Mercha Sustainability Statement

At our core, we (Mercha) are a Purpose Driven Business. We are passionate about using business as a force for good. Our Mercha Sustainability Statement is our Pledge for Good.

It is important to look at the Promotional Products industry as a whole to understand that many (most?) promotional products are purpose built as pre-landfill junk. They’re made to throw away - essentially single use, which is why circa 66% end up in landfill*. We don’t stock these products and don’t support this mindset.

Through our deep industry experience, we have touched and tested thousands of promotional products. Most (circa 85%) do not make the cut. 

Our curated range is based on two simple principles:

Made to Last

Everything sold on our site must be made to last because things that are made to last are inherently more sustainable.

Why buy a pen that writes 700m when you can have one that writes 1.5km? That's one less pen in landfill.

You can read more about how we responsibly curate our range here. 

Importantly, we have a growing category of eco friendly and sustainable promotional products that are specifically made from sustainable materials that are abundant, recycled material or material that can be recycled. 

We strongly encourage our customers to start here when thinking about their branded merchandise orders.

Made Fairly

All products must be made fairly. The people making the products we sell must be paid fair wages, enjoy good working conditions, and have their communities improved, not trashed.

To ensure that this second pillar is upheld, we hand pick the valued supplier partners we work with. Again, most do not make the cut.

The supplier partners we use are all independently certified by organisations such as Amfori, Sedex, OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 and The Better Cotton Initiative but we also ask our supplier partners to sign our own ‘Pledge for Good’, which confirms their commitment to managing responsible supply chains.

 

 

A list of our suppliers along with links to their respective Social Responsibility pages is available upon request.

Money Where Mouth Is

We are an active, ongoing supporter of Carbon Positive Australia to help offset our environmental impact.

We use a BeyondBank for our banking needs because they are one of the few B Corp Certified Banks in Australia.

One day soon, we hope to become B-Corp Certified ourselves.

Conclusion

This is not enough and we are not perfect (e.g., we’d love to get rid of all single use plastic packaging your company branded cups came in). But we are 100% committed to being the most ethical, sustainable provider of company branded promotional merchandise on earth.

 

SOURCE: * https://earthhero.com/blogs/blog/the-hidden-cost-of-promotional-gifts-why-sourcing-sustainably-matters