Wit With Wisdom says, “It occurred to us last year that as giftware manufacturers we don’t make anything that anyone needs, which I know that sounds rather self-deprecating, but it is true! We therefore have a responsibility to ensure that our products have as little impact on the planet as possible. It is important for our integrity as a business that they are all genuine changes, not just a marketing opportunity. With that in mind we have reengineered how we make our signs so that we no longer need to use plastic sleeves to protect them, we no longer use bubble wrap for packaging, using recycled paper products to do this job, and we have moved away from plastic tape to a paper based tape to seal up our deliveries.
“Our wood has always come from a supplier that holds sustainable sourced certification and we use a carbon neutral courier to send out our orders. We also provide our customers with handmade wooden spinners, and when a customer no longer wishes to stock our product we will collect the spinner, repair it, make it beautiful and useful again before it is sent off to a new account. As a family and a business we have moved to a green energy supplier and our target is to ensure we are carbon neutral in 2020, which we are confident we can achieve. We are loving the challenge the green journey presents and as a small UK company that hand makes our products, we can be nimble in making changes, but are always mindful that each change is authentic. When a customer buys our signs there is no plastic on the shop floor and no huge pile left in the stockroom once you have unpacked it!”
+44 (0)1494 814 062
www.witwithwisdom.co.uk
1/8
VKF of Worcester has launched a new advent calendar range. Manufactured in the heart of Worcestershire, each calendar is made from fully sustainable quality veneered MDF wood, FSC Certified. These fun Christmas calendars are available in an array of shapes and sizes from Christmas trees to reindeers, and hold a selection of chocolates, including Ferrero Rocher and Lindor, mini wine and prosecco, as well beer bottles to help in the countdown to the exciting day. Best-selling products within the range, each reusable advent calendar is shipped flat packed and is easy to set up each year as December begins to roll around. You’ll also find a selection of Christmas ornaments, as well as wall art, coasters and such, available on the VKF of Worcester trade website. In addition, the company is also able to manufacture bespoke products, so if you have a particular calendar, ornament or perhaps coaster set in mind, don’t hesitate to contact the team to discuss your idea further.
+44 (0)1527 864 530
www.vkfofworcestertrade.co.uk
2/8
Wraptious’ Rustic Cairn Terrier cushion has been designed by Scottish artist Kat Baxter. All cushions are handmade directly in the UK, using vegan-suede material and water-based inks, with a plump fibre insert. Wraptious takes its environmental credentials very seriously –all its bubble wrap is recycled and recyclable cardboard, and the company re-uses all boxes from suppliers to repackage orders. Wraptious also plants three trees for every order it receives through its partnership with the Trees For The Future organisation – resulting in the planting of over 35,000 trees since April 2019.
T: +44 (0)161 430 2310
www.wraptious.com
3/8
teapigs has introduced a brand-new member to its cold brew infusions range, peach & mango! Specially designed to brew quickly in cold water, teapigs cold brew is a simple, all-natural way to pep up your water this summer. Three super light and refreshing flavours that’ll make glugging your way through your two litres a day a breeze.
Available in lychee & rose, cucumber & apple and, brand new for 2020, peach & mango, these tea temples are a perfect retail option aimed at customers looking for tasty ways to hydrate on the go.
teapigs tea taster and co-founder Louise Cheadle says, “Simply drop one tea temple in cold water and that’s it. No waiting for the kettle to boil, no added sugar, no sickly syrups. You bring the water, we’ll bring the flavour.”
The teas come in biodegradable tea “temples” – roomy mesh bags that gives the leaves lots of room to infuse.
Also new for the summer is the teapigs cold brew start kit. This allows tea fans to keep on top of their daily water drinking goals with the gorgeous Joseph Joseph ‘dot’ bottle and three cold brew tea temples to get started (1 x peach & mango, 1 x lychee & rose, 1 x cucumber & apple). Every time the lid is twisted, a new dot appears, helping keep track of how much is being drunk. Paired with teapigs tasty, all-natural cold brew infusions, it’s never been easier (or tastier) to get your two litres a day.
T: +44 (0)203 141 2948
www.teapigs.co.uk
4/8
Only from Busy Bee Candles, introducing the Magik Candle®. A unique, patented and truly new take on a traditional scented candle. There is no flame or wick, just controllable high strength fragrance that lasts and can be recharged.
Magik Candle® is a two-part product; it has a reusable electric base station and a rechargeable glass scented candle. Users simply place the Magik Candle jar on the base station and switch it on. Adjust the dial for the brightness and strength of fragrance you’d like, and that’s it. Each jar lasts for up to 200 hours of fragrance. Once the fragrance weakens, it can be recharged with Busy Bee Candles Fragrance Oils. Just pour into the molten wax of Magik Candle. It’s safe, easy to use and beautiful.
Available in over 250 fragrances with a huge variety of colours, this product is the most environmentally friendly scented candle available. Just recharge and go.
+44 (0)1550 750 419
www.busybeecandles.co.uk
5/8
Make a clean break from the everyday with these latest gorgeous handmade soaps from Cinnamon Aitch. These four new additions from the contemporary ‘Geometrix’ range come wrapped in striking patterned papers, all tied up with jute and a recycled tag. All soaps are handmade in the UK with lovely natural ingredients and no harsh chemicals, they’re beautiful inside and out. There’s a shaving bar, a travel soap for hair and body, and tantalising scent combinations of peppermint and poppyseed, and lemongrass and hemp to choose from. Kind to the environment and your skin, there is a recycled cardboard POS available with qualifying orders.
+44 (0)121 773 6833
www.cinnamonaitch.co.uk
6/8
A beautiful hardworking laundry basket for your washing, this product by BasketBasket is also great as storage in the home. It is handwoven from sustainable dwarf palm that grows in the wild on the Atlas Mountains, just outside of Marrakesh, Morocco. The leaves are dried, then woven into strips before being sewn together with more palm leaves. It also has ‘Laundry’ embroidered in wool, hand sewn, on one side. Lasting for years, it will also be biodegradable at the end of its life.
T: +44 (0)1420 851 12
www.basketbasket.co.uk
7/8
Blue Eyed Sun has added six new colours to its gorgeous new flasks called bioloco loop. There is now a total of eleven beautiful iridescent shades to choose from.
These stylish bioloco loop bottles have been a big hit with retailers and each has a capacity of 500ml (16.9 oz) and is made of double walled kitchen grade stainless steel 304. The elegant shaped flask keeps drinks warm for up to 18 hours and cool for up to 12 hours.
The design is complemented by a unique wooden lid and a silicon looped handle. Plus, these eye-catching accessories are BPA-free, phthalate-free and toxin-free. Hand washing is recommended.
According to the company, “We all need to do our bit tackle the war on waste and these reusable bottles help users to reduce the million plastic bottles being sold every minute, most of which are not recycled and many of which end up in our oceans and affect our wildlife.”
T: +44 (0)1273 823 003
www.blueeyedsun.co.uk
8/8
