Last year’s signs of progress at The PPAI Expo captured something important: Responsibility had moved out of the margins. It wasn’t hidden in one or two sessions or relegated to the “sustainability nerds” (yours truly included).
Elizabeth Wimbush, CAS
Director of Sustainability & Responsibility, PPAI
It was visible, expected and increasingly part of the conversation. Booths looked different. Rooms were full. Attendees lingered longer asking questions about environmental impact.
Even better, The PPAI Expo 2026 didn’t feel like a sequel. It felt like what comes next.
READ MORE: Best Of The PPAI Expo 2026
The most noticeable shift wasn’t volume, it was restraint – fewer sweeping claims and less narrative filler. More matter-of-fact explanations of what’s actually happening inside companies and across supply chains. Not dramatic and grandiose, just grounded. That kind of change doesn’t usually grab headlines, but it is the kind that usually sticks.
Validated data showed up more consistently, and not as a special feature. Certifications, documentation and defined metrics were treated as normal reference points rather than value-adds. When gaps existed, they were often acknowledged plainly. No panicked gymnastics to justify.
That alone says something about where the merch industry is. There’s a growing comfort with saying, “This is where we are and what we plan to do to move forward” instead of rushing to say, “Here’s where we’re going.”
The language has tightened, too. Terms that once floated freely are increasingly tied to shared definitions and recognizable standards. Conversations felt clearer, less interpretive. There were fewer moments of polite nodding while everyone silently translated or made a mental note to Google that acronym later.
It’s easier to move forward when people are actually talking about the same thing. Shocking, I know.
There was also less fluff. Not none, but noticeably less. Big promises gave way to smaller, more specific explanations for what’s in place, what’s being tested and even what’s not yet solved. All were discussed pretty honestly and pragmatically. Attendees asked sharper questions and didn’t rush past the answers. It was practical over performative, with a drop in buzzwords used per minute.
That same tone showed up in how the event itself operated. Sustainability efforts in Las Vegas weren’t framed as aspirational experiments or “nice-to-haves,” but rather treated as standard operating practice. The three water refill stations on the show floor recorded more than 6,700 water fills by the end of the show, representing thousands of single-use plastic bottles avoided without announcements, signage overload or moral pressure.
It worked precisely because it didn’t require enthusiasm to participate. It simply made the better option the easier one.
Zero-Waste Event
Behind the scenes at The PPAI Expo 2026, the sustainability results were even more telling. Based on the final commodity report, the event achieved a 90% waste diversion rate, meeting the threshold required to qualify as a Zero-Waste Event. Cardboard, wood, mixed paper, metals, food waste, carpet and pad material streams were separated, tracked and managed.
Standardization came up often across sessions and conversations, but not as a philosophical debate – more as infrastructure. Shared frameworks and benchmarks weren’t framed as constraints. They were treated as tools that make progress easier to repeat. There’s a growing recognition that consistency doesn’t limit innovation, it enables it. We’ve collectively decided not to reinvent the wheel, just improve it – which I love for us.
Education felt different this year as well. Sessions leaned less on awareness-building and more on application. People weren’t just listening. They were stress-testing ideas against their own constraints, timelines and internal realities. Questions were practical. Follow-ups were specific.
Awareness has largely done its job. Integration is where the work is now.
Taken together, this doesn’t look like sustainability going away or even taking up less space. It looks like it’s settling in for the long haul. That’s also why the timing of the newly released PPAI 2026-2030 Strategic Plan feels aligned. Sustainability and responsibility are positioned as a priority lane – not a standalone initiative or side project, but something woven through the foundation and all three strategic pillars. That framing mirrors what showed up in Las Vegas and is present in the industry more broadly.
When responsibility is treated as a priority, it stops being optional. It shows up in sourcing and design decisions, in what’s put in front of clients more often and in the questions companies are willing to ask of themselves and their partners.
The PPAI Expo 2026 didn’t announce this shift. It reflected it. If last year was about momentum, this year was about muscle memory. It’s unspectacular but repeatable. It doesn’t rely on enthusiasm, novelty or perfect conditions to function.
Ours is an industry learning how to make responsibility part of how it does business day to day – not just how it talks about it.
