Sustainability & Made in Canada Award

At the end of Canada 150 celebrations, Parks Canada was left with several promotional flags and banners. As part of their waste-reduction initiative we, as their official merchandise licensee, were challenged to provide solutions for repurposing these materials into products that could be sold in Parks Canada gift shops and the e-commerce store. Collaborating with the Parks Canada Brand team, we developed one-of-a kind upcycled tote bags. These bags were manufactured in Ottawa, by Eco-Equitable, “a non-profit organization that provides a bridge to social and economic integration for people in need, especially women, while greening the community.” I developed a recycled paper hangtag that detailed the positive Flag to Bag story and added it to the product.

The Flag to Bag story was promoted on both the B2B and B2C e-commerce store, as well as in email marketing, organic and paid social media posts, and was featured in the October 2020 issue of Canadian Living Magazine “Products to Green Up Your Life”.

The successes of this program are many: To date more than 1,200 used banners and flags have been diverted from landfills and the program has since expanded beyond Canada 150 flags; the program has provided work opportunities and a revenue stream for Eco-Equitable, which has leant support to its fine and worthy social initiatives; it has become one of the top selling products in the program; proceeds from the sale of these and every other product in the official merchandise program go to support Parks Canada conservation projects, which include support for the nation’s endangered species. It won the PPPC Image award for Best in Sustainability and Best in Made in Canada. Finally, wherever these quality-made upcycled tote bags are used, there will be no need for a single-use plastic alternative.