Sustainable printing in South Africa is not quite where Europe is, and pretending otherwise helps nobody. There is, however, a lot more available than most businesses realise, and some of it costs exactly the same as what you are buying already.
Here is what is genuinely possible locally, and what is still mostly marketing.
START WITH THE EASIEST WIN: PRINT LESS, BETTER
The greenest flyer is the one you never printed. Not because printing is bad, but because over ordering is the single biggest source of waste in this industry.
Businesses regularly order 5,000 flyers for a one day event because the unit price looked good, then throw 3,800 of them away. Digital printing has made short runs affordable, so order what you will actually hand out and reprint if it works.
RECYCLED AND RESPONSIBLY SOURCED PAPER
Recycled and FSC certified paper is widely available here and the quality has improved enormously. Uncoated recycled stock in particular looks excellent for business cards and letterheads, because it has a texture that gloss cannot fake.
It is worth knowing that heavily coated and laminated paper is much harder to recycle afterwards. If the end of life matters to you, uncoated or matt is the better choice.
WATER BASED AND ECO SOLVENT INKS
For apparel printing, water based inks are softer on the fabric and avoid the plastics in traditional plastisol. For wide format work, eco solvent and latex inks have largely replaced the harsher solvents.
Ask your supplier what they use. The answer tells you a lot about how current their equipment is.
SUSTAINABLE PROMOTIONAL ITEMS
This is where the local catalogues have changed the most. You can now get:
- Bamboo and recycled plastic pens
- Stainless steel bottles and reusable coffee cups that replace single use
- Cotton and jute bags instead of non woven polypropylene
- Notebooks in recycled board, some with seed paper covers
- Cork, bamboo and recycled fabric tech accessories
A reusable bottle that somebody actually uses every day does more for both the planet and your brand than a drawer full of plastic. Have a look at what works on our corporate gifts page.
CHOOSE THINGS THAT LAST
This is the point most conversations about sustainability miss. Durability is sustainability.
A good uniform that survives three years of washing beats three cheap ones. A properly made banner that holds up for five seasons beats replacing it every year. It is also cheaper, which makes it an easy sell internally.
PRINT LOCAL
Ordering promotional stock from overseas means shipping physical objects across the planet before they reach a boardroom in South Africa. Local production removes that entirely, supports local jobs, and gets your order to you faster.
WHAT TO BE SCEPTICAL ABOUT
Biodegradable plastic that only breaks down in an industrial composting facility, of which South Africa has very few, is not doing what you think it is doing. Neither is a bamboo handled item with a plastic body.
Ask what the item is actually made of, and what happens to it afterwards. A supplier who cannot answer is guessing.
WHERE TO START
Pick one category and change it properly. Usually that is either your giveaway items or your paper stock. Do it well, then move on to the next one.
Talk to us about greener options for your next order, and we will tell you honestly which ones are worth it.