The buzz around promo products with environmentally friendly credentials has increased from a gentle murmur to the sound made by a large swarm of bees. (And yes, we know we’re supposed to be saving the bees.)
Consumers generally are increasingly choosing eco-friendly products. GlobeScan’s 2025 Sustainability in the USA survey found that 49% of respondents had purchased an environmentally friendly product in the last month, and an additional 36% would have liked to. And people expect companies to do their part for the environment too: 52% of participants said they want companies to actively support government action on climate change.
That’s all well and good, but it’s also vague. In order to buy promo products that will meet the expectations of the growing eco-conscious crowd, you have to know what they understand eco-friendly to mean.
Turns out, there are a few different ideas, but one keeps coming up over and over. Literally, in that it’s all about recycling. To help you break through the noise, here’s what our survey found and what it means for your promo purchases.
There is Demand for Eco-Friendly Products
In case you’re still wondering whether it’s really worth digging into eco-friendly promo products, our survey shows that it is.
When you’re competing to make sure your promo products are the ones they can’t resist, having an eco-friendly label can put you ahead of the competition.
Over 70% of our respondents said that they look for products labeled with environmental claims at least some of the time. Nearly 90% of people would choose a product labeled eco-friendly over an identical alternative missing that label. And they hold those products to high standards: almost 95% expect eco-friendly products to be at least the same quality as other products, if not better.
TL;DR: People look for products labeled eco-friendly, choose them over other identical options, and see them as equal or better quality. So yes, eco-friendly promos are worth investing in.
Most People Equate Eco-Friendly With Recycling
We’ve established that people want eco-friendly products – but not what that actually means to them. Your definition of eco-friendly might be different from your customers’.
Our survey found that while people’s ideas about what “eco-friendly” means varied, a lot of them centered around one thing: recycling.
If our survey had a breakout star, it was recycling. Wind farms and electric cars wish they had recycling’s PR team.
More than 95% of respondents said they recycle at least some of the time, with over half going out of their way to recycle. What makes that especially eyebrow-raising is that when we asked everyone to rate their interest in the environment on a scale of 0 to 10, nearly 20% said 0 to 4. Which suggests that 15% of our respondents take very little interest in the environment, but still recycle.
In addition to being committed recyclers, most of our respondents expect the term “eco-friendly” to indicate that a product is made from recycled material or that the product is recyclable. In fact, both of these definitions ranked above “eco-friendly” as the labels most likely to convince our respondents to hand over their cash. You can forget “green” though, in the environmental sense: Only 20% of respondents said seeing that on a label would get them to pay up.
TL;DR: A lot of people expect “eco-friendly” to relate to recycling in some way, so choose promo products that can be easily recycled or are made from recycled materials.
Most People See Eco-Friendly As A Meaningful Term
We asked people to define eco-friendly in their own words, and got mixed responses.
Without prefilled options to choose from, a lot of people struggled to come up with a definition of “eco-friendly” in their own words. Around 45% defined “eco-friendly” using vague phrases about not harming the environment or being good for the planet. That’s not including people who gave one-word answers like “good” or “better.”
Among the people who went into more detail, recycling was a common theme. 17.8% of all the responses mentioned products made of recycled materials or products that are recyclable, while 7.04% mentioned products that biodegrade or decompose.
Although people struggled with this question, most had an idea, with only about 2% saying they didn’t know. And most felt that eco-friendly did have some meaning: Fewer than 5% said they felt that “eco-friendly” was an empty phrase. That’s close to the 6.05% who described it as a meaningless marketing term in a previous question.
TL;DR: While people don’t have a concrete understanding of what “eco-friendly” means, many who gave more detailed responses mentioned recycled materials, recyclability, and biodegradability. Only around 7% of people either don’t know what it means or think it means nothing – so the vast majority expect an eco-friendly label to indicate that a product is good for the environment in some way.
Conclusion: If You’re Introducing Eco-Friendly Promo Products, Focus on Recycling
If you’re trying to figure out eco-friendly promo products, our survey found that you’re on the right track. People actively look for promos labeled “eco-friendly” and will choose them over otherwise identical products.
The majority of our respondents (around 95%) felt that the phrase “eco-friendly” had meaning, even if they weren’t sure of the details beyond vague phrases like “good for the Earth.” But there is one quality that people consistently identify with eco-friendly labeling and expect from eco-friendly products: recycling. Specifically, they want products that are made from recycled materials or that are easy for them to recycle. Biodegradable also works!
In short, yes, eco-friendly promos are worth seeking out, and you can narrow down your search to promos that are recyclable, recycled, or biodegradable. The planet and your recipients will thank you!
Additional Sources
GlobeScan’s 2025 Sustainability in the USA Survey: https://globescan.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Sustainability-in-the-USA-Report-2025.pdf
Natasha Lavender
Natasha is an experienced writer and editor who has covered topics including technology, health and safety, business, and pop culture. Her work has been published by Good Housekeeping magazine, Forbes, Success, and more.
