Time is of the essence

With the evenings drawing out and light waiting for us at the end of the working day, it suddenly feels like there is a lot more time to play with. With the clocks springing forward later in the month, the opportunities to put this time to good use seem endless.

There’s the garden and allotments that can be tended, the run in the evening light around the park and the much needed post-work drink in the beer garden. But one of the most valuable uses of our time is to donate it to someone else.

Rather than giving money, or old clothes or unwanted toys and books, the most valuable commodity we can donate to the plethora of deserving causes is our time – and it doesn’t need to feel like a chore. Why not match your passions, interests and skills with a volunteering opportunity to suit?

One organisation that can assist you in achieving this is TimeBank – http://www.timebank.org.uk/ - a national charity that connects people with voluntary opportunities that fit with your interests and suit your lifestyle. So whilst it’s an opportunity to get involved and support local well deserving projects it’s also a chance to do something you enjoy and perhaps develop skills that have laid dormant for a while – sounds like a good use of time.

Beyond the individual this also offers a great opportunity to business to give back to their local community. Harnessing the skills within the business and giving employees the opportunity to get involved in something beyond their core working responsibilities, not only motivates staff but also reflects well on the brand.

At the same time why not review how your organisation promotes itself and if you use promotional gifts, ask what they really say about you as a brand. If the answer is ‘not much’, take a look at our charity products - http://www.re-sourceful.co.uk/charity - to see how we can help you say more about your brand.
Time is of the essence – make the most of it.

Flying the Flag

Continuing with our theme of love for February, we’d like to share some of the brands that light up our day and confirm our belief that you can place ethics at the core of your business without hampering your success and if done properly, enhancing it.

Triodos Bank – a bank that only invests in ethical and sustainable organisations that have a positive impact on people and the planet. And they’ll tell you exactly whom they are lending to. With confidence and trust in our banking system at an all time low it’s nice to know that there are organisations within this sector with an ethical mission that gives our money the chance to do some good rather than just paying some rather debateable bonuses!

Phillips - as a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips links its sustainability and ethics programs with the company’s core strategy. Even more importantly, Philips grades its success by measurable results - by 2012, Philips aims to generate 30 percent of total revenue off Green Products, further increase energy efficiency of the company by 25 percent and double the company’s investment in Green Innovations.

Wholefoods – since launching in the 80’s they have become the world’s leader in natural and organic foods by staying true to their original commitments of seeking out the finest natural and organic foods available and supporting sustainable agriculture. Through their Whole Planet Foundation they aim to alleviate poverty by empowering a community of micro entrepreneurs.

Google – they may slowly be taking over the world but they are doing so without compromising their ethics and through Google.org - the company’s philanthropic arm, which uses the power of information and technology to address some of the world’s most challenging problems: Climate change, poverty, disasters and disease - they have committed over $75 million in investments and grants in various projects around the world.

GreenKnickers – these guys confirm you don’t need to be big to be successful and ethical. Their materials are certified and sustainable, they use recycled packaging materials and they make you think when you get dressed in the morning - GreenKnickers prove that ethical products can still be fun, beautiful and sexy!

These are a few of the brands that we love, who else should we be shouting about?

What Eco Products Do You Love?

As February is the month of love we thought we’d share some of the eco and ethical products that we love here at Re-Sourceful.

1. Green Knickers – as it’s Valentines, what better eco product than pants that are 100% recycled, 100% local and even have an organic cotton gusset! http://www.greenknickers.org/
2. Green Flower Pen – once the ink runs out, plant the biodegradable pen and a plant will grow. With every pen bought, we will give a donation to Tree Aid.
3. Elephant Poo Paper Roses – 12 odourless paper roses that will last longer than your normal Valentines flowers.
4. Banner bags – re-using old advertising hoardings and producing unique and stylish courier bags. You can even use your old hoardings left over from an event that were destined for landfill and turn them into something desirable.
5. Vinyl Record Bowl – retro bowls made from 12” vinyl records. Each bowl still carries the original label and looks pretty cool.
6. Green Bannerstand – exhibitions needn’t produce a whole host of waste. One way to cut down on the waste that you make is to use Eco Bannerstands that are recycled to begin with and 100% recyclable at the end of their use - and you can print all over them.
7. Eco USB Wristband – colourful and 100% recycled wristbands that provide the perfect place to store documents when on the move.
8. Hot Water Bottle Bag – reclaimed and unique, these bags will keep you warm on these cold February nights!
9. Circuit Board Business Card Holder – it’s cool, it’s stylish and re-uses materials that had nowhere else to go. What more could you want?
10. Fire Hose Belts – when fire hoses reach the end of the road for their primary purpose they used to go to landfill. Now though, they can be transformed into numerous cool accessories like this belt.

The world is full of great green products, and with business and promotional gifts the eco and ethical options available are growing all the time. At Re-Sourceful, we are always on the lookout for new and interesting green products to add to our range. Take a look at our site and see how we can help you communicate in a more resourceful way.

Please tell us about the eco products that you love – February is about all types of love after all.

Resolutions – are yours still going?

With February drawing near, for many those well-intentioned New Year resolutions are already distant memories. Whether it was to get in shape, cut down on chocolate or read more books, the majority of us will be struggling to keep up with our optimistic aims for 2010.

Resolutions should not just be for personal improvement however; they should also consider ways in which to improve our businesses. This applies to the business owner as well as all of the company stakeholders - and 2010’s business resolutions should be eco inspired. Here at Re-Sourceful, we have a number of ambitions for the New Year and our no.1 goal is to help more businesses promote themselves in the correct way – which is relevant, ethical and eco aware.

