The list of new tariffs includes a good amount of products that directly relate to the promotional products space, such as headwear, cotton and sport bags, and items tangentially related to the industry, like fruit, leather goods and machinery.
Read MoreAuthor: Brendan Menapace
Starbucks to Phase Out Plastic Straws as Seattle Pushes Plastics Legislation
The fight against single-use plastics is gaining momentum, as more and more countries, cities and businesses are phasing them out in favor of more eco-friendly options. The latest news comes from Starbucks, which announced that it plans to phase out plastic straws at all of its locations by 2020. Rather than go the route of…
Read MoreStaples Acquires HiTouch Business Services, a Promotional Products and Office Supplies Company
Staples announced that it acquired HiTouch Business Services, which, among other services, sells office supplies and promotional products to companies in the U.S. HiTouch will now be part of the Staples Business Advantage delivery program and will operate its e-commerce platform independently of Staples, but will maintain a status as a Staples-affiliated distributor…
Read MoreFortnite Players Spend $300M a Month on In-Game Swag, But Real-Life Fortnite Merch Sells Big, Too
Fortnite has become an overnight success in the video game community thanks to its multiplayer gameplay and its free-to-play status. So, it’s no surprise that its popularity has led fans to go nuts about promotional items at the E3 conference. According to Polygon, Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, gave out exclusive bags during an…
Read MoreTUMS Is Curing Cleveland’s LeBron Heartbreak With Promotional Antacids Giveaway
The loss of LeBron James to Los Angeles has surely been hard on Cleveland. There, he was much more than an athlete. And in a city where basketball is the only real hope of a championship (or even a few wins in the case of the Browns), having someone like LeBron as the talisman is…
Read MoreCanada’s New Tariffs List Includes Ballpoint Pens, Postcards and More
The newest rounds of retaliatory tariffs from Canada announced yesterday point directly at a few items with direct ties to the promotional industry, like ballpoint pens.
Read MoreShakira Accidentally Made Tour Merchandise With Nazi Imagery
An item from Shakira’s “El Dorado World Tour” merchandise is receiving some heat for what critics say is a striking resemblance to the Black Sun image used by Nazi Germany and modern far-right extremist groups. As a result, concert producer Live Nation has stopped the sale of the necklace two weeks into the tour (coincidentally,…
Read MoreHarsh Penalties, Shady Practices: Mumbai Becomes Largest City to Ban Plastic Bags
In what is possibly the largest and most severe plastic ban, Mumbai has issued a ban on single-use plastic bags, cups and bottles. While the size of Mumbai (population: 12.4 million) is enough to make this big news, it’s the way that officials are carrying out the ban that stands out the most…
Read MoreAmazon Is Expanding Its On-Demand Merchandise Service
Amazon’s presence on the periphery of the promotional products industry has been known for a while, and it’s grouped in with the likes of CafePress, Redbubble and Custom Ink (among others) who are adopting the direct-to-consumer model of custom products sales. To say that Amazon is now a competitor is old news. However, the extent…
Read MoreThe New Online Sales Tax Ruling Probably Won’t Affect Your Promotional Products Sales
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that states can require retailers to collect sales tax from online shoppers, even if the company doesn’t have a physical presence in the state, reversing a 1992 decision. Some retailers celebrated the decision, but huge e-commerce businesses like Amazon and Etsy saw their stocks take hits on the day…
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