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Novelty and Promotional Items
- Criteria for determining appropriateness of novelty and promotional products
- Branding novelty and promotional items with Agency information
- Restrictions on cost
- Allowed and Prohibited Items
- Acquisition procedure and justification
- Simplified purchasing procedures for "green" novelty items
- Items used as awards
This page presents a summary of EPA's policies and procedures for purchasing novelty items and promotional products. The Contracts Management Manual (PDF) 
(513 pp., 3.05MB, about PDF) provides more details of these policies and procedures, and the exceptions to them.
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A “novelty item” is defined as a small, mass-produced object or souvenir of nominal value that is primarily used for outreach and educational purposes.
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Novelty items must contain a “message” that is concise, readily understandable by the audience it reaches, and is usually is part of a larger EPA theme or campaign.
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The purchase of novelty items must be based on the “necessary expense” rule, which states that purchase will only be allowed if the item will contribute to the accomplishment of the Agency’s mission, and is not otherwise prohibited by law.
Criteria for determining appropriateness of novelty and promotional products
The item:
- should be able to serve in any of these ways:
- convention booth attractions and memorabilia
- elements of education kits that may also serve as stand alone items
- tangible reinforcement of a key point at a meeting or presentation
- morale-building items for group participation activities
- should be useful as a communication tool for a variety of audiences and serve the public interest:
- physical qualities of the product reflect well on EPA mission and status
- ecologically benign; preferably beneficial
- safe, non-toxic for humans and animals
- made and/or imprinted in the United States of America
- must conform to all federal laws and EPA rules on purchasing, printing, trademark, ethics, and appropriations.
Branding novelty and promotional items with Agency information
All novelty and promotional items must be imprinted with Agency information. This information is typically an environmental message, the EPA program office’s URL or informational telephone number, or both. Imprinting an item with only the EPA seal or Agency identifier without an environmental or educational message is not sufficient.
Restrictions on cost
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Items that cost less than $2.00/unit: Items with a unit acquisition cost of $2.00 or less (including the pro-rated shipping cost and the production/printing cost) are presumed to have insignificant utility and cost and, therefore, meet the “necessary expense” test (as long as they are on the list of allowed items).
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Items between $2.00 and $6.00 per unit or “green” novelty items: If an item’s cost is over $2.00, but less than $6.00, and the item has some utility, and the program office can demonstrate benefits from “green” sourcing, then these environmental considerations may overcome what otherwise might be an item’s disqualifying cost. Under these circumstances, the limit of $2.00 per item can be waived and can rise to $6.00 per item, unless the item is on the prohibited items list.
Allowed and Prohibited Items
- Examples of items which might be appropriate for distribution to the general public or federal employees include, but are not limited to, the following:
| Pens/pins | Bookmarks |
| Pencils | Mouse pads |
| Magnets | Lanyards |
| Posters | Buttons |
| Signs | Bumper stickers |
| Key chains/fobs | Water bottles |
| Plastic cups | Ceramic or glass coffee mugs |
| Drinking glasses | Letter-opener, from corn plastic |
- Purchase of these items is prohibited. Examples include, but are not limited to the following:
| Umbrellas Golf balls Candy and other food items Tote bags (see 13.2.5.5 for exceptions (PDF) ) (513 pp., 3.05MB, about PDF)Toys, unless the toy primarily functions as an educational/experimental tool Apparel (T-shirts, scarves, caps, jackets, etc.) |
Acquisition procedure and justification
The requesting office must describe through the product review process the outreach or educational purpose that will be served by purchasing the item. In providing this information, the program office shall provide the information that will be imprinted on each item and the expected cost per item including shipping and production or printing costs.
Simplified purchasing procedures for "green" novelty items
The EPA contracting office has put six blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) into place to simplify this process. All items listed by and ordered using these BPAs have been pre-approved by the contracting office as "CPG-Green" items. In other words, once you have product review approval you may purchase novelty items listed through these BPAs directly from the vendor without competition. View this list of six vendors.
Items used as awards
Items used as awards to recognize accomplishments of federal employees or non-federal entities fall into a category different from novelty items. Please refer to Section 13.2.3 of the Contracts Management Manual (PDF) (513 pp., 3.05MB, about PDF) for the process and authorities for this category of acquisitions.