Lanyards are now proving to be an essential tool for almost any business, event or even school. They can form part of a branding exercise, provide some practical solutions to problems within the workplace, and offer increased levels of security, but with everyone wearing them, it means there are millions of lanyards out there.
Personalised lanyards are well known for having a long lifespan, but at some point, they will need to be disposed of, which has led to questions about how environmentally friendly they are.
Here, we take a look at the different ways in which lanyards can be repurposed to find out what to do once they are no longer needed.
The life cycle of a lanyard
Lanyards are used in business and schools every single day, but they are also handed out at events, conferences and exhibitions for guests to carry with them for just a short time. This means that there is a huge number of them lying around ready to be disposed of.
Generally speaking, lanyards should be replaced every three years, however this may need to be done sooner if they were used for short term events, if you have changed your branding or employees have moved on.
This means that your organisation needs to think carefully about what you will do with them to avoid creating any unnecessary waste. Thankfully, you can also repurpose them, as there are a number of different ways in which they can be used beyond their original purpose.
Repurposing lanyards
Typically, lanyards are made using fabric for the strap, plastic for the safety clip and metal for the attachment clip. The fabric itself cannot be recycled. However, the metal attachment clip can be recycled.
The recycling of the metal attachment clip helps make lanyard production sustainable by reducing material usage, wastage and overall production costs.
Here at We Print Lanyards, if you have old business event or conference lanyards purchased directly from us, you can return these to us and we will happily recycle the clips.
Additionally, if you want to keep but repurpose your old lanyards, here are just a few examples of ways you can do so!
Tote bag handles
The reason that lanyards have such a long lifespan is because they are made from very strong synthetic materials that tend to be tougher than the sorts of things you find on most cloth tote bags.
This means that if your cloth handles fray or snap, you can continue using the bag by replacing them with a cut up lanyard. Even the metal attachments can be useful as key holders on your tote bag.
Sporting straps
Many cyclists, hikers and athletes are capable of putting lanyards to use as straps for their activities. The materials used in a lanyard tend to be sweat resistant and are incredibly durable, so they can be used as arm and leg straps or even create holders for bikes and equipment.
Pet leashes
The strength of a lanyard is actually sufficient to withstand the rough and tumble that comes from small or medium-sized dogs, making them ideal for use as a leash.
This means they can be used to make repairs to existing leashes or harnesses, or they can be braided together to make a strong but unique leash from scratch. This means you have the ability to create custom collars, harnesses and leashes for your pet that can still help to keep them safe and secure.
Phone charms
These days everyone seems to have a strap hanging from their phone as a fashion accessory, but it also has a practical use. It allows people to carry their phones hanging from their wrists if they do not have a bag or pocket to put it in. The strap on a lanyard can be a great phone charm as it is incredibly strong so there is little risk of the phone dropping or being yanked from somebody's arm.
Bookmarks
There is nothing worse than getting into a good book and then realising you do not have anything to mark your place. If you don't want to deface the book by folding down the corners, then a lanyard can make a great alternative to a bookmark.
These will slide in and out of the pages without damaging the spine or you could glue them to the inside spine of reference books like atlases and dictionaries to help make information easier to find.
Key holders
Most of us are guilty of losing our keys on a fairly regular basis, but your lanyards can help to prevent this. You can attach your keys to a lanyard to make them harder to lose, and you could even use different lanyards to colour code what each key is for so that you can find them quickly and easily.
Dummy or toy savers
Any parent will know the horror of realising that their child is crying in a pushchair because they have dropped a much-loved dummy or toy somewhere on the street. A lanyard can be attached to their buggy or car seat and used to hold these types of things to ensure that they are never lost and can be kept clean.
Make a charitable donation
If you have a lot of plain lanyards that have not been customised and are no longer in use, then you could consider making a donation to a charity or school. These are often in need of things like lanyards but do not have the budget to spend on them and so they are likely to be grateful for a donation made by local business.
Lanyards are incredibly versatile and so when they have reached the end of their life for your business, they could still have many other functions. Whether you simply have a desk drawer full of them yourself or a business that is building up a collection, there are plenty of ways you can put them to good use and you could even consider selling them in their new form to raise money for charity.
Lanyards by We Print Lanyards
If you are looking for custom lanyards, we can help you! Create your own business lanyards online today with our free design tool! If you require assistance or have any questions, please contact us today and our friendly team will be happy to help.