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As concerns over the environment continue to grow, many visitor attractions are capitalising on their potential to educate the public on important ecological messages.

Whether it’s caring for our natural woodlands or protecting the oceans from plastic pollution, these messages are often at their most powerful and emotive when they’re delivered in an environment where people can experience first-hand the beauty of natural ecosystems and the fragile majesty of their inhabitants.

It’s no surprise then, that eco-orientated attractions such as zoos, safari parks, aquariums and even national parks or forests are seeking alternatives to the plastic souvenirs that have dominated the visitor experience for so long.  These venues have to maximise consumer spend in order to survive, but for years they’ve been extolling the importance of environmental responsibility to customer while being forced, through lack of choice, to offer planet-choking souvenirs made of plastic.

Thankfully, change is coming – and here at MEDAEO, we’re right at the cutting edge.  Ironically, innovating on the eco front involves taking a step back to a material that has long been overshadowed by plastic – and you’ve guessed it, we’re talking about wood!

Wood shares many of plastic’s positive attributes – it’s light, strong and inexpensive.  Nowadays wood can also be vibrant and engaging, thanks to techniques such as laser engraving and colour printing plus the addition of colourful lanyards on medals.  Best of all, wood is now seen as something a bit different which means that even though it is totally biodegradable and sustainable, it’s unlikely to be thrown out by the end user simply because of its unique and tactile appeal.  Wood sourced from accredited and properly managed sources is also one of the most sustainable materials on the planet.

We’ve created a number of wooden products for our clients, including coins, medals and badges – one of our favourite recent projects was this cute wooden medal created for the Cornish Seal Sanctuary.  We’re always looking to expand our range of wooden products and we’ve also recently added a fantastic wooden alternative to the ubiquitous plastic pop badge to our range.

Arguably the best thing about these wooden products is not just their innate sustainability, but their power to engage the recipient, start a conversation and get us all thinking harder about the materials we use in all sorts of manufacturing.

For more information on our wooden products or to get some advice on how these new products fit in with your green policy, contact our sales team on [email protected] or on +44 (0)1733 396088.