Innovation

There are many firms who are sustainable that like to present their special guests with gifts. However, their options were not the best, often end up lacking meaning, and they were usually manufactured overseas. Karen Scarpino found a way to provide companies with products/gifts that are sustainable themselves by using scrap material, from that very company, and creating a unique, one-of-a-kind product that represents and promotes their company. Karen collects donated scrap material, no matter what it is, from a company or the community to create a personal piece that is unique to them. Since she collects donated scraps, she has no raw material costs.

For example, Green Giftz will collect old banners and signage that were hung outdoors for promotional purposes and make the scraps into a satchel, or a box seat, or even a computer bag. She has created small bags that zip for companies to provide to their guests in meetings, visitations, etc. Every element of those are made from scrap materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

Karen wanted her products to be "high-design and Earth friendly, because nobody will buy these types of products if they don't look good." Karen also wants to make sure that the products she is providing to her clients are useful.

Inspiration

Karen had inspiration from different areas, but a major inspiration to her was office furniture manufacturer, Herman Miller. Mainly, there was thought about how much waste that gets thrown into landfills each year by large corporations. She thought, "why not use their scrap, their waste, their products, create something useful, and high-design out of it, and sell it back to them."

Companies that aim to purchase gifts for events or employees have the challenge of searching through 98% of non-sustainable impersonal gifts that will end up back in the land fill. Karen was inspired to be that 2% that provide clients with the most sustainable and most beautiful gifts that are functional, and will last a lifetime.

When Karen and her team are working on a project, that is their main focus. They want to provide their client with the best possible product. She and her team create functional products from what would have been waste, and make a profit doing so. Karen was inspired by the idea of being able to have a profitable business through sustainable practices. The Triple Bottom Line is a large part of their company. Why not create products for customers, make a profit, and simultaneously be sustainable?

Overall impact

Because of her concept's uniqueness, Karen experienced success quickly. When word started to get out about Green Giftz, it did not take long for companies to start contacting Karen, asking her to create a unique product for them. Karen stated it perfectly, "A true innovator does not have to go out and look for business, the business will come to you. That's a true innovator." That was the biggest impact on the company alone.

Karen talked a lot about how they were too busy to market themselves, but that was never an issue because companies sought them out. Karen and her team were so focused on what they were doing that they did not even notice the amount of press that the company had received until representatives from Chrysler and Amway began contacting them.

Karen and her team make it a point to choose employees that are focused on this innovation and have a passion for it. Karen and her team are very small, as there are only 8 of them. They like to keep their office and business family oriented and have employees that are excited about this work and about the innovation.

Business benefit

Going green, and being sustainable has brought in their profit, and has brought clients to them. Because they are creating such an innovative product, they have benefited from clients seeking them out and doing business in a sustainable way. Karen has a storage unit filled with scrap materials that she has had donated to her. She had to start telling people that she cannot accept donations at the time, because she is collecting too much. Throughout her business, she has used at least 15 large pallets of scrap materials to create products.

Recently she finished a project with Chrysler, creating laptop bags and totes from scrap signage. Chrysler and Amway have both sought out Green Giftz because of the sustainable products that can be made for them.

Social and environmental benefit

By reducing the amount of waste that these companies have been putting into landfills, using logs from the bottom of The Great Lakes from deforestation over the years, using a local mother and daughter sewing team for their products, and trying to use as many local products as possible, Green Giftz has benefited their society and the local environment immensely. They have used the wood to create products for the University of Michigan, Haworth, and more.

When they bring up this wood from the lakes, they create beautiful, one-of-a-kind pieces with it, and in the wood, they engrave the story of where the product came from and how it was created. It adds a personal touch and educates people on these sustainable products. They believe in a change that you can see in the community around you.

Interview

Karen Scarpino, Owner