EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION KITS
Celebrating 75 Years at Vancity – Employee Appreciation
Amidst the pandemic and anticipation of a return to normal, we developed three beautiful kits for Vancity’s employees. Vancity is Canada’s largest community credit union, a financial cooperative operating within the territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw people. They are a member-owned, community-based, and full-service financial institution.
Vancity is committed to transforming banking so it can help its members and local communities thrive financially, socially, and environmentally. With these shared values, Fairware is an ideal partner for its merchandise.
The Custom Employee Merch Kits
The Employee Appreciation Kits shared some common items, but each custom gift box had three distinct themes: ‘Back to Connecting’, ‘Explore the Outdoors’, and ‘Finding Calm’. Our online store enabled employees to pick the kit that best resonated with them.
We sourced many of our products from Impact vendors (that have a strong mission and sustainable and ethical business practices) and local (Vancouver vendors). Vendors included:
- MiiR (a certified B Corp and Climate Neutral Business)
- East Van Roasters (a local CCC, Community Contribution Company)
- Great Bear Rainforest essential oils (an Indigenous-supported social enterprise)
- Bannock Mix from Mr. Bannock (Indigenous-owned, BC-based business)
- Fill it Forward – Water Bottles with an app designed to eliminate single-use waste.
Kit 1 – Back to Connecting
Coming out of the pandemic, we all wanted to reconnect with friends and family. In our ‘Back to Connecting’ kit, we combined the comfort of food and the purpose of entertaining with some classic kitchen-themed goods. This kit features East Van Roasters, a fair-trade coffee roaster and bean-to-bar chocolatier, and Mr. Bannock, our indigenous-owned impact vendor.
- Econscious Organic Cotton Recycled Polyester Eco Apron
- Classic Bannock Mix by Mr. Bannock
- Andrew Williams Design Octopus Tea Towel
- East Van Roasters Coffee
- East Van Roasters Chocolate Bar
Kit2 – Explore the Outdoors
Being from the West Coast, we couldn’t do a kit without having an ‘Explore the Outdoors’ theme fitted with quality products for their employees’ next adventure.
- Light My Fire Reusable Spork
- MiiR Olympus 2L Sling Bag
- Made in Vancouver Camper Hat
Kit3 – Finding Calm
Our final kit was built to encourage relaxation and self-care. Our ‘Finding Calm’ kit included all the creature comforts to make the Vancity team kick back and take care.
- Justtea Tea Tin
- Tree Frog Sacred Bar Soap
- Great Bear Rainforest Stika Spruce Essential Oil
- East Van Roasters Chocolate Bar
- Locally made Satya Organic Balm
Featured Products
Cupanion Bottle & Fill It Forward Sticker
A Cupanion reusable water bottle was accompanied by the Fill It Forward sticker in each of the three kits. The sticker contains a scanner code that allows the user to track hydration and the corresponding resources that are saved by reusing the same bottle—stay hydrated, refill, and scan.
East Van Roasters Products
East Van Roasters Coffee and Chocolate – An award-winning company that makes Organic Fair-Trade Chocolate “bean-to-bar” and a coffee roasting social enterprise.
Vancity’s Employee Appreciation Kits reflect their commitment to local, sustainable, and ethical business practices. We worked hard to support and advocate for small-scale, sustainable vendors. Each kit was thoughtfully crafted to foster connection, adventure, and relaxation, aligning with Vancity’s community support and sustainability values.
For more on EVR see our promotional products with a cause blog post.
Andrew Williams Octopus Tea Towel – With Embroidery | Tree Frog Sacred Bar Soap – Soap moulded to reflect the Spirit bear of BC – Original Art by Todd Baker, Squamish Nation artist. For more about the indigenous brands we offer, read Celebrating Indigenous-Owned Businesses. Connect with us about our vendor partners Great Bear Rainforest essential oils, Satya Organic, and Mr.Bannock.
Camp Hat – 100% Canadian made with Eco-friendly GOTS certified cotton twill blend – Includes custom woven label | Miir Sling Bag – 2L Olympus – Each Miir product sold helps fund transparent giving projects.
You can learn more about kitting in our 6 Steps to Custom Merchandise Kitting EBook.