Tees with no fees – branded products still prove popular with charities!
In this blog we discuss the environmental impact of the promotional merchandise industry and how donating goods via A Good Thing can pave the way for a more responsible approach to unused branded items.
Everyone loves a logo!
The merchandise and promotional apparel industry in the UK is thriving, with a market size of £1.2 billion and growing. The demand for logo-branded wearables specifically is on the rise, with organisations wanting products such as T-shirts, aprons, caps, uniforms, jackets and footwear. Unfortunately, due to mass production and fast turnaround times, the industry produces a large amount of waste. Excess stock, incorrectly-branded items and samples often end up in landfill, adding to an already-overwhelming waste crisis.
At A Good Thing, our mission is to reduce the number of products that are sent to landfill: businesses sign up to donate unwanted items to charities. This not only reduces waste, but also gives products a second life where they can be used by charities with a genuine need for the items.
Doing its very best
Merchandise business Fluid Branding has been using A Good Thing since 2024. The firm is a B Corporation, which means it has demonstrated its high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
Fluid Branding is also a British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA) member, and has signed up to that Association’s StepForward Pledge. The BPMA launched the StepForward Pledge to demonstrate that the industry is taking seriously its responsibility for positive action. By signing up to the Pledge, Fluid Branding has committed to tracking and measuring its sustainability performance each year.
Hundreds of T shirts
Fluid Branding recently listed 337 branded T-shirts on our platform. The donation proved popular, with 20 separate charity requests for the T-shirts! Great evidence of the fact that charities welcome donations, regardless of branding.
One of the ‘matched’ charities was Women of Grace UK. The T-shirts were even generously posted out to the charity at Fluid’s own cost. Women of Grace is a survivor-led organisation that advocates against the practice of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) and all forms of Gender-Based Violence. The charity educates communities about the lasting consequences and harms of FGM/C and abuse through workshops, talks and peer support. Women of Grace also provides support services for those affected by FGM/C and abuse.
The Women of Grace charity told us:
“These T-shirts will be used for our workshops, community outreach programs and awareness campaigns, helping to create a sense of unity and belonging among participants. They will be worn by volunteers, beneficiaries, and team members during events, making our presence more visible and reinforcing our mission to support women affected by gender-based violence and mental health challenges.”
Not so unlucky now
Women of Grace had previously been ‘tagged’ by the A Good Thing platform as having missed out on donations several times. This is a new feature we recently introduced to the platform, to help those charities that were repeatedly missing out on being matched with donations. We are delighted that this worked out so well for Women of Grace!
Does your business offer promotional merchandise products? Do you have products lying around in storage because they have old or incorrect branding, or were samples? Sign up to A Good Thing for free today to help a charity in need: I’m ready to donate!