Toronto-based commonsku (PPAI 552077) recently teamed up with Kaufman, Texas-based supplier Numo (PPAI 112597, Gold) for an innovative sustainability initiative.
- commonsku is a cloud-based CRM, order management and social collaboration platform tailored to the promotional products industry.
Extending The Product’s Lifecycle
In January, commonsku partnered with Paterson, New Jersey-based supplier Visual Textile Resource (PPAI 314672, Standard-Plus) to create 48 tablecloths for skucon, its annual conference featuring panels and sessions hosted by industry leaders discussing a range of trends and issues.
After the conference, the tablecloths were shipped to Numo to be upcycled. The supplier’s team of makers then cut and sewed each tablecloth into pouches, which were redistributed to every attendee.
“At commonsku events, such as skucon and skucamp, our mission is to inspire the industry’s best merchandisers, not only with inspiring education, but by also by demonstrating – along with our supplier partners – the most creative ways to use promo,” says Mark Graham, president and chief brand officer of commonsku.
“With Numo’s incredible upcycling program, we wanted to encourage distributors to think about a product’s life cycle through a sustainable outlook. Our team is proud to continue to work with such innovative supplier partners who not only create amazing merch for at-event experiences, but who also think beyond the event and toward future impact.”
Elizabeth Wimbush, director of sustainability and responsibility at PPAI, praised the upcycling project as a “great example of a win-win.”
“This is exactly the kind of lifecycle we should be thinking about when we consider promotions for our customers, thinking how we can create smart merch experiences that last and, at the same time, reduce our impact,” Wimbush says.
