The Big Green List: Top Australian Eco-Friendly Suppliers & Products For Business Events

Written By Rhonda Sweet

As a Strategic Design Consultant at Vibrance, McKinsey & Company, and Bain & Company, I’ve run my fair share of corporate workshops and events over the years (28 years to be exact). Part of my responsibility inevitably involved organising what goes on the tables, photographers, giveaways, name badges and lanyards, catering, etc.

Now, I’m the first to put my hand up to say in that the past, time wasn’t my ally in these situations. I had a tendency to just go with what I knew. I’d get quotes for plastic name badges and lanyards, printed materials, pens, and notebooks for tables, and use whichever product or supplier had a good run record. That in and of itself was part of the problem. Following with tradition doesn’t necessarily lead to good environmental outcomes.

With the launch of Terra Tag, I began educating myself about green events and investigating eco-products and service suppliers in Australia. With time I’m learning what does and doesn’t work … like that time I ordered massive journey maps to be printed only to discover afterward that digital printers offer recycled papers and eco inks. I haven’t made that mistake twice.

Sharing is caring, so I thought you might find some value in my evolving list of green event products and services that you can reference when planning your corporate events and workshops. I’ve found them super helpful.

One ask in return:

Know of a great green product or supplier? I’d be grateful if you’d add your top eco-friendly products, services, or sustainable practices to the comments. Let’s support Australian green businesses and build up a list together … then share it far and wide. If you’ve found this helpful, a repost on LinkedIn is a great way to radiate the information.

Great acts are made of small deeds.

The Big Green List

GREEN SUPPLIER DIRECTORY

  • Australian directory of green companies, eco products, and sustainable services that’s worthwhile checking out. Need a photographer, event planner, or display signage? This is your first stop.
    https://www.greenfinder.com.au/Events

TERRA TAG NAME BADGES AND LANYARDS

  • All-in-one solution: Eco-friendly name tags & lanyards made from plantable seed paper or recycled paper and biodegradable cotton. Name tags blossom into a useful herb mix for the kitchen or a beautiful flower mix that attracts pollinators to the garden. And the soft biodegradable lanyard is 100% recyclable. If you want seed paper Australia, these are the folks!
    Seed Paper Terra Tags Recycled Terra Tags

    These snazzy little seed paper wristbands are perfect for events or marketing campaigns and are ‘THE’ eco-friendly alternative to plastic. The best bit? They go home with your guest, get planted AND you’re remembered each time they’re watered. Talk about being memorable!
    Seed Paper Wristbands Recycled Paper Wristbands

  • The eco-friendly DIY Terra Tag Kit comes with everything you need to create your own sustainable name badges and lanyards, including plantable A4 seed paper, 100% cotton biodegradable pre-measured neck cords, corner cutters, a seed paper-compatible hole punch, and instructions.

STUFF FOR GUEST TABLES

Sharpie alternative

  • Instead of Sharpies (which aren’t great for the planet), use Melbourne-based Lousy Liners. Made from 100% recycled plastic and filled with reclaimed printer cartridge ink. Hand filled & assembled in Melbourne, Australia
    https://www.lousyink.com/products/lousy-liner

Wheat pen

Eco pen

  • Uses smooth, non-toxic, water-based ink and is made from rolled recycled kraft paper, meaning no trees were harmed in its creation. The product can be recycled or composted. By switching to Ecopens, you reduce the 140 million plastic pens that are sold annually in Oz, creating around 700 tonnes of plastic waste. Now that's something to write home about!
    https://heapsgoodpackaging.com.au/products/ecopen

Sprout pencil pack

Upcycled Newspaper Pencil 

Recycled Post-It Notes

Notebook

Presentation folders

GIFTS OR GIVEAWAYS

Recycled Paper Bags

  • We all have a stash of fabric or plastic bags … we think it’s high time for an alternative that can go straight back into recycling. These paper bags are either made in Australia from 100% post-consumer recycled paper or made overseas from 60% FSC-certified recycled paper + 40% FSC-certified kraft paper.
    https://www.buyecogreen.com.au/bags-recycled-paper

Mind your beeswax!

Seed packets

PAPER

FlipCharts

Recycled A4 Paper

Dodgy Paper (beautiful handmade paper from recycled anything)!

  • Want to turn your existing office waste (old map books, coffee grinds, labels, or shredded financials) and turn it into fresh sheets of Dodgy Paper? Then the Pulp Professor is for you! 
    https://dodgypaper.com/

  • Even better, why not buy Dodgy Paper Terra Tags? They are absolutely stunning and will set your event apart from all others (and your guests will tell you so)!

PRINTERS

FOOD AND REFRESHMENTS

The Catering Dept

Eat First

Lasissex-faire

I hope you’ve found this list somewhat helpful. By embracing green alternatives, not only do we reduce our carbon footprint, but we also inspire attendees and businesses to adopt eco-friendly practices. Let's make each event a stepping stone towards a greener future for Australia and the world.

Rhonda Sweet

28 years experience as a strategic designer, ethnographic researcher and people leader at Bain, Westpac and McKinsey. I'm insatiably curious and always thinking about the people who experience a solution when I design. I love complex problems quite simply because they present a wide range of perspectives that can be resolved when rooted in deep user research. A Mum, artist, and owner of Terra Tags with an uncommon obsession for medieval Tudor history.

https://www.terratag.com.au/
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