Our (Small!) Green Initiative

It seems to me these days that everything we do is scrutinised from a sustainability standpoint. Business practices and personal behaviour that was once commonplace now causes eyebrows to be raised and fingers to be wagged. Even the humble plastic drinking straw has been consigned to history (sorry kids!).

Of course, all of this is for positive reasons and the more we do to reduce any form of waste the healthier our environment will become. It seems like common sense but unfortunately there is a great deal more individuals and companies could be doing. In terms of sustainability, Optima understand that everything and anything we can do as a company is going to help.

So, with that in mind we’ve decided to look our promotional items and try and make them genuinely useful and therefore less likely to be tossed straight into land-fill. Here are our first offerings;

Reusable Coffee Cups

Firstly, we have our reusable collapsible coffee cup. Ok yes, it is made of plastic, but it can be reused over and over and, if you like to pop into your coffee shop on your way into work, many outlets will give you a discount on the price just for using it.

The cup will collapse down into a small size that fits in your pocket or glove box ready for whenever you feel the need. It is also multi-purpose - you can use it for tea, coffee, and even cold drinks 😊.

So, there you are - small, convenient, reusable and money saving! What’s not to like?

If you need even more of a reason, here are some facts surrounding the problem of disposable coffee cups in the UK. These have all been taken from the 2017 House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee report on Disposable Coffee Cups:

• Almost 7 million disposable coffee cups are used in the UK each and every day. This equates to 2.5 billion every year.
• Dispite claims from the coffee shop companies that their cups are recyclable just 1 in 400 (0.25%) actually are recycled.
• Approximately 500,000 disposable cups are littered every day in the UK. That is one hundred eighty-two million five hundred thousand per year.
• 90% of the cost of collecting, sorting and disposing of waste coffee cups is paid by the tax payer - not the coffee shop companies.

Claim Your FREE Cup

To get one just email us on competition@optima-systems.co.uk. Please include some details such as who you are, which company you work for and where you would like us to send it! We will only use the details you supply to get your item to you, we promise not to use the email address for further marketing purposes! (see our GDPR statement here). We can only send items to people in the UK and, as numbers are limited, it will be first come first served!

Once you have your cup you can enter our competition to win a £40 Hotel Chocolate Hamper (see details below!).

Reusable Water Bottles

Our second item is our rather smart drinks bottle. Made of aluminium and double lined this bottle is beautifully designed and very striking.

It won’t look out of place on your desk, in your car or even in a rucksack for those long summer walks. The bottle will take hot or cold drinks and, of course, is re-usable. In fact, this bottle should last you for years and could become a firm favourite as it works rather well.

The arguments in favour of a reusable bottle verses a disposable plastic bottle are well known to most people but just in case you need a reminder:

• 93 percent of the bottled water tested showed some sign of microplastic contamination, featuring polypropylene, nylon, and polyethylene terephthalate. (Study by the State University of New York in Fredonia)
• It will take around 400 years for a single-use PET plastic water bottle to decompose. (Forbes)
• Globally, people now buy 1 million disposable plastic bottles a minute. (The Guardian)
• Plastic bottles make up half of all the plastic waste in the River Thames. (London.gov.uk)
• Many bottled waters are just filtered tap water. In some cases, the price markup works out at over 10,000%.

Claim Your FREE Bottle

To get one just email us on competition@optima-systems.co.uk. Please include some details such as who you are, which company you work for and where you would like us to send it! We will only use the details you supply to get your item to you, we promise not to use the email address for further marketing purposes! (see our GDPR statement here). We can only send items to people in the UK and, as numbers are limited, it will be first come first served!

Once you have your bottle you can enter our competition to win a £40 Hotel Chocolate Hamper (see details below!).

Not for You? Pass It On!

If you do get one of these items but don’t like it, or feel you won’t use it, please pass it on to someone who will. We will not be offended in the slightest!

BUT, if you love them and want more, simply drop us an email or give us a call and let us know. Stocks are intentionally limited but if the demand is there we will get more.

Optima Summer Competition

Now here’s a bit of fun. Take a picture of your cup or bottle in an unusual or exciting location and you could win a £40 Hotel Chocolate Hamper. Judges will be looking for originality, humour, and of course, our logo 😉.

Actually, there really are no rules other than to have some fun and send us your pictures.

Please email your pictures to competition@optima-systems.co.uk, tweet them at us or even add them in the comments below this blog post.

Closing date is 31st July 2019
(In the event of a tie the chocolate is mine!!)

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