic
In a real life example, we had a client of ours recently come to us looking for 1,000 pens to restock the front desk of their offices. They wanted to keep costs low, but also wanted them to look great, and write well too!
We put the eco pen vs plastic pen to a showdown!
We gave our client four options, within their budget. Two plastic pens and two eco-friendly alternative:
- 🥊 ECO PENS 🌱 IN THE LEFT CORNER: Eco Paper Barrel Pen and Panda Bamboo Eco Pen
- 🥊 PLASTIC PENS ✒️ IN THE RIGHT CORNER: Bic Tri-Stic Pen and Madison Ball Point Pen
And the winner is… The Panda Bamboo Eco Pen 💪
Our client chose the Panda Bamboo Eco Pen for its low cost, clean design, wide imprint area, and color variation. But most importantly they wanted their logo and name on an eco-friendly product that showcases their values at the same time as marketing their brand!
