A 100% transparant and sustainable promise.
Supply chain
Transparency in the production chain and the company are essential to us. Often a blanket of invisibility hangs around a product. That invisibility often results in poor materials and unknown working conditions. There are so many layers in a production chain. A pen consists of all kinds of components. Different kinds of plastic granules, dyes, metals and inks. Where do all these raw materials come from, who made them and what route did they take to arrive at the pen factory?
These are important questions that we believe every manufacturer should be transparent about. You as a buyer of business gifts can then determine whether a fair price is paid for a product. A price in which economic, social and ecological values are taken into account.
All the products we offer or make ourselves have gone through a strict selection process. Among other things, by signing our
Code
of
Conduct. Here we always indicate the values attached to a product. Our B-corps certification shows that this is strictly adhered to.
Fair, social and sustainable entrepreneurship
B Corp certified
Since June 2022, we are proud to officially call ourselves B Corp certified. As the first corporate gift agency of the Netherlands.
B Corp stands for "Benefit Corporation. Certified B Corporations use the power of business to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy, and strive to meet the highest levels of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability in everything we do.
This certification is a distinction, but it is also a movement of companies that do not want to be the best in the world, but rather the best before the world. It is the result of a company's efforts to show its actions and commitment to the future and the planet.
For example, Eco Concept group is now 1 of 5000 certified companies in the world. In the Netherlands the first in the business gifts industry and in the Hoeksche Waard the first company.
commitment to our values
Code of Conduct
We started our journey with the goal of bringing the manufacturing industry back to the Netherlands and making sustainable and fair products with impact.
Transparency and independent validation throughout our supply chain plays a crucial role in this to be credible and inspire others to join us. We want to encourage our market to have a positive ethical, social and environmental impact like us.
We strive to ensure that our entire supply chain is committed to our values. That is why we have developed our Code of Conduct in which we aim to clarify our expectations of our suppliers.
Our Code of Conduct describes the values to which we aspire. We also focus on various components of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Sustainable Development Goals
The SDGs are 17 goals to make the world a better place by 2030. The SDGs were agreed upon by countries affiliated with the United Nations (UN), including the Netherlands. To achieve our sustainable and social mission, we looked at how to implement the SDGs in our organization.
We selected three goals where we can have the most influence and impact.
Goal 10.2
Promoting global social, economic and political inclusion
Social entrepreneurship is one of our most important core values. We pursue this by joining forces with impact-driven creators. Together with them, we work on diversity, inclusiveness, job satisfaction and opportunities for all.
For us, sustainable business is not only about ecological impact, but also about social impact. We can only grow sustainably if these components are in balance.
Our goal for the future is to further expand our studio in Nieuw-Beijerland and become a social enterprise. Where we can create an inclusive society and where newcomers and people with a distance to the labor market can make a creative contribution with their talents. From where people can access the labor market by designing together and producing sustainable products for our clients.
Goal 12.5
Significantly reduce waste generation
We are transparent about how we work and where we source our materials. Moreover, our minimalist designs ensure that our products are timeless and not seasonal. We produce only on demand and do not keep much stock to avoid dead stock. Because we work locally, it is possible to shift and scale up quickly, making us time competitive with distant countries.
With our Upcycle Lab, we transform "waste streams" and old materials from companies into a new product that is valuable again and often more beautiful than before. Instead of throwing away the "waste," this material is given a new function and contributes to increased sustainability. Our other products are all made from recycled, organic or bio-based materials. By sharing the story of our makers and materials, we want to raise awareness about sustainability among our customers. We translate the results and impact into a custom web page, available through a corresponding QR code.
Our goal is to create a circular product where nothing ends up in landfills. To achieve this, we want to map our entire waste stream by 2023. Moreover, we put a lot of energy into researching new materials that retain their value after use, and we use as little packaging material as possible, thus eliminating plastic.
GOAL 13.3
Building knowledge and capacity to combat climate change
We believe that a sustainable economy is only possible in a functioning nature. That's why we share the stories of our materials and makers every day. We do this not only through our brand name MADE Out Of but also through our impact label linked to our products. In this way we try to create awareness about climate change and the role people and companies have in it.
As the first company in the Netherlands within our industry to be an official B Corps certified partner, we try to encourage other companies within and outside our industry to do business differently. We also aim to have mapped out our CO2 impact by 2023 and to operate carbon neutrally by 2024.
