Eco-Friendly Advertising Solutions

Sometimes you need to use advertising banners for your business to draw in the crowds. But this doesn’t have to be at the expense of the environment. Many company owners today want to be as environmentally responsible as possible, but even if they don’t there are increasingly stringent regulations in place which are nudging everyone in this direction.

So how, if you’re creating an advertising banner, how can you ensure you’re making the greenest choices possible? The first and most important consideration is the material you are going to use. There are two fabrics available today that offer a particularly serviceable alternative to PVC: polypropylene and bamboo fibre.

The first of these, polypropylene, has the advantage of being 100 per cent recyclable and can be re-processed using either extrusion or injection moulding. These banners are easy to recycle as the eyelets to hold them in place can be made from the same material. This means the whole thing can go into the recycling chain all in one go without having to take various components apart. This material should be printed with international codes to show it is going to be re-processed correctly at the end of its lifetime.

The second material choice, bamboo fibre banner fabric, is proving increasingly popular. Rather than being simply recyclable, it is actually 99.6 per cent biodegradable as it comes from a renewable resource. Just ensure that the bamboo used by your banner manufacturer has been responsibly sourced and harvested.

Bamboo is a strong material, but bear in mind that its biodegradability means it will not have an unlimited outdoor usage. Another way to reduce the environmental impact of your activities is to re-use your products. Because of this if you want some banners that are going to be brought out again and again you may be better off choosing polypropylene. This comes down to storage as well: if you want your materials to last for several seasons they you need to ensure they are kept inside and rolled up when not in use to prevent unnecessary damage.

Also, think about the inks you are going to use. If possible, they should contain no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which will emit harmful substances into the air during their production and application. There are plenty of water-based, VOC-free inks available on the market with which can give the same high quality you would want for a professional advertising campaign as inks which contain VOCs.

Shop around online to find a banner supplier with a strong environmental policy and experience in producing eco-friendly banners and advertising materials. If they have been working with greener materials and inks for a long time they should know which offer the best quality. Also, if they have a strong environmental policy they will use a little energy as possible in their own production processes.