Here are a few suggestions that your company could resolve to achieve in 2010 to get your business greener:
1. Get an audit – review your company’s energy use, wastage, recycling and look at the alternatives. Simple, eco and cost-effective measures can be introduced for most business operations making your business a more sustainable one. http://www.c-changesc.org/
2. Look at your suppliers – do they employ ethical and eco practices in supplying their products and services? If not, switch to someone who does.
3. Do your desk research – when considering your suppliers remember your basic stationery. Pens, usb’s, staplers, rubbers, notepads, mousemats – they can all be green.
4. Encourage employee participation – any green resolution has a greater chance of succeeding if your employees buy into it. Or better still; suggest it in the first place. Encouraging your employees to suggest the eco aims of the organisation and then making these part of your sustainability plan, proves you mean business.
5. Company travel schemes – incentivise employees to get out of their car and find an alternative way to work one day a week. 1 in every 2 of us drives to work each and every day. If we all left our cars at home for just one day a week and used public transport, rode our bike or walked instead we would have cleaner air to breathe, less traffic, and a smaller carbon footprint to boot. http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/

So if your struggling to maintain your personal resolutions why not focus on your business ones? Re-Sourceful can help you in achieving a number of greener business objectives and where we can’t we can normally recommend someone who can.

Please give us a call if we can help you in 2010 and use this blog to share your company’s green business objectives for this year.

It’s a time for giving....

Christmas is the most thoughtful time of the year, and if you’re lucky you’ll be surrounded by your loved ones, enjoying a mince pie and some mulled wine. So why is it that year after year Christmas becomes an increasingly thoughtless affair?

Just like Valentines Day we’ve been swept away into believing it’s necessary to buy the commercial tat and cringeful cards that spill out of shop window displays. The pressure to conform means that any festive holiday is more about the price tag and less about a certain thing called love. We all love uniquely, so why do we give so commercially?

A not-for-profit group called Present Sense was set up last year by a group of women fed up with the commercial pressures that Christmas now brings. The group encourages adults and children to think more carefully about how to give presents in a sustainable way. Present Sense, which now has followers from 46 countries holds workshops to educate people in the art of sustainable creativity, encouraging us to think differently about ‘used’ presents and seeing the thought and love that goes into a present instead of the price tag.

At Re-Sourceful we’re delighted to hear about groups like Present Sense who really embrace the creativity and thoughtfulness of true giving. We believe that this shouldn’t just apply to Christmas gifts but any type of giving, and this includes all year round promotional gifting. Re-Sourceful encourages and assists companies in operating this way, giving them a chance to say much more about themselves as on organisation.

From everyone at Re-Sourceful we wish you a very merry Christmas and look forward to an eco-friendly 2010!!

The Better Way to Spend a Penny

Every week seems to have a theme these days, be it National Curry Week, National Story Telling Week or National Eating Out Week, yet one of the most important has just passed largely unnoticed.


National Ethical Investment Week took place between the 8-14th November and aimed to educate people about the green and ethical options available to them and illustrate how we can still get a good return on our investments whilst having a positive impact on our environment and society.

The week is coordinated by UKSIF, the sustainable investment and finance association, who promote responsible investment and seek to ensure that individuals can reflect their values and beliefs in their investments.

With confidence and faith in our financial institutions at an all time low, considering how your money is put to use is all the more important. Rather than letting your savings and investments sit idly in funds that are supporting who knows what, why not look into the vast array of ethical investments available that will still give you a good return and also do some good for others. The question is, ‘why wouldn’t you’?

Re-Sourceful have been fortunate enough to work with two leading financial organisations in ethical investments, Triodos Bank and The Co-operative. We have helped them to promote their message with our ethical products rather than using plastic promotional tat – why wouldn’t you?

To find out more about National Ethical Investment Week check out the website at http://www.neiw.org/

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

We’re very happy to say Re-Sourceful is two whole years old this month.

Started back in 2007, with a range of 30 products, Re-Sourceful has grown significantly and can now boast over 150 beautiful, durable and useful promotional gifts.

Having worked for ten years in the industry, we knew how important it is to connect people with brands but believed there was a better way to do it than simply with throwaway tat.

After a lot of discussion, debate and deliberation we came up with the idea of a catalogue of positive promotional ideas, and Re-Sourceful was born.

The main aim of Re-Sourceful is to provide positive promotional ideas that allow business to say more about themselves and that have a positive impact on lives at home and abroad.

We’ve been busy these past two years and have helped a wide variety of businesses celebrate their ethical credentials and approach. From Sun Microsystems to UK Film Council to Manchester University to Triodos Bank – we’ve helped all manner of companies communicate their commitment to the planet.

Re-Use
Waste not want not. It’s a great mantra. It’s not just the environmental benefit of this philosophy that gets us excited though. We love the creative challenge of coming up with new ideas for reusing things.

For example – our recycled courier bags. Made by re-using advertising banners, every stylish bag is a unique statement that stops unnecessary waste going to landfill. http://www.re-sourceful.co.uk/BAUMM+bag

Re-Cycle
Recycling just one plastic bottle saves enough energy to power a 60W light bulb for six hours. It’s amazing how much energy and resources can be saved through recycling. Products made from post-consumer waste help to keep rubbish out of landfill in the UK and also contribute less to the depletion of the world’s non-renewable resources. Awesome.

Such as our Eco USB Wristband – made from 100% recycled plastic and aluminium. A pretty nifty way to carry around all those important files! http://www.re-sourceful.co.uk/Eco+USB+Wristband

Re-Think
It’s ideas that we love, and it’s ideas that can change the world. We think that applying a bit of lateral thinking to a problem can result in some of the greatest ideas.

If you’ve got any eco promotional ideas or have a problem that needs some re-thinking, let us know.
http://www.re-sourceful.co.uk/