100 Mile Swag – Better for clients & environment

I have always tried to practice 100 Mile Swag – that is sourcing corporate gifts within 100 miles of the final shipping destination.  It isn’t always possible but many times is.  And to some degree this is green washing since most of the goods in my industry originate in overseas factories (Asia, India, Middle East).  But if the swag is sitting in a warehouse in North America, at least I can severely cut down on the shipping and re-shipping experienced before the product reaches the final destination.

Case Study #1.  A client calls with a panic. Their event is in Parsippiny New Jersey the following week. They need 400 baseball caps with an intricate logo embroidered on the front.  If I can do it, I have 3 business days to get it done.  I have an excellent baseball cap supplier and a great embroidery decorator in Washington State that I like to use.  But since I endeavor to source 100 Mile Swag if possible shipping the caps from Blaine WA to New Jersey is very wasteful.

I scanned my rolodex and found a great Cap manufacture (www.kccaps.com) in New Jersey.  They had plenty of inventory in their warehouse AND could decorate the caps for me.  Great! Their facility is a twenty minute drive from my client’s event location so it all worked out.

Case Study #2.  A Movie filming in Vancouver is about to wrap.  They have 900 crew to buy Rolling Duffel Bags for and we look at many Bag options from companies in Montreal, Toronto and even Florida.  Shipping 900 bags across North America will be hugely expensive and wasteful.

I find a great Roots bag (made by Roots licensee Holiday Luggage http://www.holiday.ca/brands/roots.html) but there is NO inventory in Canada.  One of Holiday’s major retail accounts has thousands of units on order and is willing to let us take some of the stock.  Their shipment is landing at Port of Vancouver in July 2009 so all we have to do is off-load our 900 units and bang we have a winner.  The product travels from the Port of Vancouver to my favored embroidery factory behind Hastings Street (total trip, 12 blocks) then when finished the order is delivered to my customer in Burnaby (approx. 20 minutes drive time).

Case Study #3.  A Vancouver based high-end home furnishings & decorating store wants a very nice Jacket for their long-time service awards.  I suggest something eco friendly and I know the client will be open.  They choose the Plasma Jacket from http://boardroomecoapparel.com/ which is made right here in beautiful Vancouver, near Main/Hastings.  I have the jackets embroidered at my Hastings area embroidery factory and delivered to the client near Granville & Broadway.  Total travel: 7.3 miles. A true example of 100 Mile Swag (but wait, the fabric is milled in China, ugggh!!!!).

I am really loving this idea of 100 Mile Swag.  Eventually I think I’ll move my entire biz model in that direction.  If I used local manufacturers Boardroom Apparel and Crystal Awards manufacturer (http://www.eclipseawards.com/) more often I could ensure the entire process (product manufacture, decorate & deliver) can truly be done as 100 Mile Swag.

To order your 100 Mile Swag, please contact www.pattersonbrands.com