Thank your team with local and circular corporate gifts: 19 original ideas

Would you like to thank your team, clients or partners with something they’ll actually use? Then you’re in the right place. At major events, anniversaries and at the end of the year, companies often hand out corporate gifts. The intention is nice: a gesture that sticks and sincerely thanks staff or partners for their efforts. Yet the gift sometimes misses the mark, and unnecessary items end up unused in a drawer or, worse, in the bin.

What if you surprised your colleagues with a unique gift instead? Think bags made from old advertising banners, personalised keyrings or locally made soap.

Four questions to ask before you place an order:

• Will it be used? Choose something that fits the recipient’s daily life, not an unnecessary gadget.
• What is it made of? Ask about the material and the share of reused or recycled material.
• Where and by whom was it made? Local studios and social workshops make the supply chain shorter and more transparent.
• Can it be made from your own materials? Many upcyclers work to order with your company’s leftover materials.

Bespoke upcycling: give your own materials a new lease of life

Do you still have old promotional banners, discarded uniforms or fabric remnants in storage? The following makers turn them into bags, pencil cases and accessories. The result: a unique corporate gift with a story that fits your company perfectly.

Remake Society

Remake Society shows how textile surpluses can be put to valuable use. The Rotterdam-based company combines upcycling, social inclusion and education, in collaboration with municipalities, businesses and educational institutions. Companies can hand in their own textiles to be reused. Uniforms or leftover stock are transformed into tote bags, pencil cases or even new collections. They are made by people trained at the Remake Society Academy. Get in touch with Remake Society for a locally made gift that offers textiles a second life and supports people in finding work.

bolsos berlin

At bolsos berlin you’ll find sturdy bags made from old advertising banners, sails and parachutes. bolsos berlin champions the circular economy and is constantly looking for ways to minimise waste and use resources as efficiently as possible. Companies can also have their own materials turned into unique gifts. Get in touch with bolsos berlin.

Pieke & Fein

At the Pieke & Fein shop in Bad Honnef (near Bonn), upcycling, culture and craftsmanship come together. The range includes colourful bags made from old advertising banners from its own label Siebenberge Manufaktur. Ideal if you’re looking for a gift with an artisanal story. Pieke & Fein also offers B2B studio services, with a focus on upcycling and natural materials. Get in touch to explore the possibilities.

UPcycle by fairhaus 

UPcycle by fairhaus in Düsseldorf gives discarded Tour de France banners, donated jeans, old fire hoses and packaging wood a new purpose. Find items such as bum bags, pen pots and home accessories, for example. Everything is handmade in the Renatec workshops, where people who have long been out of work get to learn new skills. Discover the story of UPcycle by fairhaus.

Stylish bags and accessories

koda amsterdam 

At the Amsterdam-based label koda amsterdam you’ll find handbags, shoulder bags, pencil cases, throws and cushions made from leftover materials, such as surplus curtain and upholstery fabrics. Fabrics that would otherwise stay on the shelf now get a second life as high-quality, timeless accessories. All products are designed by Dutch designers and made in Dutch studios by people who face barriers to the labour market.

Secrid

A wallet lasts for years. The Dutch brand Secrid designs and produces its cardholders entirely in the Netherlands. With these practical aluminium cardholders, your cards are always to hand, and they are RFID- and NFC-protected too. Alongside the timeless unisex core collection, Secrid regularly releases collections in innovative materials, such as a plant-based wallet made of Mirum®. Discover the options for corporate gifts and personalised engravings (such as logos).

Personalised leather

Small, handy and used every day: a custom leather accessory is a gift that won’t disappear into a drawer. These three studios make small accessories from leather offcuts, usually tailored to your wishes.

• Looking for a corporate gift that sits on the desk every day? The Dutch leather label REVUSD makes leather journals, bags and accessories in its atelier in ​’s‑Hertogenbosch. Its leather is sourced from existing stock of luxury brands. For companies, REVUSD offers bespoke B2B gifting: Ami Journals with your logo (laser-engraved in gold or silver, or blind-debossed), your own colourways and custom-printed inserts, such as branded notebook pages or an event guide. You can also book a private leathercrafting workshop for a team retreat or client event.
• Leather BE in Bruges: craftswoman Francine makes keyrings, coasters and coin purses from the leather offcuts of her handbags. Personalisation is possible! In 2023, Leather BE received the ​‘Handmade in Brugge’ label. Also fun for your team: she regularly hosts workshops where you make your own keyring or cardholder. Discover the accessories of Leather BE.
• Sofie Darche in Antwerp: Sofie works with European leather offcuts, chrome-tanned or vegetable-tanned. Ask about the options for small leather goods made to order. She’ll happily get to work for you in her Antwerp studio.
• hesa.design in Düsseldorf: designer Theresa Föhrenbacher works with vegetable-tanned leather from Germany and Belgium and cactus leather from Mexico. Get in touch for custom designs.

Gifts for at home

Boavista Circular

Get your colleagues excited about the circular economy with the products of Boavista Circular. Since 2021, this Amsterdam company has been making cleaning products from waste: donated used oil becomes soap, and natural or recycled materials become cleaning brushes or sponges. A gift that brings the story of reuse right into the kitchen, every day.

