Gift Kindly - finding the right partner to produce our sustainable collection
Our new sustainable gift wrapping collection Gift Kindly created some new challenges requiring a new production partner.
We have some fabulous long established suppliers but sometimes when we move into a new category we need to search out new ones.
When we decided to launch a comprehensive gift wrapping collection for this season that had at its heart sustainability, we knew we had some highly specific requirements. Roll wrap takes centre stage in the Gift Kindly collection and, in addition to requiring eco credentials like recycled paper with the Forest Stewardship Council stamp of approval, we also needed a supplier who could produce our special paper zip seal that protects the wrap while replacing the need for a plastic cover.
A new promising Chinese supplier was found at the Source Home and Gift show in Birmingham last year. Not only did they have patented machinery that automates the wrap stage but they are committed to green energy, having solar panels covering 20,000 square metres of the company’s total 72,000 square metre space.
We were able to also place our gift tags, tissue paper and raffia ribbon with them. For each of these items both the product and packaging is made from non-bleached FSC recycled paper.
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We visit all new suppliers as well as existing ones (around 50 times a year) and our product team also went out in May to see the wrap being produced and check all was going smoothly. They witnessed the factory’s own quality checking, with a QC team checking for colour, size and breakage every few hours during production and a further inspection of every item before it was shipped.
In addition to having to meet various industry technical standards and audits, our suppliers undergo our bespoke environmental audit which our new supplier will do later this year. This covers net zero commitments, renewable energy (like solar panels), sustainable innovation and product data. They are also signed up to our supplier code of conduct, called the TT Way. This encompasses fair treatment of employees, safe working conditions and care for the environment.
