7 Ways To Use Custom Ribbon In Your Business

We adore custom ribbon! It’s versatile, it feels great, looks beautiful and adds a touch of class and personality to any product. 

Here at GB Labels, we’ve been making ribbon for all kinds of purposes over the years. In this guide, we’ll share some of our favourite uses for promotional ribbon. We’ll show you how our customers have used ribbon over the years and hopefully give you some ideas of your own! 

7 Ways To Use Promotional Ribbon:

1: Packages
2: Gifts
3: Swing Tickets
4: Zipper Pulls
5: Neck  Trim
6: Accessory Loops & Linings
7: Table & Marquee Decorations

1: Packaging

Nothing adds a personal, luxurious touch to parcels quite like a ribbon! The finest global gift brands — from Jo Malone to Tiffany — use their own branded ribbon to elevate their product packaging and define their shopper’s experience. You don’t need to print your logo onto your custom ribbon — you can use distinctive colours and weaves, or add a small slogan. All that matters is that your packaging ribbon becomes an unmistakable part of your brand’s signature.

We’ve all seen the classic crossover-style ribbon wrap, but there are hundreds of other ways to finish a parcel. You can tie diagonally, add a single horizontal band or offset the position of the bow. The choice is yours. Just try to pick a ribbon tying style that complements the intricacy, size and ‘specialness’ of the product you’re selling. 

2: Gifts

A lot of our ribbon customers use it for gifts. Ribbon can be used for gifting in one of two ways: either to brand a corporate gift or to be the gift itself. 

Making Gifts With Ribbon: 

Some of our customers use their branded ribbon to create small personal keepsake gifts for their customers. If you can create a simple keyring loop or bookmark and add it to each parcel before you send it, you’ll make your buyers feel special and generate a lot of goodwill. The great thing about ribbon gifts is that they are light and flexible, so they don’t cost you a lot in postage terms. 

Dressing Gifts With Ribbon:

A branded-ribbon bow is one of the simplest and most effective ways to brand up a corporate gift.  Whether you’re sending out hampers and bottles to clients or just parcelling up sample stock, custom ribbon leaves gifts looking smart without coming across as salesy.

3: Swing Tickets

As soon as your goods arrive on the racks of a brick-and-mortar shop, you lose some control over how your brand is perceived. That’s why your swing ticket (or ‘hang tag’ as it’s known in America) is so important. It’s one of your last opportunities to entice a buyer. You can learn all about swing tickets in our guide.

The cord, or ‘string’ part of your swing ticket can be made from almost anything. You can use plastic wire, rustic twine, brass chain …the options are limitless. For our money, it’s hard to beat a thin ribbon with discrete branding built into the weave. Swing ticket ribbon is usually very thin so that it fits the eyelet, but you can make the colours and weave as bold or as modest as you like. We’ve made every kind of swing ticket ribbon imaginable — from day-glo damask finishes to sumptuous black satin. Think about the mood you want your swing ticket to establish, and ask us for advice if you have any doubts.

4: Zipper Pulls

A custom zipper pull can really define a garment. For prominent zippers, we tend to recommend stuffed and silicone options, but for secondary and internal zips, a simple length of ribbon can look great. 

A thin, dovetail-cut ribbon, tied through the loop of a metal zip pull with a lark’s head knot, can really embed your brand into the day-to-day experience of using a product. It’s a great choice for accessories and jackets. 

5: Neck Trim

When you’re working with silk and other lightweight fabrics, one of the biggest challenges is how to add structure to your garment without making it feel bulky. Ribbon, sewn into the neck trim of a blouse or dress, is a perfect solution to this problem. It’s strong enough to stop light fabrics from drooping, but it’s soft enough that the wearer feels comfortable. 

Neck trim ribbon also gives your garment a clean visual border that can contrast or complement the texture and colour of the base fabric. We can make ribbon in just about any colour for you (learn more about Pantones here), and we can produce a wide range of detailed patterns and sheens, too. 

Here are some of the most popular neck trim shapes for ribbon lining: 

5: Accessory Loops & Linings

Ribbon is great for pocket trim on handbags, purses and even rugged outdoor gear. Try stitching your bag’s pocket borders with a satin-finish ribbon in a contrasting colour. It can add a touch of luxury and flair to even the most utility-focused accessory. 

We’ve seen our ribbons looped and seam-stitched into the interior of a purse so that they can be used as a handy secure keychain — we’ve even produced some of those little ribbons that go behind the battery in electronics. Whatever you need your accessory ribbon to do, talk it through with us. We’ve been in this business for decades, and there’s a good chance we’ve produced something similar for another customer in the past. 

Table & Marquee Decorations

When you go to a trade show, you’re not just selling your product — you’re selling your creative talents. Whether you’re working off a trestle table in a hotel conference room or trading out of a marquee at a festival, promotional ribbon can give your selling space an authentic, branded feel. One of our customers asked us for yards of wide printed ribbon so that she could wrap the pillars of her gazebo — another just wanted short two-inch sections to staple to business cards. 

If you’re thinking about buying exhibition-ready ribbon, colour and definition are important, so a printed option may be the most appropriate choice for you. It all depends on how you’re going to use it. Let us know what you’re planning and we’ll get some samples into the post for you. 

In Summary…

All of the ribbon we produce is, technically, promotional ribbon … but it doesn’t have to feel that way. Ribbon is one of the most beautiful narrow fabrics types out there. It can add a touch of sophistication and intricacy to even the simplest items.  It’s timeless, personable and simple. You also don’t need miles of the stuff to make a big impact; it all depends on how you use it. You can go for printed or woven — the choice is yours. 

If you’re interested, then take a look at our promotional ribbon products. We’re just a phone call away if you have any questions we’re just a phone call away. 

Thanks for reading!

Pete

Latest Posts