Love2shop helps make customer loyalty incentives sustainable with digital and biodegradable options 

Environmental impact and sustainability have never been more important to business – and the UK’s leader in gifting and rewards Love2shop continues to strive to make customer loyalty even more eco-friendly.

Gifting – primarily through gift vouchers or cards – has long been an effective way to incentivise and reward customer loyalty. To mark Global Recycling Day, we’re looking at how Love2shop can make rewards more environmentally friendly.

Love2shop already offered a no-waste option through its contactless e-Gift Cards. But many businesses still want physical products to send to customers while reducing plastic use and contributing to pollution through distribution. The solution was a ‘board card’ made from 100% virgin fibres. It is biodegradable and can be recycled up to eight times, but works exactly the same as a traditional plastic gift card.

“Our biggest challenge was sourcing a fully biodegradable product that didn’t compromise on the ease of use, nor the quality of finish without also placing a financial burden upon the customer,” said Frank Creighton, Director of Business Development at Love2shop Business.

“The sorts of materials that all companies deploy in gifting, engagement and incentive programmes will inevitably change over time so we wanted to be ahead of the curve.”

Love2shop worked with suppliers to create a recyclable board card that met those goals while offering the same simple yet effective incentives that businesses needed.

The product was initially tested in partnership with SunLife, the UK’s most popular provider of life insurance plans for the over-50s. With over 800,000 customers, SunLife has distributed a high volume of Love2shop Gift Cards to customers as a ‘thank you’ since becoming a partner in 2018. It was keen to find a more sustainable solution.

Jon Moore, Head of Operations, SunLife said: “As we continue to integrate new measures to develop SunLife’s approach to sustainability, our decision to use biodegradable gift cards is another positive step in introducing environmentally friendly materials into our business.”

The change has received positive feedback from customers and SunLife has now fully integrated the compostable cards into their welcome gift offering to customers.

Love2shop are the UK’s leading reward, incentive and engagement experts for business. They provide a variety of Love2shop gift cards, as well as reward platform technology to thank, retain and motivate employees and customers.

“We were delighted when we were approached by SunLife to help develop their work on sustainability,” said Frank. “We’ve enjoyed providing Love2shop customer reward gifting products to SunLife since 2018 – an ‘all-rounder’ gift that appeals to everyone – so this was a great opportunity to develop that relationship.

“The success of this product with SunLife reflects the broader business appetite for developing knowledge and expertise in the gifting sector to accommodate greater sustainability. Helping SunLife to create a more environmentally-friendly future has been an incredible achievement.

The biodegradable Love2shop Gift Cards are supplied by Swedish paper and board manufacturer Oppboga, with a metallic foil element supplied by British foil specialists Foilco.

Foilco’s metal coating technology allows for the card to carry metallic motifs and designs without affecting biodegradability or the recycling process of the Oppboga card.

The board card Love2shop Gift Cards can be recycled without separating the foil component, and will biodegrade in 12 months after use. Find out more about Love2shop at businessl2s.wpengine.com.

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