Sustainable music merch ideas for the holidays

Some merchandise production can be bad for the environment, so here are some more eco-friendly suggestions, making a perfect gift for the holidays.

A guest post by Randi Zimmerman of Symphonic Blog and Symphonic Distribution

Reusable Water Bottles

Why add to the single-use plastic problem when you can provide something that is more durable, practical and helps the planet at the same time? Reusable water bottles can be customized however your heart desires, from colors to logos to intricate designs and styles. — Lots of artists offer reusable water bottles as merch, but yours doesn’t have to be a run-of-the-mill design.

• DesignCrowd lets you choose from thousands (673,031, to be exact) of designers to help you create one of a kind products.

Even if you’ve hit a creative roadblock when it comes to what style or design you want, you can get help from amazing designers in real-time, so you can create something truly unique.

Sustainable T-Shirts 

Everybody loves a good band T. I wear my favorite band t’s day in and day out. However, the rise of fast fashion has put a strain on our planet’s resources. But not to worry, there are a bunch of eco-friendly merch sites available for the eco-conscious artist looking for more sustainable options.

• Realthread.com offers custom t-shirts made of organic, recycled, and eco-friendly materials like organic cotton, hemp, and bamboo. Not to mention, these shirts are printed with water-based inks, making them last longer than your typical t-shirt. That way, your fans can wear your merch again and again and feel good about their contribution to a sustainable future.

Tote Bags 

Oh, the dreaded question… “Paper or plastic?” I try my best to bring my reusable bags on every grocery trip, but it’s easy to forget a boring canvas tote at the door. Maybe if I had a badass tote bag with my favorite artist’s logo on it, I’d be more excited to bring it every time… Jokes aside, I think I really would remember to grab it more if it repped my favorite artist. I think you would, too.

• Solid Merch has a great selection of tote bags on their site ready to be customized to your liking.

Eco-Friendly Band Poster Notebooks 

Dave Mathews Band dropped a set of eco-friendly notebooks with recycled band posters on the covers, and they sold like crazy. What an awesome idea! — Such a perfect way to repurpose something old into something useful and new. Whether you can swing using real band posters or just want to make the notebook itself out of recycled materials, it’s still a unique idea with great potential.

• Swag.com offers customizable notebooks made form 90% recycled materials and organic, soy based inks. // Check ’em out here.

In Conclusion…

Eco-friendly merch makes a great gift for anyone looking for cool shit that makes a positive impact. In this day and age, we’re more environmentally conscious than ever. Making sure your merch store offers eco-friendly items is a big step in the right direction, environmentally and sales-wise. Alongside offering an even greater incentive to make a purchase that helps the planet, products like these are just plain cool.