Searching for an eco friendly corporate gift isn't as easy as you thought it was, right?
You've probably already, at least partially, run the gamut of cheesy offerings and arrived here exhausted still looking for that something a 'bit different'.
Before we show you the good stuff, it's worth stopping to consider what we actually mean by an 'eco-friendly' or 'sustainable' corporate gift. I mean, there are strict laws governing what companies can and cannot say when it comes to terms like 'eco friendly', 'environmentally friendly', 'biodegradable' etc.
You're searching for a little something to give to your clients (or potential clients) that will place your brand in the forefront of their mind next time they make a purchasing decision. But you also want to show them your brand cares about the planet, climate change and being carbon neutral (or at the very least carbon conscious).
So the point is, that you really want to make sure that the corporate gifts you choose are actually and genuinely sustainable. Not just on the surface, but under the surface. That means gifts that are biodegradable, recycled and do not consume excessive natural resources in their production.
This is why the deluge of pens, key rings and lanyards might not cut the mustard. Sure, they may technically be sustainable according to some set of distant criteria, but they are still plastic at the end of the day - and we all know the last thing you want to be giving your clients in 2022 is more plastic. Even if it's recycled plastic.
Even the Bamboo-encased USB flash drives and recycled highlighter pens fall into this trap. Sure, they might technically be considered an eco friendly corporate gift, but are they truly natural?
At Live Love Bean - if we do say so ourselves - we believe we have the most nature rooted, eco-friendly and sustainable product of all. So let's take a look at our magic beans and 4 other natural corporate gift alternatives to see how they stack up.
We'll be rating each option based on cost, engagement factor, brandability and the natural connection.
Good Ol' Fashioned Candles
Who doesn't love a candle? Just make sure that they are made from beeswax or coconut wax and that they have been sourced from truly eco-friendly places (such as your local bee keeper).
Engagement is a bit of a double-edged sword. Your client will undoubtedly see your brand when they interact with the candle to light it, but this is more of a 'set and forget' task than an extended touch point engagement. The candle itself won't last long... and then it's gone.
Brandability gets a pass since your logo can easily be wrapped around the candle holder (which must be made from glass) on a recycled paper label.
Beeswax Food Wraps
Bees make beeswax. Enough said. We're pretty sure the little fellas aren't cheating on their carbon credits. So as long as the underlying fabric that the wraps are made from is fair-trade and biodegradable (you'll have to check, cotton is a good choice) then this gets our tick of approval.
We rate these high on engagement (seeing your brand every time your client re-wraps their midnight cheese nibbles), lower on brandability (you can likely only customise the packaging, not the wrap itself) but high on the natural connection.
Cheese boards
This is the second time I've mentioned cheese in this article already. As far as I'm concerned that's a good thing (yum, cheddar. yum, parmesan). Right?
But, there is of course the - somewhat high - possibility that your client doesn't share my penchant for the hard yellow stuff. This does somewhat limit the potential reach and engagement of the cheese board as a potentially sustainable corporate gift choice. That said, such a gift could also be used for serving fruit or other non-dairy goodies.
However, in terms of sustainability, we'll award the cheese board a green check since wood is made from trees... and those grow out of the ground last we checked. Naturally of course, you'll need to verify that the product has been manufactured from sustainably planted timber.
The brandability of these boards is quite good as they can be laser engraved with your logo.
Coconut Bowls
I'm liking coconut bowls to be quite honest. They are literally hollowed out and polished coconut shells! And since the coconuts have already been harvested for food, this corporate gift idea gets a big tick for zero-waste, low energy consumption in their manufacture and hence sustainability.
The engagement is likely to be good as they cool new product that will actually get used (who wouldn't want breakkie in their new coconut bowl the next morning?).
However, they may be a little large, depending on your marketing campaign, and it's hard to send a custom message with them.
Magic Beans
It doesn't get much more natural and eco friendly than a seed. But not just any old seed, a large plump white bean seed that has a special message (and possibly your logo) engraved on it.
Not only will your clients get the message when they receive the gift, but they'll continue seeing it for months as the bean grows to reveal the message on the side of the plant itself!
For this reason we rate magic beans very highly on engagement (a personalized been will turn any client into a prospective gardener) and brandability too since the beans can be engraved with any special message of your choice. You could even have a message spread across several beans if you want to be clever!
You can't get much more of a natural connection than something that has come directly from Mother Earth. Your business will literally be growing in their hands.
Plus all the packaging is made from 100% recycled cardboard, so everything including the seed itself is fully biodegradable.
This is one eco friendly promotional gift your clients won't forget!
So Which Sustainable Corporate Gift Option To Choose?
Well, with a few good sustainable corporate gift ideas on the table, it's difficult to choose which one to pick. However, given they are the lowest cost yet rank so strongly on brandability and engagement factor as well as the natural connection, it might be obvious where our recommendation lays: magic beans!
If you'd like to see our wholesale price list and see how your logo looks on a magic bean then just complete the enquiry form here.
