Less Stuff, More Strategy: Rethink Merch for Sustainability and Impact

Most branded merchandise gets ignored. Some gets binned before it even leaves the event.

But the real cost is not just environmental. It’s brand damage.

When a business hands out forgettable, wasteful items in the name of 'visibility', it sends the opposite message: we weren’t thinking. And in a world where values matter more than ever, that’s a risk businesses can’t afford to take. The smartest companies are moving in the other direction: fewer items, better quality, and more meaning.

This is the new merch strategy. One that shows taste, relevance and care.

Why Consumer Expectations Have Changed

We’re no longer in the era of 'more is more'. A 2023 study from IBM and the National Retail Federation found that 62% of global consumers are willing to change their purchasing habits to reduce environmental impact. For Gen Z and younger millennials, that number climbs even higher. What you give, and what you choose not to give, says something about your business. Cheap, bulk promotional items feel out of touch.

Gifting something no one wants is worse than doing nothing at all.

The Psychology: People Value Less, When Less Means More

It is not just about ethic, it is about attention!

Research from The Journal of Consumer Psychology shows that people assign greater value to fewer, high-quality items, particularly when they feel relevant or personal.

In other words, a single object that feels thoughtful, functional or beautifully made is far more likely to stay on someone’s desk, in their routine or in their memory than a bag of five throwaway items. This is supported by the endowment effect: the behavioural principle that we value what we own, especially if it feels like it was chosen for us, not at us.

Rethinking the Role of Merch

Forget the swag bag, forget the bulk water bottles with big logos and no real use.

Modern merchandise should do one of three things:

• Be genuinely useful

• Be emotionally relevant

• Or be beautiful enough to keep

  
  

If it does none of those, don’t make it.

Branded merch is no longer a volume game, it’s a brand experience.

A minimal, elegantly branded piece that ties into a campaign or event will say far more than ten loud ones that go straight in a drawer.

Real Impact, Fewer Items

When merch is treated as strategy, not surplus, it becomes a storytelling tool.

A sustainably sourced item made by a local maker. A product tied to the city, the project or the people involved. A design that reflects care and restraint. It shows the recipient that your business is intentional, not performative. It reflects your values, not just your logo.

And when sustainability is part of the decision, it communicates something far more powerful than visibility, it communicates alignment.

The Takeaway

Great merch is not about how many items you can hand out. It is about what those items say when you do. The future of merchandise is not louder, it’s smarter. If your business wants to build trust, attention and loyalty through gifting, start by asking the right question:

Will they want to keep it?

If not, it’s time to do less and do it better.