«I want it to be eco-friendly» is what many clients tell us first. And that’s great. The problem comes next, when you have to choose between organic cotton, recycled cotton, rPET, bamboo or cork, and it all sounds equally green. It isn’t. Each material has its logic, and choosing well depends on what product you want and what story you want to tell with it.
It’s cotton grown without pesticides or chemical fertilisers, normally with GOTS certification. The advantage? Soft feel, natural appearance and a solid sustainability story from cultivation onwards. The downside? It costs more than conventional cotton and recycled cotton.
When to choose it: T-shirts and textiles that people will actually wear, mid-to-high-range tote bags, gifts where feel and quality matter. If your brand positions itself as premium and conscious, organic cotton fits.
It’s made from textile scraps and production leftovers, with GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certification. It reuses material that would otherwise end up as waste, and is usually somewhat cheaper than organic.
When to choose it: bags, rope rucksacks, promotional textiles for large runs where you want to keep costs down without sacrificing the sustainability message. It’s the sensible option for volume.
rPET is recycled polyester, made from recovered plastic bottles. It sounds contradictory (plastic in eco merchandise?), but it makes perfect sense: it turns waste into a useful product and avoids manufacturing virgin polyester. Durable, lightweight and technical.
When to choose it: rucksacks, bum bags, foldable bags, lanyards and any product that needs to withstand wear and can’t be made in cotton. For an outdoor event or travel kit, rPET wins.
They’re natural and renewable materials ideal for rigid products: pens, organisers, cases, desk accessories. Bamboo grows incredibly quickly with barely any water or pesticides; cork is extracted without felling the tree. They bring a warm feel and a distinctly eco appearance that plastic simply cannot match.
If you want to simplify it, remember this:
And one final piece of advice that applies to any material: demand the certification. «Eco» without a verifiable seal (GOTS, GRS, FSC, OEKO-TEX) is just a word. With certification, it’s a commitment you can prove. In our catalogue each product lists theirs, and if you have doubts about which material suits your project, we’ll advise you with no obligation.
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