Incentive Merchandise With a Heart

Incentive: Merchandise

Incentive Merchandise With a Heart
October 08, 2008
Doing well by doing good was a theme of The Motivation Show this year (With reporting by Jeanie Casison)

By Alex Palmer

Incentive merchandise and gift card suppliers were going green at this year's Motivation Show. Environmentally and socially responsible products were everywhere, reflecting the growing value that "being good" now possesses in the incentive awards arena.

Best Buy took the occasion to introduce its new green gift card, made of recycled plastic. While only a portion of these cards will be made of recycled material, according to Anne Platt, senior director of marketing for gift cards at Best Buy, will increase as more cards come in and are recycled. Eventually they will be made entirely of recycled material.

For the first time, Charity-Choice Gift Cards exhibited at The Motivation Show. Based in Lakewood, N.J., the company offers cards that an organization's leadership can send to clients or employees, making a donation on behalf of the recipient to a charity they choose. The company has already partnered with several major resellers in the incentive industry and saw plenty of interest among buyers at the show this year, according to Danny Goodman, the company's co-founder.

"The growth is tremendous," says Goodman. "It hits upon two growing interests of our customers: gift cards…and charitable giving."

While the company's strongest market has been in corporate gifting, it has seen growing interest in the employee incentive arena as well, according to Goodman.

Helping Hand Rewards, one of the first organizations to bring social responsibility to incentive merchandise, presented at a Motivation Show panel on the subject.

"Most companies are now realizing that Corporate Social Responsibility is good for their business, and are looking for ways to participate in CSR initiatives," says Michael Arkes, founder of Helping Hand Rewards. "On the other side, there is a group of social enterprises that are producing products and giving people the opportunity to have gainful employment and overcome obstacles. Our goal is to communicate that there is an incredible opportunity to help corporate customers achieve their socially responsible goals."

Such Helping Hand partners as Mercado Global, Bright Endeavors, World of Good and Women Helping Other Women had booths at the show, offering gifts and incentive rewards for all tastes, with proceeds going to a range of nonprofit organizations.

This variety of ways that social responsibility has been incorporated into incentive merchandise and gift cards seems to reflect an abundance of both the demand from buyers and innovation of suppliers in rewards with a higher purpose.

With reporting by Jeanie Casison

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