13 Best Eco-Friendly & Green Sustainable Printing Companies

In the past decade, there has been a steady ship away from unsustainable items due to their massive negative impact on the environment.

According to research, 77% of Americans are concerned about the environmental impact of products they buy. Between 2016 and 2021, Google searches relating to eco-friendly goods increased by 71% globally.

For anyone ordering custom merchandise for teams, cooperations, outdoor activities, or for resale and want to join this movement, this post will show you a list of the 14 best online ethical & environmentally-friendly printing companies.

Best Online Printing Services For Eco-friendly & Sustainable Products

Here’re the 13 best online eco-friendly & green sustainable printing companies.

1. Hatch

Hatch is the leading eco-sustainable & ethical printing company based in London England UK. It features custom high-quality business cards, leaflets, flyers, posters, greeting cards, compliment slips, wall calendars, brochures, and folders made from FSC-accredited, recycled, or seeded paper.

The company also teams up with Gophr – a courier service with a bicycle fleet to make delivering orders more environmentally friendly.

Hatch is one of the UK’s first printers to hold the Vegetarian Society Approved vegan accreditation.

Pros

• Free standard shipping within 1-3 business days to the UK mainland (Highlands, Ireland, and Northern Ireland might take a longer time).
• Ship within 1-2 weeks to the USA, EU, Australia, and Asia via DHL.
• Same-day delivery service on all products (except brochures and folders) throughout London.
• The ability to ship products in plain packaging with no mention of Hatch (excellent for resellers).
• Quantity discounts.
• Free sample packs within the UK.
• Easy-to-use online design tool with various beautiful templates.
• A professional in-house team of artists offering design services (from £50 per design).
• Business services (premium business printing, dedicated account manager, artwork checking, bespoke ordering & quoting, and business-level pricing).
• Secure payments via credit cards and Paypal.

Cons

• Some items like brochures and folders might need at least 2-3 business days to produce.
• High international shipping costs (from £65).

2. GreenGiving

GreenGiving provides the largest range of personalizable eco-friendly green corporate gifts & fairtrade promotional items.

They contain printed cotton totes, cork bags, cardboard pens, seed paper cards, biodegradable flower pots, biological water bottles, recycled coffee mugs, reusable cups, energy-saving boxes, solar-powered power banks, wooden toys, bamboo electronics, sustainable kitchen supplies, BPA-free office goods, organic clothes, and many more.

GreenGiving was founded in 2009 and has gradually expanded throughout Europe with climate-neutral headquarters in the Netherlands.

Pros

• Free delivery to the EU within 10 working days.
• Price breaks.
• Free digital proof.
• Order online via Visa, Mastercard, or Paypal.

Cons

• Long shipping times to countries outside of the EU.
• Need to contact the company to arrange international delivery.
• Not having an online design lab.

3. GreenerPrinter

GreenerPrinter has been providing printing services for business cards, postcards, calendars, brochures, booklets, labels, and hang tags to the California Bay Area for more than 30 years with a strong commitment to environmental and social responsibility.

Its facilities have been certified as a Green Business by the Association of Bay Area Governments thanks to its approach to only using recycled paper and soy & vegetable-based inks as well as implementing top-of-the-line technology that cuts waste significantly.

All finished orders at GreenerPrinter are also packaged in recycled materials and shipped “Carbon Free” as certified by Carbonfund. This means that the emissions associated with shipping by truck or air freight are offset through purchases of renewable energy credits to achieve a net-zero impact on the earth’s climate.

Pros

• Ship anywhere in the USA within 1-2 weeks.
• Bulk discounts.
• 15% discount on your first order if you are a qualified non-profit.
• Free paper sample kits for US customers.
• Many product templates.
• Accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.

Cons

• Production turnaround times are 3-7 days.
• Must contact the company to arrange international shipping.
• No online mockup tools.

4. Print.Work

Print.Work is a sustainable & planet-friendly printing company based in Leeds England UK.

It produces art prints, bookmarks, concertina invitations, Christmas cards, vouchers, menus, zines, letterheads, and other marketing products from uncoated & 100% recycled stock paper or special paper that is sourced from FSC-certified mills and made from 20%-60% recycled content.

Pros

• No minimum order requirement.
• Ship within 1-3 days to the UK mainland.
• Free shipping on orders over £50.
• Price breaks.
• Free sample packs.
• Simple online design lab.
• Accept major credit cards and Paypal.

Cons

• Up to 5 days to process orders.
• Do not ship outside of the UK.

5. AshleyHouse

Established in 1986 in Exeter England, AshleyHouse is an eco-friendly & green printing supplier providing promotional goods for festivals, retail, education, hospitality, creatives, and corporates.

