I think part of the problem is actually the shift away from shirts. Swag is advertising but at least a shirt served a purpose and if you didn’t want it you could donate it. Many company shirts ended up at Goodwill or shipped off the 3rd world countries.

But shirts are expensive so no one gives them anymore. They’ve shifted to the cheapest items they can find.

I usually turn down swag now and when I’m in charge of swag I always opt for t-shirts with some sort of “use the product quickly” treasure hunt task to earn one.