How to reuse unwanted merchandise
It can sometimes be difficult to think about what to do with branded merchandise you no longer need or want, and the New Year is a good time to review what you have and reuse in ways that will be beneficial and worth the time.
You may have a stock of branded notebooks that are in your own brand so can’t be used any longer. Or you may have a few leftover items from a range of products you no longer sell. Old piles of merchandise can be a problem, and the worse thing is to chuck them in the trash and add to bigger wastage and environmental impacts.
So, we’ve detailed here some of the ways you can reuse your old merchandise without chucking it away. Practical ideas that keep the community and environment in mind. Take a look...
Donations
Donating unwanted items to charities, housing shelters, schools & nurseries that are in need etc is a lovely way to give back to the community at the same time as getting rid of your unwanted stock. Acts like these will also strengthen your brands ESG reporting and make you a more reputable brand.
Repurpose
Think about how you could repurpose any of your unwanted merchandise. Could you use your old mug as an office plant pot for your desk? An old glass as a new pen pot? An old mouse pad into a coaster?
Upcycle
Think about upcyling unwanted merchandise into brand new products. Can you get creative and transform unwanted apparel into a bag or a cushion for your chair?
Refresh
Think about whether you can refresh your branding if you’ve got old branded items – can you cover your notebook with a new pouch with the new branding on it? Or product a new sticker or label piece instead of just throwing the item away & re printing?
Internal & External engagement
Run creative workshops for staff members – see who can turn their bottle into the nicest looking planter and share the results across your social media to boost staff engagement.
Raise staff morale by gifting the nicer unwanted merchandise or the last few items of stock to those that have gone above and beyond recently. Or even pop them in the post to one of your local customers as a little ‘thank you’ for no real reason – it'll go a long way!
So the next time you go to swipe all your unwanted or old branded merchandise into the bin ready for the arrival of your sparkling new items, think again as there’s lots more useful and sustainable ways to make space for new merch.
