Are you an event organizer looking for a way to adopt technology without contributing to the global pollution problem? The utilization of sustainable event lanyards is your best bet.
But what does sustainable lanyards mean? Well, sustainability primarily refers to the lanyard’s ability to be reused or recycled.
This is determined largely by the materials used to make them. The most preferred being rPET, organic cotton, bamboo, and hemp. Here’s a complete green guide for your consideration.
Sustainable Event Lanyards: Complete Green Checklist
When picking sustainable event lanyards, there are several factors you need to consider as detailed below:
- Material
The selection of materials is the initial and most crucial decision for obtaining environmentally friendly event lanyards. Environmentally friendly materials will minimize wastage, save energy, and decrease carbon footprint. Here are the possible eco-materials:
- Recycled PET (rPET). Lanyards made from recycled plastic bottles are durable, lightweight, and waterproof. They save energy and release less CO2 in production compared to new plastic materials. They are also recyclable.
- Organic Cotton. Organically grown cotton is environmentally friendly. However, it is rather expensive.
- Bamboo. This plant grows really quickly with low requirements for water and fertilization. The fiber is UV and bacterial resistant and also biodegradable. However, bamboo may fade in the sun or when treated chemically.
- Hemp. It is one of the strongest and most sustainable plant-based materials. The lanyard made of it requires almost no chemicals in growing, thus saving the environment. The material is both strong and biodegradable.
The type of the material for your badge or card lanyard depends on many factors.
- Check the Certifications
Certifications ensure the material and manufacturing processes of lanyards meet legitimate environmental and safety requirements. Some of the most important to check are:
- GRS (Global Recycled Standard). Recycled material content and traceability, and social and environmental criteria checks. Mandatory for recycled plastic lanyards.
- GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard). Certification of organic raw materials (such as cotton and bamboo), and sustainable farming, manufacturing, and labor practices. Mandatory for organic textile lanyards.
- Oeko-Tex Standard 100. Testing of hazardous substances in the finished product. Ensuring its safety for direct contact with the skin. Suitable for any material.
- Oeko-Tex MADE IN GREEN by Oeko-Tex. Combination of the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 criteria and sustainable production. It proves sustainability of the entire supply chain.
- RCS (Recycled Claim Standard). Similar to GRS, but simpler. It involves checking the recycled material content only.
Make sure the supplier provides a certificate or transaction document proving compliance.
- Think About the Attachment
The lanyard body is only part of the environmental picture. The attachment hardware matters too, and it is where many otherwise sustainable lanyards introduce unnecessary plastic or metal waste.
The swivel hooks that you will purchase are often crafted using either a zinc alloy or plastic material. However, both are not sustainable materials. Nonetheless, the zinc alloy swivel hooks last much longer. In case you are planning an event with strong sustainability themes, then you may wish to buy materials made of recycled metals or recycled plant plastic.
The badge holder is equally worth considering.
A standard plastic badge holder is made from PVC, which is not easily recyclable through standard streams. Replacing it with a card-based holder made from recycled paper stock or eliminating the holder entirely with a reinforced card and direct attachment, removes a significant source of composite waste from your credential system.
- Consider the Printing Method
The type of printing becomes significant in choosing environmentally friendly lanyards since not all types of ink and printing are equally safe to the environment. The most suitable eco-friendly printing option will be that which uses the dye sublimation process with water-based ink.
In such printing, ink bonds with the material via heat. As a result, the image does not come off nor crack. There is no creation of waste solvents and also the use of inks without any chemicals.
The water-based ink becomes an excellent option to consider in choosing green inks because such inks do not contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The solvent-based ink should not be considered since such releases VOCs and contaminates the water systems. You can also enquire from your suppliers about how they dispose of and clean their inks.
Sustainable Event Lanyards: Other Factors to Consider
End of Life
Sustainability requires that you consider the fate of your lanyards following the conclusion of your event. You should enquire whether your suppliers have a take-back or recycling policies. There are firms that will accept lanyard returns, recycle them, and manufacture products through that process.
Also, you must ensure that your event venue is equipped with drop boxes for lanyard returns. You can then donate lanyards in good condition to charitable organizations, schools, and other institutions. Damaged ones can be recycled using TerraCycle services or the returns policy of your supplier.
Lanyards can even be returned to attendees who can use them again as key straps and craft materials. It is important that you arrange for the end of life when you make your orders.
Budget
Sustainable lanyards cost more than standard polyester options, but the premium is smaller than most procurement managers expect. The cost premium has compressed to roughly five to fifteen percent over standard materials, down from thirty to fifty percent a decade ago.
For large orders, consolidating your annual lanyard procurement into a single bulk order significantly reduces the unit cost. Choosing standard widths of 15mm or 20mm also helps control costs by allowing suppliers to use standard manufacturing templates rather than custom tooling.
Factor in the reputational value as well. A lanyard that attendees keep and wear after the event extends your brand’s visibility in a way that a discarded one cannot. For exhibitors and sponsors, that extended visibility has a measurable marketing value that offsets the modest cost premium of the sustainable option.
Conclusion
The use of sustainable lanyards in events can go a long way in reducing waste generation and demonstrating that you are an environmentally friendly company. To achieve this, you can use rPET plastic, recycled metal components, and organic materials such as organic cotton or bamboo fibers.
Also, you should ensure that there are plans for reuse and recycling. These little steps when purchasing sustainable event lanyards will bring huge environmental rewards. Get in touch with us to get high-quality, custom sustainable event lanyards.
