Sustainability can encompass a lot or a little to a company depending on its values, the resources it realistically has available and how recently it first initiated a sustainability platform and program. That range of possibilities can create an intimidating entry point for some companies. The umbrella goals of what branded merchandise can accomplish with sustainability all have similar end points and motivations, but they can look quite different in execution.
What’s lost in all this is that branded merch firms can be some of each other’s greatest resources in sustainability education. In 2025, PPAI commissioned a year-long sustainability study carried out by consultancy firm WAP. The results were rich with data, but one point made by Emma McMahon, senior sustainability manager at WAP and project manager on the study, was the disconnect between the number of companies attempting to do the work in sustainability and their perception of how many others are on similar tracks as them. This is a recipe for becoming siloed.
Emma McMahon
Senior Sustainability Manager, WAP Consulting
“A lot of folks feel like they’re doing this alone or that they’re the only ones facing a certain set of issues that they’re facing,” McMahon says. “What became really clear is that no, lots of folks in the industry are facing really similar problems and are coming up with creative solutions together and that it’s really an area that’s ripe for that type of collaboration.”
In part to remedy this, WAP and PPAI came up with Maturity Stages to help identify where any given firm might be categorized within its sustainability journey.
- These categories would not be for public or client-facing use. They are not validations or certifications. A “Beginner” would not need to disclose that to a client, for example.
- Rather, they are intended as reference points, perhaps for personal goals or self-assessment.
- Leaders have an opportunity to do just that: Lead in sustainability and share best practices. However, as member companies track their journey from Beginner to Developing or Established, they are hopefully inclined to reach back to other firms through industry initiatives such as PPAI Responsibility Summit and detail their progress with advice for resources and overcoming obstacles.
“Consistent gains in sustainability ultimately require celebrating big wins and small wins; progress over perfection,” says Elizabeth Wimbish, CAS, director of sustainability and responsibility. “When we take this approach, we can learn from each other, and we can recognize progress as it’s happening. The maturity stages help give members that perspective on their own journey.”
Elizabeth Wimbush, CAS
Director of Sustainability & Responsibility, PPAI
Establishing these maturity stages is an early part of what can hopefully be a process of more collaborative sustainability work in the branded merch industry. McMahon pointed to what she referred to as “information asymmetry” between the companies WAP was in contact with.
“The availability of information was so different depending on the size of the company that we were looking at or factors like where they sat in that value chain,” says McMahon. “One of the big challenges is kind of just getting clarity and accurate information for decision making.
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“You can’t really do anything if you’re feeling around in the dark.”
To help alleviate that information asymmetry, WAP expanded on the maturity stages and applied them within each sustainability pillar. The below graphics not only provide the entire criteria for each stage but also break down what percentage of distributors and suppliers meet the criteria for each stage (based on member survey responses from WAP).
Here is what the criteria look like for each maturity stage within Environmental Responsibility:
This is the pillar most prioritized by distributors and suppliers, and so perhaps it isn’t a surprise that a significant number of both seem to be at least in the Beginner stage.
Here are the criteria for the maturity stages for product lifecycle considerations:
You’ll notice that to reach the Beginner stage, a company has to be incorporating sustainable packaging and products increasingly when the option is available.
Below are the criteria for the maturity stages for Social Equity:
In order to move up to the stage of Developing, a company would be auditing labor practices.
Here are the criteria for maturity stages for Transparency and Accountability:
A company within the Established stage would be putting in the work required to reporting frameworks such as EcoVadis or other validating third party resources.
Here are the criteria for the maturity stages for Governance:
A Leader in governance would have sustainability woven into the strategic planning of the company’s future, as well as tied to executive incentives with a board actively overseeing ESG initiatives. Sustainability goals would be public for accountability purposes.
More WAP breakdowns:
Read Part 1: WAP Sustainability Study: Who, What, Why
Read Part 2: Double Materiality Assessment: The New Lens To View Sustainability Through
Read Part 3: WAP Study Results: What Really Drives Sustainability In Branded Merch?
Read Part 4: New Data Reveals Which Sustainability Pillars Branded Merch Firms Value Most
Read The Full Reports Here:
And Here:
