> Why do companies continue to waste money on useless swag?<p>They want your attention. Both at the event/when you interact with them first (probably more important), and then later. Swag is a way to get that attention. Useless swag is, as other comments have noted, cheaper than useful swag, but still gets some attention.<p>> What can be done to have companies think about the waste they are producing from swag?<p>Oh, most are aware. I think the easiest thing to do is:<p>* Don't take it if offered.<p>* If delivered, complain about it to customer service.<p>If enough folks do this, the value for swag will decrease, and fewer will do it. Or if they do, they'll do it well.<p>Swag can be a differentiator in the latter case. I can't tell you how many hours my current company, FusionAuth, has spent evaluating our swag t-shirts, but it is a big number. And we hear folks at conferences say "ooh, that's nice" (unsolicited).