Nature Bar 

Would you like to inspire your team to cut down on packaging waste in the bathroom? Then give a vegan packaging-free shampoo or soap bar from Nature Bar. The soaps are handmade in the soap workshop at the back of the shop in Amsterdam. Nature Bar only uses plant-based ingredients, butters and oils, including local ingredients from waste streams, such as collected Christmas trees or coffee grounds. A small, thoughtful addition to every team member’s bathroom. Discover Nature Bar’s lovely care sets and personalised custom products.

Zepig

Want to treat someone to a moment of relaxation? Then you’re sure to find something at Zepig in Utrecht. Think balms for dry winter skin, nourishing body butters or handmade soaps, to suit every budget. Zepig also sells the colourful Odds & Ends tea towels woven from leftover yarns by Foekje Fleur.

MOOSE in the CITY

At MOOSE in the CITY, a Scandinavian-inspired concept store in Antwerp, you can easily put together a package for every desk. Choose from MORO soap, fun tea towels and hand towels, notebooks by Redopapers, Papier Tigre or Correctbook, and stainless steel to-go cups and water bottles from brands like Klean Kanteen, 24Bottles and Dopper.

Harvest Club

At Harvest Club in Leuven, you’ll find a full lifestyle range alongside fashion. Think cheerful mugs and calendars by Helen B, steel Dopper water bottles, candles, ceramics by Kinta and chocolate by Coup de Chocolat.

Candles for a warm atmosphere

A candle is a classic end-of-year gift. But what is that candle actually made of? Many candles are made of paraffin, a by-product of crude oil. Stearin candles today mainly contain palm oil, for which rainforests are often cut down. So choose candles made of 100% beeswax, soy wax or rapeseed wax, with natural fragrances and free from phthalates. Watch out: a ​‘soy candle’ doesn’t have to be made entirely of soy, so check the label.

Discover where to buy better candles in our guide to candles made from natural materials.

Give an experience

The most memorable gift sometimes takes up no physical space at all. A workshop or a clothing swap brings your team together. Your colleagues get to know each other better and go home with something handmade or second-hand.

Studio WOUW

Learn to dye with plant-based dyes at Studio WOUW in Ghent! This dyehouse uses local, artisanal dyeing techniques to breathe new life into textiles. You can bring your own garment to the workshop and dye it with plants or kitchen scraps such as onion and avocado skins. The DIY kits from Studio WOUW also make a lovely corporate gift.

A swap party at the office

What if your corporate gift were a wardrobe full of ​‘new’ clothes, without buying anything new? Organise a clothes swap at the office, guided by a stylist. Colleagues bring clothes they no longer wear and go home with pieces that do suit them. A stylist helps with combining outfits, so the swap brings something lasting.

• Our tip in the Netherlands: style coach Renske Snaar of rea_​sn in Utrecht organises exclusive Swap Deluxe parties and gives wardrobe and colour advice.
• Our tip for Flanders and Brussels: stylist and personal shopper Stephanie of SCHÖN in La Hulpe can guide multilingual teams with styling sessions and workshops.

The COSH! Gift Card

Not sure what your team would like? Let them choose for themselves with the COSH! Gift Card. With this gift card, you discover fashion stores working with second-hand, recycled or organic materials, designers who produce locally, vegan cosmetics, shoes and bags made in Europe, as well as soap ateliers and workshops to repair or reuse clothing. You can spend the gift card at dozens of participating stores in Flanders and Brussels, and also at the new COSH! Future of Fashion Circular Hub in Bruges, home to thirteen brands and makers from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy.

Of course, you can also combine the gift card with hand-picked local gifts in one package.

Found something good to give?

A meaningful corporate gift doesn’t have to be big or expensive. Above all, it should be useful and tell an honest story. Whether you’re a starter who wants to thank your first ten clients or a company with hundreds of employees and a basement full of old materials, there are plenty of local makers who are happy to help you choose a thoughtful gift.

A corporate gift isn’t just for December. A welcome package for new colleagues, a thank-you for a partner after a project, an anniversary or a team day: there are moments all year round to show someone your appreciation.

Frequently asked questions about more sustainable corporate gifts

What makes a corporate gift more sustainable? A corporate gift is more sustainable when it is used for a long time and made with as few new raw materials as possible. Think products made from leftover materials or upcycling, local production and fair working conditions. Always ask about the specific material and the share of reused material, because ​‘sustainable’ is a broad term.

Can I have my own company materials upcycled into corporate gifts? Yes. Makers such as Remake Society in Rotterdam and bolsos berlin in Berlin turn companies’ old banners, uniforms or leftover textile stock into bags, pencil cases and other items. Get in touch beforehand with photos and quantities, so the maker can assess what’s possible.

Are corporate gifts only for the end of the year? No. A welcome package for onboarding new colleagues, a thank-you after a project, an anniversary or a team day are also great moments. You can also organise workshops and a clothes swap at the office all year round as team building.

Is a gift made from recycled or upcycled material always better? Not automatically. A product made from leftover materials that never gets used achieves little. So first choose something the recipient will really use. A workshop, a clothes swap or a gift card can be a strong alternative to a physical product.