It’s affiliated with the Woodland Trust Carbon Capture scheme and Forest Carbon, ensuring that all of the paper the company purchases is Zero Carbon.

In addition, AshleyHouse eliminates the use of plastic packaging. Instead, orders are delivered in non-plastic alternatives or biodegradable solutions like 100% recyclable paper tape & corrugated cardboard, recycled envelopes with a cornstarch window, eco shrink wrap, and oxo-degradable pallet wrap.

Pros

• Graphic design & print consultancy services.
• Print fulfillment solutions.
• Support major credit/debit cards.

Cons

• Only ship within the UK.
• Doesn’t support online ordering (send a quote for a product and the company will get back to you later).

6. EcoEnclose

EcoEnclose specializes in printing sustainable US-made custom packaging, including 100% recycled shipping boxes, kraft mailers, 100% recycled shopping bags, FSC-certified tissue paper, etc.

It aims to help eCommerce brands become earth-friendly and regenerative forces for the environment.

Pros

• Ship internationally within 6-10 business days.
• Free samples.
• Automatic quantity discounts up to 15% off.
• Accept common credit cards.

Cons

• High MOQ (from 100 units).
• Lead times for large orders are up to 3-10 weeks.
• No mockup tools.

7. NoIssue

NoIssue is another top online eco-friendly packaging printing service for all types of industries, such as apparel, food, cafes & bakeries, skincare & cosmetics, jewelry, stationery, and florists & events.

It’s headquartered in New Zealand but has manufacturing and distribution partners all over the world.

Pros

• Free tracked shipping worldwide within 21 days.
• Wholesale discounts.
• $5 sample pack with free shipping.
• Advanced design & mockup editor with numerous templates.
• Distributor programs with white-label packaging & shipping, easy-to-manage ordering dashboards, and dedicated design & ordering support.
• Payment methods are Paypal, Visa, and Mastercard.

Cons

• Long lead times on large orders.

8. Teemill

Teemill is one of the best vegan-friendly & sustainability-focused clothing printing companies located in the UK.

All garments it offers are carbon-neutral and made from GOTS-certified organic cotton. Plastic-free packaging also comes as standard on every order.

As a certified ecological company, Teemill employs low-waste digital printing tech and inks that conform to the GOTS/Soil Association organic criteria.

Pros

• No minimums.
• Worldwide delivery within 1-3 weeks.
• Better wholesale discounts starting from 200 items.
• Straightforward design lab.
• Print-on-demand dropshipping solutions with a free online store.
• Payment via all major debit/credit cards and PayPal.

Cons

• The standard turnaround time is 10-15 working days for mass orders.

9. HelloPrint

The next excellent ethical & green printing partner to look into is HelloPrint. Besides leveraging recyclable packaging materials and avoiding the use of plastic fillers, it also presents customers with the option to offset the carbon footprint generated by their orders.

HelloPrint’s headquarters are located in Rotterdam Netherlands and Valencia Spain, but it has a huge network of local producers in 13 European countries. This means that the distance between production and delivery is always aimed to be minimized, thus the impact on the environment.

Regarding product selection, HelloPrint carries eco t-shirts, outerwear, notepads, business cards, envelopes, banners, cardboard signs, biodegradable pens, backpacks, bamboo wireless chargers, cork travel mugs, sweets with compostable wrappers, etc.

Pros

• Ship to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom within 2-14 days.
• Free delivery on orders over £30.
• For misprinted merchandise, you can return your order and get a free reprint or get a full refund. Another option is to keep your product and get a refund or discount of 10%.
• Quantity price breaks.
• Online design lab.
• Print-on-demand integration with Shopify and other eCommerce platforms.
• White-label printing shop solutions.
• Support Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Maestro, and bank transfers.

Cons

• Only deliver to 13 countries (you have to go to each country’s website to order products shipped to that country).

10. Real Thread

Real Thread is a leading water-based ink t-shirt printing shop based in Florida USA. It sources organic cotton, hemp, and bamboo textiles from renowned eco-conscious wholesalers, including Bella+Canvas, Allmade, RoyalApparel, Econscious, and Known Supply.

To help increase the perceived value of your fashion brand, Real Thread provides add-ons that allow you to add personalized hang tags and hem tags to products as well as fold and polybag them for better protection during storage or transit.

Additionally, it supports advanced decoration options like foil screen printing, metallic ink, sim process, tonal printing, glow-in-the-dark, and over-the-zipper printing.

Pros

• Free shipping to the USA within 2-7 days.
• Price breaks.
• Landing page setup for your fundraising campaigns.
• ECommerce storage & fulfillment services.
• Accept credit cards and Paypal.

