Corporate Gifting

The gift that keeps on

Meetings hears from Lauri Pastrone, founder of Peace by Piece International, on how her organisation is providing an opportunity for underserved and marginalised communities while, at the same time, promoting a more sustainable model for corporate gifting.

We all love getting presents, and many of us, at some point during our careers, would have received a companies tried to make sure their employees felt appreciated and that their clients knew that they were still top of mind. Corporate corporate gift of sorts.

The global corporate gifting sector is massive, and much larger than one might think. Valued at an estimated US$242 billion (R4.09 trillion) and growing, according to Forbes, the corporate gifting market saw a notable upswing during the pandemic, as gifting is now the fastest-growing segment of the gifting market. At this time, corporate gifting is also very much luck of the draw. We can receive a really cool item that has an ideal practical use but, all too often, many corporate gifts are cheap plastic junk, with the most significant aspect

GIVING

of the item being that it bears a company logo. These branded items are more likely to end up in a landfill, resulting in a major environmental concern, than be treasured and appreciated for years to come. Peace by Piece International (PbP), a US-based organisation founded in 2017, is on a mission to revolutionise the corporate gifting sector. They are currently working to ensure that the corporate gifting market is as sustainable as possible by supporting artisans and crafters in underserved communities by commissioning and purchasing handmade items and channelling them to corporates. This is key in how PbP is supported, with more and more businesses and people choosing to align to for-good endeavours that have a meaningful and material impact. This has been pivotal in PbP’s success. Founder Lauri Pastrone shares insights from her journey.

You personally launched PbP. What was the germ behind the idea here? I strongly believed, and do now more than ever, that companies have the ability to mend some of the world’s biggest social challenges through their purchasing power. I started PbP because I wanted to connect corporate gifting to the underserved communities and artisans I had worked with personally over the years. I also knew the importance of going beyond typical ‘giving-back’ schemes like percentage of profits and donation matching. Impact needs to create sustainable and meaningful system changes that directly empower those in need. I founded PbP so that businesses can use their purchasing power to restore dignity in underserved communities and be more connected to the long-lasting impact that they create.

What sort of footprint does PbP currently have? We partner with over 35 artisans and businesses helping underserved communities – all of whom create beautiful, quality, hand-crafted gifts. Each purchase empowers and restores dignity to makers in these communities impacted by war, genocide, human trafficking, climate disasters or incarceration. company events and awards. Every day, more and more people care about the social and environmental implications of their decisions, including what they buy, who they work for, and what brands they support. Most companies want to make a social and environmental impact when they provide gifts and will think responsibly about the memory their gifts create.

We see socially conscious corporate gifting becoming the new norm. Long term, PbP will continue to transform the gifting industry into a movement for social good and inspire companies to see the power in their purchasing decisions.

What makes items from PbP so special? What makes our gifts so special is that they truly are memorable. There is nothing more gratifying to a gift recipient than to know that the gift they received made a direct impact on the life of an underserved individual. Every event gift we provide comes with a story about the community that made it, along with a story about an individual who was involved in its creation. These artisan goods touch the hearts of their recipients and the companies we partner with. Most of the communities we serve (who make our beautiful gifts!) are made up by women (about 85%). And we know that when we can change a woman’s life for the better, her family is directly impacted, as is her community.

In ensuring sustainable gifting, what is your message to the events industry? Fighting the effects of climate change is everyone’s responsibility. We all know how much waste can be created at large corporate events from cheap business swag. I want to rethink the branded plastic merchandise that we are so accustomed to receiving, and realise these gifts’ potential for real, sustainable change. We are proud to be able to help the events industry find beautiful, hand-crafted, and high-quality gift options that are friendly to the planet and to people. From the use of organic cotton, which dramatically reduces water consumption and is healthier for farmers, to the rescue of discarded seat belts and cargo belts to create designforward business accessories, cool gifting can be sustainable gifting.

ABOUT PEACE BY PIECE INTERNATIONAL

Peace by Piece International (PbP) is a social-impact company based in Silicon Valley, with partners based all over the world, including the US. PbP supports underserved communities by buying their products, many of which are made by women who were incarcerated, human-trafficked, homeless or at/ below the poverty threshold. These items are handmade, artisanal gifts that include foodstuffs, bags, clothing and a lot more. In the US, PbP works with more than 15 non-profits and social impact organisations: two serve formerly incarcerated men, three serve formerly incarcerated women, three serve women who were formerly trafficked and/or abused, three serve refugees, and two serve autistic adults.

In Guatemala, Haiti, India, Rwanda, Kenya, Palestine, Jordan, Nepal and Mexico, PbP serves individuals who are culturally, socially and economically marginalised. For more information, visit pbpinternational.com.

We are committed to women, sustainability, education and job creation for the underserved, and have worked with communities in 10 countries – with over half of our partners being in the US.

We work across industries around the US, both with promotional products resellers and directly with client companies. Our clients include some of the most influential global brands and organisations: Levi’s, Apple, Salesforce, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, ServiceNow, Intel and others.

What is your longterm vision for PbP? We plan to become a ‘go-to’ for