Step Up Your Holiday Gifts: Give Employees and Clients Sustainable Swag with Style!

It’s official! The perfect blend of style and sustainability in the world of corporate gifts has arrived–and just in time for the holidays. Your employees and clients will see that you not only care about them, but you also care about the planet. Here’s everything you need to know about giving sustainable holiday gifts, with quality, style and extra cheer, each holiday season.

Why Sustainable Holiday Gifts Matter?

A corporate gift is a great way to say thank you for an employees’ contributions or a client’s business over the past year. A sustainable holiday gift is one that reduces waste and is made by a company that embraces climate-friendly business practices. Giving a sustainable gift makes a statement about you, personally, and your values, as a company.

Word to the wise: avoid all things made from plastic and think about how your gift could help reduce your recipient's impact on the environment. Reusable water bottles make a big impact keep harmful plastic out of our waterways and oceans.

Not only does giving sustainable branded holiday gifts tell your clients and employees that you appreciate them, it also shows that you care about the environment and the world around you. It demonstrates that you want to reduce your impact on the planet in a real way.

Rather than gift something that will never get used, or worse, get thrown away, give them something purposeful and beautiful. Something they both need and want. No more filling up landfills! Be sure your meaningful gifts will positively affect your clients and the planet. That’s...Sustainable, meet Style.

Who Should You Give Sustainable Gifts To?

Who doesn't love a sustainable gift? If you want to align your brand with one that gives back, branded gifts are a great way to do this. A gift that has meaning and usefulness builds brand affinity.

There are a wide variety of sustainable gifts for everyone on your corporate gifts list. At Swagger, our mantra is “Sustainable, meet Style”, so for everyone on your holiday gift list, we have amazing, quality gifts that won’t harm our planet.

These gifts range from everyday essentials to luxury items that you can give to your own employees, your clients, business partners, C-suite executives, and more.

Sustainable Corporate Gifts

As corporate sustainability initiatives increase in importance across companies around the world, the holiday branded gifts they choose for their employees and clients must support these sustainability goals as well.

Sustainable- branded gifts can take on many different forms made from recycled, repurposed, and eco-friendly materials. They may also include organic materials and materials that have been locally sourced. Sustainable corporate gifts can also be made using a sustainable process that’s free from bleaching, harmful chemicals, and dyes. These branded sustainable gifts may also help cut out single-use plastic from the world. These products have been given certification or have met sustainable industry standards.

Great Gift Giving Tips

To start, you want to make sure the holiday gift is meaningful to the recipient. Show that you care about them, their interests, and your impact on the world.

Next, you want to make sure the gift supports your company values. A reusable coffee cup, for example, shows your commitment to reducing waste. It also shares a gift they can use every day that's meaningful and high quality. A high-quality gift reflects the quality you see in your relationship.

Giving a gift of a higher value shows your employees and clients how much they mean to you. You want to make sure the gift reflects just how much you value your relationship, their contribution, and what they do for your business. A well-made, high-quality gift is a great way to do this.

Think about quality over quantity here. Instead of giving a gift bag full of cheap, low-priced items that will probably get tossed in the trash, choose one or two higher-quality gifts instead. When it’s appropriate, certain gifts can include your branding and some gifts are best without branding, however.

The Presentation

For any holiday gift make sure to personalize and customize the gift or presentation. This is a great opportunity to add your logo, a personalized note, a card, or a message showing the clients who the gift is from and how much you mean to them.

A personalized note will go a long way to making your client or employee feel special. It's a lot easier to send a generic message or no note at all. To really make an impact, make it personal. In terms of presentation, it's also important to keep sustainability in mind.

To reduce waste use sustainable packaging like a reusable bag, compostable mailers and avoid plastic and popcorn filler that will end up in the trash. You can also package your gift in a beautiful box that they can reuse for something later. For your notecard, consider recyclable paper.

Make sure the presentation is artfully crafted and represents you as a company and how much you value this person. Remember that gifts don't always have to be for the holidays. Consider giving a New Year's gift so that it doesn't get lost in the shuffle of all the other gifts they receive.

Sustainable Gift Ideas for Travelers

For clients or employees who love to travel, we have beautiful, high-quality gifts that are perfect for anyone on the go. From recyclable chargers by Nimble to Hershel and Carhartt bags, we've partnered with beautiful, sustainable luggage makers to offer you the best quality gifts for travelers.

Consider giving a high-quality bag, with a pair of headphones, and a portable charger inside. Instead of giving a cheap gift bag, the packaging itself is a beautiful, luxury bag that they can use forever on their travels. A sustainable water bottle can be a branding opportunity or keep it understated without a company logo.

These gifts are ones that people will use every day for years to come. Even without your logo, they will think about how considerate and generous you are every time they pick up the bag, use their headphones, or take a sip of water. That’s a huge marketing opportunity, in addition to just being an amazing and thoughtful gift.

Sustainable Gift Ideas for Adventure Seekers

For those who love adventure, a sustainable gift makes even more sense. Those adventure-seeking employees or clients are likely already using sustainable products to help protect the outdoors they love to spend time in. Show them how much you care about the planet, and them, with a sustainable gift they can use wherever their adventures take them.

We have S’well products –from tumblers, to travelers, to water bottles. We have Econscious apparel, Parkland bags, and Marine Layer clothing that shows your clients you value their hobbies as well as their partnership.

Give a backpack or messenger bag from Timbuk2, a high-end cooler, and a rain jacket to your outdoor-loving clients and they will have sustainable, luxury gifts they will use for years. These gifts show you care about their passions, the environment, and your relationship.

Sustainable Swag are Gifts That Give Back

When it comes to sustainable swag, we’ve got you covered from brands like The North Face, Rumpl, MiiR, Sackcloth & Ashes, Solgaard, and more. We have gifts for everyone and at all price points. And we’ve got your back. Thanks to our partnership with 1% for the Planet, every piece of swag you purchase gives back in meaningful contributions to environmental stewardship.

This year don’t give a gift that will end up in the landfill. Give a gift that has meaning and makes a difference in the world. Your employees and clients will see how much you value them and what your brand truly stands for.

To get a jump start on your holiday gifts, fill out this short form: Let's Do This and take a peek at our holiday gifts lookbook: Swagger Holiday Lookbook 2021