Cons

• The minimum order quantity is 20 units.
• No online mockup tools.
• The standard turnaround time is 10 days.
• Doesn’t support international delivery.

11. Spreadshirt

Spreadshirt is a German eCommerce group founded in 2002 that implements ethical & green sustainable on-demand clothing printing approaches.

It carefully selects eco-friendly textile suppliers, uses vegan inks, switches to renewable energy, donates returned clothes to schools & sports clubs, practices standard working hours, and treats all employees fairly and according to the principle of equality.

After nearly 20 years of existence, Spreadshirt has expanded to cater to multiple global brands with factories & offices across the world and has hired over 1,000 workers from more than 43 countries.

Pros

• No order minimum.
• Global delivery within 30 days via USPS and FedEx.
• Up to 70% wholesale discounts.
• 30 days to return items.
• Straightforward creation lab with many free & paid ready-to-use designs from independent artists.
• Personal graphic design services ($19.99).
• Digital B2B automation platform (called Mula) to help you easily manage all your merchandising activities for your company, employees, and customers.
• Print-on-demand solutions for Shopify and major eCommerce platforms via SPOD.
• Secure payments with Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, and AMEX.

Cons

• 5-10 business days to complete the production of bulk orders.

12. ThePrintSpace

ThePrintSpace is the UK’s best environmentally-friendly fine art & photographic printing company.

It achieves 100% end-to-end carbon neutrality by using green couriers such as DHL GoGreen and Green Courier where available, only working with renewable energy suppliers including Ecotricity and Stadtwerke Dusseldorf, collaborating with print facilities globally to reduce air travel when shipping orders, and helping fund projects for a safer climate and more sustainable world.

Pros

• No minimum.
• Global shipping from Germany and the UK (within 5-10 days to the US/EU).
• Beginner-friendly online mockup studio.
• Branding services that let you ship products in sustainable personalized packages with your customized logos, stickers, and inserts.
• Support creating certificates of authenticity and digital signatures.
• Dropshipping integration with Shopify, Etsy, Squarespace, WooCommerce, Big Cartel, Wix, Facebook Shops, Instagram, and TikTok.
• Pay with debit/credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.

Cons

• Up to 5-10 days to process framed & mounted prints.

13. T-Pop

T-Pop is one of the most well-rounded printing websites to design and dropship eco-friendly print-on-demand items online to customers worldwide with no minimum order quantity, such as 100% organic cotton clothes, recycled textile tote bags, ceramic mugs, etc.

The company owns a complete in-house production line in France which enables it to control every step of the sourcing, manufacturing, and shipping processes to ensure products are not only of excellent quality but also as sustainable as possible.

Furthermore, T-Pop bans plastic from every shipment and delivers orders in recyclable cardboard or kraft paper envelopes to minimize the ecological footprint.

Pros

• No MOQ.
• Ship to France within 2-3 working days, to the EU within 3-10 days, and the rest of the world takes 5-14 working days on average.
• 5%-10% discounts for merchants who reach specific sales thresholds per month.
• Reprints within 30 days of purchase.
• Easy-to-use mockup creator.
• Free logos, social network information, and thank-you notes on parcels and packing slips.
• Support adding package inserts (flyers, thank-you cards, etc.) and customer gift stickers.
• Automatically translate slips according to the language of the shipping destination for free.
• Integrate with Etsy, Shopify, and WooCommerce.
• Pay with Paypal and major credit/debit cards.

Cons

• Up to 6 days to print and dispatch orders.

How To Start Selling Custom Printed Eco-Friendly & Green Sustainable Products Online Without Holding Inventory

If you’re interested in selling printed eco-friendly products online without buying large stock upfront, you can leverage a fulfillment model called print-on-demand dropshipping.

It works like this: When someone purchases a product from your store, you send the order information to a third-party supplier who then helps you pack and ship the product directly to the customer. You essentially only need to care about the marketing part of your business.

To start, check out our best sustainable print-on-demand companies.

Conclusion

These 13 services are carefully chosen based on various criteria, including product range, MOQ, product costs, item quality, production times, shipping speed, shipping rates, and payment methods.

In summary, to print custom green marketing items, Hatch, GreenGiving, GreenerPrinter, Print.Work, and AshleyHouse are the best providers.

In regards to buying personalized ecological packaging, we recommend EcoEnclose and NoIssue.

Speaking of custom eco-friendly apparel, the top partners are Teemill, HelloPrint, Real Thread, and Spreadshirt.

In terms of printing fine art, the best solution is ThePrintSpace.

Finally, if you want to sell printed merchandise online without holding inventory, the greatest option is T-Pop.