No premium. Parity or better.
The sustainability premium is the single biggest barrier to enterprise and government adoption. In our portfolio, it's largely a myth. Here's the data.
Ask a procurement officer why their organization hasn't switched to more sustainable products and you'll hear some version of the same answer: we can't justify the premium.
It's a reasonable position. Institutional buyers operate under real budget constraints. Sustainability goals are real, but they compete with operational realities. If going green means paying more, the math rarely works — especially at scale.
The problem is the premise. The premium, in most of the categories we work in, doesn't exist.
What the numbers actually show
Healthcare organizations pay, on average, 7 to 12 percent more for consumables than comparable buyers in other industries. That's not a sustainability premium — that's a distribution markup baked into the supply chain. It has nothing to do with whether the product is biodegradable or conventional.
In advanced manufacturing, Grainger lists a 6 mil nitrile exam glove at over $59 per box of 100. Uline runs $37 to $39 for the same spec. When we bring a biodegradable alternative into that conversation, we're not asking buyers to pay a sustainability premium. We're showing them what they should have been paying all along — and delivering a product that also happens to biodegrade in a landfill within 41 days, validated to ASTM D5526.
No premium. Parity or better. What that actually means.
The biodegradable nitrile gloves we source through Medzah are tested against 23 chemotherapy drugs with breakthrough times exceeding 240 minutes on 21 of 23 compounds, and available at cost reduction compared to major broadline distributors. Trusted by UConn Health, Hartford HealthCare, and Boston Children's.
BioIndustries' soiled linen bag program uses 50% recycled plastic content — significantly higher than the industry standard of 10 to 20% — while meeting DOT ASTM testing requirements, carrying EPA CPG Directory listing, and qualifying as Proposition 65 compliant. It saves healthcare facilities on both product cost and waste disposal fees.
Penton's chemical line is marine-safe and APE-free — a stricter environmental standard than most institutional chemical products are held to — across a full catalog including disinfectants that kill HIV, MRSA, Hepatitis B & C, Salmonella, E. coli, and Black mold. No premium.
Why the myth persists
Part of it is legacy. Earlier generations of sustainable products were genuinely more expensive. That gap has closed significantly. The institutional memory of the premium outlasted the premium itself.
Part of it is that nobody has shown up to demonstrate the alternative. Broadline distributors don't have an incentive to tell you a sustainable option exists at a lower price point. Their margin depends on you not knowing.
And part of it is sequencing. When sustainability leads the conversation, buyers are already bracing for the price conversation. Lead with cost reduction and the environmental benefit becomes a bonus — which is exactly what it is in our portfolio.
How we work
We don't do list prices. We do the right price. Every buyer is different, every volume is different, every existing supplier relationship has a different markup built in. Our job is to understand your current spend, match your spec, and show you what sustainable procurement at cost reduction actually looks like for your specific operation.
No premium. Parity or better. That's not a marketing line. It's a standard.