South Africa, Sept. 8 -- In the US, sales of promotional products classified as sustainable reached $3.69bn in 2024, according to the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), representing 20% year-on-year growth.

While South Africa's corporate merchandise sector is not officially tracked at the same level, the scale of the local market is reflected in the volumes handled by major suppliers, with one of Africa's largest promotional product businesses reporting the capacity to brand more than 250,000 products a day.

The bigger issue, according to Malcolm Herbert, chief financial officer at Sapphire, an integrated business solutions company specialising in procurement, logistics and branded merchandise, may be how effectively...