on Oct 26, 22

Client gifts: The Good, the bad and the ugly

By Christine Langdon, Chief of Good - The world doesn’t need more branded lazy Susans! 

This time last year a major company was in full prep-mode to give clients across New Zealand branded lazy Susans for Christmas. Hundreds of them.

They already had their order in with a factory in China. But a coal shortage led to factory shutdowns. And then there were supply chain disruptions and shipping delays. The lazy Susans wouldn’t make it on time. So they pivoted ....

They canceled the lazy Susans and decided to send each of their clients a Good Gift Card from The Good Registry instead.

It was bad news for the mass-production factory in China - but such good news for Aotearoa, for people, and for our planet.

- The New Zealand clients had the joy of donating to causes that mattered to them and their whānau. 

- Tens of thousands of dollars went to charities that needed it.

- Landfills across Aotearoa were a little less full after Christmas. 

- And the planet breathed a sigh of relief at the coal that was saved, the trees, the shipping diesel, the wrapping and packaging...

The most important thing about any client gift: it needs to be something with meaning, something they’ll feel good about, and not another lazy Susan or a set of salad servers that might gather dust under the stairs or end up in landfill. 

So what makes a good client gift?

- Give experiences instead of stuff

- Give up-cycled, recycled, or second-hand

- Give consumables, made locally, and packaged sustainably

- Give products that create wider social benefits - for example creating employment for people with disabilities or donating profits to social causes

- Or give people the joy of giving to causes that they care about, for example with The Good Registry’s Good Gift Cards.

Whatever you give, make it something your client will value, and that shows your values too. 



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