Our Key to Care: Prioritizing sustainability, diversity, and joy in the art of gifting

To stay true to our word, the team has put certain guideposts in place. Virtual measuring sticks, if you will. And our Key to Care is one of them.

Behind every gift is a backstory. And within every backstory lives a team of individuals who care deeply about their product. We know that with sourcing great gifts comes great responsibility — a responsibility to accurately represent a brand’s ethos and story, to lift up attributes that make it special and celebrate the people behind it all.

This ‘key’ focuses on our gifts’ most impressive qualities, all of which amount to more-memorable-than-most customer experiences. They serve as specific tags for gifts that are fully recyclable, vegan, minority-owned, charitable, the list goes on. For a high-level look, our Creative team has put together six overarching themes for what we seek when sourcing gifts.

We believe in investing in organisations and businesses that use their earnings for the greater good. Whether that’s planting a tree for every purchase made, or donating a percentage of proceeds towards a charitable cause, selfless mindsets are few and far between. Therefore, we keep an eye out for brands that go the extra mile.

Diversity amongst our vendors is another important pillar in sourcing gifts. Actively seeking out and working with BIPOC, AAPI, LGBTQ+ and female business owners brings awareness not only to beautifully-made gifts, but also to the importance of representation for our clients. Whatever we make a priority gifting-wise will, in turn, become what they prioritise, too.

We tread lightly when it comes to our gifts, packaging and shipping logistics. Our intent is to have a large impact with a small footprint, and that starts with our suppliers — how they operate, what materials they use and how the earth is affected by our combined efforts. Responsible gifting is the goal, and little by little we’ll get there.

Traditional artisan crafts embody the preservation of culture and history, making for gifts that stand the test of time. Think iconic wool mills, traditional basket weaving techniques, hand-poured/dipped candles... The art of making something that lasts can often come down to practising methods of the past.

Animals bring great delight to everyday life, which is why we source vegan and cruelty-free products as often as possible. Tying into protecting the planet, furry friends are suffering from the consequences of our poor and inconsiderate corporate norms. Brand partners that realise the harm in all of this are our kind of people.

For some gifts, their sole purpose is to ignite play, curiosity and joy. And that’s it. This is one of our core values and (in our customers’ opinions) what makes &Open gifts stand out among the rest. The minute that excitement’s lost is the day we are no longer doing what we said we would: sparking unadulterated joy with delightful gifts.

Whether you’re an enterprise business or an average gift-giving Joe, perhaps the above resonates with you as well. Being mindful about where we shop and source should be a normal consideration. The makers, materials and intent of products culminate into a really special story. And as buyers, it’s our job to pay attention, preserve the best bits of those stories and then pass them along.