Every festive season, you decide what sits on a client's desk or a colleague's table. This year, make that choice a kinder one – for people, animals, and the planet
The usual choices for gifting at some of India's largest employers are leather goods for the executive tier and dairy-based mithai for the festive tier. Leather tanning discharges chromium and other toxins into the groundwater and rivers, and chromium is a recognised carcinogen. Dairy is among the most emissions-intensive foods. Underneath both sits the same system that puts animals into a cycle of continuous breeding, separation from calves, and slaughter. None of this shows up in a gift policy today.
How you could make a difference
This festive season, add one short "Materials & Ethical Sourcing" clause to your gift policy, defaulting to cruelty-free wherever a comparable option exists. This single clause converts a values statement into visible practice, reportable in ESG / BRSR disclosures. It taps into existing demand, because around 80% of corporate buyers now prefer eco-friendly gifts. Further, the leading alternatives use banana, coconut and sugarcane waste and smallholder sourcing; they ship pan-India at comparable price and quality.
What to gift instead
| Category | Move away from | Move toward | Where to source in India |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive gifts | Leather wallets, diaries, folios, laptop bags | Plant-based leather — banana, coconut, sugarcane or temple-flower waste | Banofi Leather, Malai Eco, Arture, Mokobara, Green Hermitage, Zenkind, A Big Indian Story, Aulive, Vyakti, Phool / Fleather, Vegan Virya |
| Festive mithai | Milk-, khoya- and ghee-based sweets | Naturally dairy-free mithai (ghee-free confirmed) or dedicated vegan sweets | Vijay Sweets, Anand Sweets, Hari Prasad Mithaiwale, Vegan First network |
| Gourmet add-ons | Dairy-milk chocolate, honey | Plant-based couverture chocolate, plant-based preserves | Widely available pan-India |
| Luxury / apparel | Silk, pashmina, wool | Recycled- or plant-fibre textiles | Certified cruelty-free suppliers |
How to start this season
THIS SEASON
Add the one-line preference clause and request a cruelty-free option in every hamper shortlist this cycle. Pilot on your single highest-volume occasion.
BEYOND DIWALI
Extend the standard to all gifting, and engage current vendors on substitution.