Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Gifts for 50th Annual Earth Day

Is your company making an effort to go green? There’s no better time than the present. With companies across the globe currently supporting remote work, employees are already adapting to a more sustainable way of living. Memos are being sent via email instead of printed out. Fewer people are using disposable paper coffee cups and plastic water cups. The fact is, this could be a great time to support your employees with an initiative to go green – just in time for the 50^th annual Earth Day.

Reusable Water Bottle

A reusable water bottle is the ultimate in sustainable gifts. With the range of water bottles available now, there’s no reason for most people to be consuming water out of one-time use plastic bottles. Gifting your employees washable, reusable tumblers and giving them a place that they can refill them with filtered water is a great way to start a sustainability movement at work.

Reusable water bottles come in all different types of materials, shapes, and sizes now, including:

• Aluminum
• Hard plastic
•  Double-walled
• Straw or screw top

Regardless of the type of water bottle or tumbler you choose, your employees are sure to love it – and so is the earth.

Canvas Tote Bags or Reusable Grocery Bags

Everyone likes to bring snacks to work. They’re what help get us through the day! Reusable tote bags and grocery bags are great for bringing snacks and other small odds and ends into the office. These make great gifts for not only your employees, but also trade show or conference guests.

Reusable bags allow people to carry around pamphlets and promotional products they get while attending events. Additionally, people are starting to use these regularly for all types of shopping trips to avoid getting disposable grocery or shopping bags.

Stone Paper Notebooks

There’s no such thing as too many notebooks or too many journals. While paper made from wood isn’t sustainable, paper made from stone is.

Not only is stone paper made from a more abundant resource, but it also prevents the use of dozens of other natural resources. In fact, stone paper reduces the amount of water used in production by 60 thousand liters and prevents 900 kg of carbon dioxide emissions. All-in-all, stone paper is incredibly environmentally friendly.

It’s also important to note that stone paper works just as well as paper made from wood pulp. It’s tear resistant, waterproof, and smudge proof, making it a great sustainable alternative.

Preparing for the 50^th Annual Earth Day

Earth Day takes place on April 22^nd. Celebrate this year by giving your employees or clients a sustainable and fun gift. It will mean twice as much right now while everyone is cooped up at home to receive something thoughtful and good for the planet.

The Skylight staff is working remotely and still open for business. If you have questions or would like to place an order, simply give us a call at 410.879.8401 or visit the website. We look forward to serving you!

How to Help Your Employees Tackle Remote Work

Right now, people across the globe are working remotely. They’re screen sharing, calling in for meetings, and making sure deliverables still get to clients and customers on time. While working remotely can sometimes feel isolating, it doesn’t have to be miserable or uncomfortable for your employees - and there’s no better time to show how much you appreciate them than during this time of uncertainty.

Help Them Create a Productive Work Space

One of the biggest misconceptions of telework is that it’s easy to work from your couch in pajama pants every day. While that usually works for a couple of days, it doesn’t lend itself well to long-term productivity.

Creating a separate space away from the couch, TV, or bedroom can make it much easier to focus on the task at hand and get work done efficiently. So what makes a good work space? Generally, a desk or dining room table set up with all of the office must-haves is the best bet. 

This is a great time to provide your employees with some company-branded items to show them your appreciation. Some favorites for creating an effective workspace include:

• Wireless Headphones for Conference Calls
• USB Hub for Charging Devices
• Large Journal for Keeping Notes at Home

Consider setting up a group chat for your employees where they can share their tips for productivity, too. Putting everyone’s brain power together is a great way to help your whole team improve their ability to work remotely.

Encourage Your Employees to Engage in Self Care

As plugged in as we are as a society, it’s hard not to hear about what’s happening 24/7. But it can quickly take a toll on your employees’ mental health. Additionally, many people may be feeling isolated during this time.

Make sure you’re supporting your employees by encouraging them to take care of their physical, emotional, and mental health. It’s important to continue exercising and getting fresh air. Technology also makes it possible for people to spend time with loved ones virtually, even if they can’t currently visit in person.

Recommending that your employees take time to socialize and encouraging socialization during the work day can go a long way for improving mental health while we wait for everything to return to normal. 

Help Them to Stay Positive

You don’t have to limit gifts to your employees to items that encourage productivity. In fact, there has never been a better time to provide them with items like stress balls or coffee cups. It’s also a good time to send some funny non-virus related memes out to elicit a smile or a laugh from everyone. 

We’re all in this together as a global community right now, and the easier we make it on each other, the happier we’ll all be in the long run. Make sure that your employees know that you appreciate them and their continued efforts even when they can’t physically make it into the office. 

At Skylight, we care about our clients and want to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself, too. Make sure that you’re staying in contact with the people you care about and getting fresh air regularly. Please also know that if you have questions about our products or an order, we’re still available via phone at 410.879.8401.

Coronavirus Canceled Your Event: What Do You Do Now?

Coronavirus Canceled Your Event: What Do You Do Now?

COVID-19 has officially been named a pandemic and is affecting businesses across the globe. Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and Broadway have all canceled upcoming events - and they’re not the only ones. Many organizations are canceling trade shows and conferences as well in order to prevent the spread of this flu-like virus. While this is an important step in containment, there’s no question that it’s difficult for businesses.

What Are Your Next Steps?

If you were supposed to exhibit at a trade show or conference, a cancellation can be stressful. It can also feel like a lost opportunity to make important.connections with potential clients and business partners.

However, just because you aren’t able to attend the trade show doesn’t mean you can’t still connect with the attendees, especially if you’ve already purchased branded items for the event. Below are a few ways you can make up for the lost time.

Send Promotional Products to the Guests 

If you contact the organization that was hosting the trade show, you should be able to get access to the guest list. Instead of sitting on all of the items that you ordered for the show, send them out to each of the companies on the list.

This is a great way to initiate contact with them while commiserating about the fact that the event was canceled. Include a personalized note to each of the companies letting them know that you’re sorry you weren’t able to get together this time but that you’re looking forward to the next industry event and you’d be open to connecting in the meantime.

Offer Discounted Services or Vouchers

If sending your promotional products to all of the guests isn’t something that’s feasible for your business, consider sending out a voucher or coupon instead. You can put together a “special bag” or kit of the items that you were originally planning on giving out and send an email letting the companies know that these will be available specifically for them next time. 

You could also let them know that you value their business and they can get their bag sooner by setting up a no-strings-attached call to discuss a potential partnership. Just make sure that the offer is genuine and don’t set any expectations other than a quick call before sending out their products.

Contact Skylight 

If you’ve already purchased items through Skylight for your event or trade show, we’re here to help. We can work with you to figure out the best solution to still distribute your promotional products to companies who were supposed to attend the event.

We care about our clients and want to make sure that you can still get the most out of your event, even if you aren’t able to physically attend. Our goal is always to provide top-notch service and to give our clients personalized attention in stressful situations. 

If you have questions or need to discuss your recent order, give us a call at (410)-879-8401 or contact your sales representative.