GREETING CARDS still work to do, it’s encouraging to see sustainability becoming a shared priority, with so many companies committed to driving positive change.” Products of Change saw this evolution firsthand on a visit to UK Greeting’s manufacturing site in Dewsbury earlier this year. UK Greetings has undergone a huge shift towards sustainability, changing everything from the design of its cards, how they are packaged, and even where and how they are made, working to embed the UN Sustainability Goals into its practices. “The scale at which we’ve been able to change ABOVE: Left image shows previous to a new method, a new with plastic sustainable method, without design googly eyes. compromising design, has Right design with moveable paper been something that I’ve version. Credit: been particularly proud UK Greetings. of,” said Chris Shaw, head RIGHT: Left version shows woven of safety & sustainability. paper ribbon and POC met with the 3D foiled effect flower to replace design teams at UKG, the nylon ribbon who explained how they and charm on the have completely removed right. Credit: UKG. glitter, gems, diamantes, sequins, nylon ribbons, foam pads, and vinyl and acetate windows – all plastic based components – from its cards. But rather than a restriction, the design team took this on as a challenge – how to make high value, desirable cards without these elements? And they more than excelled. UKG’s paper engineers innovated googly eyes, moving components, foiled embossing, card pads, paper ribbons and endlessly more designs that delivered on the impact without the footprint. Another huge change at UKG was the reshoring of the majority of its card manufacturing. After offshoring production to East Asia in 2015, UKG commenced a phased return to its Dewsbury, West Yorkshire location, saving huge amounts of carbon on shipping. “It gives us that control, emission reduction, speed to market, many, many different benefits that come from having manufacturing on our doorstep,” said Chris. This has also meant shifting its paper sourcing from Asia to Europe, meaning that even though it is a growing business and its volumes of paper are going up, the emissions are not, meaning the pro rata tonnage is much better. The paper itself is also all FSC sourced. “The industry expects nothing less than everything sustainably sourced, FSC,” said Chris, articulating what is being recognised as the bare minimum standard for paper related products these days. He added that UKG then wanted to go a step further and is working with the World Land Trust to directly protect threatened areas and offset the carbon emissions related to the manufacturing of the paper it uses. Danilo, Carousel, UK Greetings and The Eco-friendly Card Company attest to FSC being the standard, with each either offering exclusively FSC certified products or the vast majority as such. Eco-friendly Card Company was the first
direct to retail greeting card publisher to hold its own FSC chain of custody back in 1996. It is also now committed to using 100% recycled paper. Sue explained this is something that has got easier as the company has grown, affording it more purchasing power, and building strong relationships with its paper suppliers. But this also has meant sourcing more paper from Europe than UK: “It seems that Europe is much further ahead when it comes to recycling and environmental innovation in the paper industry, as it is with bio-based alternatives to fossil-fuel derived plastics. “I’d love to see more of the paper collected for recycling here in the UK recycled into quality recycled paper in the UK, rather than just newsprint and cheap tissue. It seems ill-thought through that we send paper waste into Europe to be converted into recycled pulp which I then buy back from mills as recycled paper made in Italy or Germany.” Other sustainable focuses of greeting card companies include emissions, SBTi backed targets, and pathways to net zero, as well as greater supply chain transparency, use of vegetable and soy-based inks, as well as of course removing plastic packaging. “Sustainability is all about continuous improvement, so we’re always looking at where we can make further positive changes while still delivering the quality products our customers expect,” commented Claire from Danilo. Both Danilo and Carousel spoke of the important role licensing has played in their sustainability journeys. Steve commented that Carousel works with over 90 brands and many of them are particularly interested in the company’s sustainability work. Claire agreed that “many licensors now have ambitious sustainability goals of their own, which helps drive meaningful conversations throughout the supply chain. We’ve found that licensors, retailers and manufacturers are increasingly aligned in wanting to reduce environmental impact […] When everyone is working towards similar goals, it creates a great opportunity to share ideas and accelerate progress across the industry.” When standards are being encouraged and even enforced along multiple points of the supply chain, a unity of goals and collaborative progress can be achieved. Licensors or licensees can bring their partners on the journey with them. But it hasn’t all been plain sailing, and more hurdles can be expected on the horizon. “It’s definitely been a learning curve. One of the biggest challenges is that sustainability isn’t always straightforward – there often isn’t a single “right” answer or one solution that works for every business,” said Claire, adding that
PRODUCTS OF CHANGE I THE PAPER CHAPTER 07
06-08_Greeting Cards_Paper_v6.indd 2
22/07/2026 12:57