and USA 
Kingly are thrilled to announce that we are Finalists in the “Marketing Campaign of the Year” Category at the British Promotional Merchandise Association‘s Product Awards 2022-2023. There is no greater honour than to be recognized by our colleagues in the merchandise sector and we have to admit that this is a truly humbling experience for us. Previously, Kingly’s Upcycled Cotton Socks and GOTS Organic Cotton Socks have been shortlisted in the “Sustainable Product of the Year” Category at BPMA’s Product Awards 2022-2023.
We entered the competition with our “Inspirational stories” campaign. It was designed to share case studies with successful campaigns our clients were able to deliver using our award-winning sustainable products – upcycled cotton socks and GOTS organic cotton socks. It aimed to educate our clients and future prospects across Europe – mainly in Italy, France, Germany, United Kingdom and Spain – and USA about the benefits of using eco-friendly promotional products. We wanted to give our clients a chance to position themselves as companies who care about leaving a better environmental footprint, and who want to be part of the solution rather than the problem, especially having in mind that the textile and apparel industries are the second largest polluter in the world.
As we became the first zero-waste knitting facility serving the promotional industry, we also wanted our clients to get a glimpse of how the products are produced and what happens to the outputs from the sock production process. That was the only way to showcase we truly are a sustainable company, not just claiming to be one. And we wanted our clients to get to know a little bit more about the people who are driving the company’s success – Kingly’s employees, who share why they stand behind the company’s core values, vision and mission.
This campaign’s purpose is not only aiming to educate our clients about sustainability and how much they can contribute to preserving resources, but actually lift the curtain on how the magic happens, and who are the wizards with magic wands. Our key objectives were to differentiate ourselves from competitors who use greenwashing to their advantage, to clarify how we measure the number of resources that are being preserved within the creation of our sustainable socks, and guarantee a transparent production process. And we wanted to inspire them with the good causes we support by donating eco-friendly products. Of course, the desired outcome was to not only position ourselves as a leader in sustainable sock knitting – having in mind we are 1 in only 52 GOTS-certified producers in the world and we recently passed another Sedex Pillar 4 audit with flying colours, but also to get more orders for sustainable socks.
Campaign Unique Selling Proposition:
We wanted to empower our clients with the ability to calculate how many resources they could preserve with a single order of upcycled socks or upcycled sweaters, so they can visualize the positive impact they could have on the environment.
Creative Process and Channels:
Our website was the starting point of unraveling the campaign. The clients who have worked with us already knew about the success we have had with introducing our upcycled cotton socks in compostable bags. They knew we were awarded the Promotional gift award 2020, and that launching the upcycled Christmas sweaters was the logical step.
However, we needed them to have the full information on how the upcycled yarns we use are created and to prove that the number of resources we are claiming to save are real. We integrated an environmental savings calculator on our website that could define how much water and electricity are preserved with a single order, how many kg of carbon emissions have been saved, and how many m² of land are prevented from turning into a landfill. Click here for more info.
Then we dedicated space on our homepage where we can share case studies with companies who have saved major amounts of resources while simultaneously have achieved major success with their promotional campaigns. For instance, we explained how we helped Google save 24 million litres of water with a single order of 34 000 pairs of upcycled cotton socks meant as corporate gifts for employees and partners. Other stories are intended to educate people about our zero-waste knitting facility and the donation campaigns with sustainable products we initiate.
Then we created leaflets with these inspirational stories in the gift boxes prepared for our customers at trade shows and our partners at business events. Of course, we did not forget to build up the excitement of creating a zero-waste facility and the upcoming Upcycling Project on social media and through our newsletters as well. We focused on engaging videos on Instagram/Facebook and TikTok that were mentioning Kingly’s Upcycling Dream and what happens with the textile fibres from our sock production.
The last stage was to launch the Kingly Upcycled Project which aims to retrieve textile waste not for recycling but for using it to create new products. It also focuses on teaching our clients about upcycling and repurposed design and how to do it on a larger scale. Finally, we sent out press releases to specialized promotional magazines and platforms and the majority of them published articles about Kingly’s zero-waste facility and Upcycling Project.
Why Did We Become Finalists:
First and foremost, this campaign shifts the perspective on sustainable products as it makes the production process transparent, and fights greenwashing. It also gives the clients an opportunity to learn more about upcycling and repurposed design and focus on leaving a better environmental footprint that benefits not just their brand but humanity as a whole. It is a campaign that is focused on presenting solutions rather than products and is based on a myriad of certifications, case studies, and pure data backed by a third-party sustainability platform – BCome.
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Want to learn more about our campaign? Reach out to us via service@wearekingly.com. Let us know if you need help defining how many resources you can save with your next order.
Read more about Kingly’s zero-waste textile facility here. Discover more about their award-winning upcycled socks here and GOTS organic cotton socks here.
