Suppliers for Goodies
Goodies, or "swag," are a powerful physical tool to spread the word about Open Food Facts, thank contributors, and build our community. To be effective, our goodies must be an extension of our mission: they should be impactful, sustainable, useful, and transparently sourced. Remember: Goodies are just one of the many ways to spread the world, there are more scalable, fully digital ways as well.
This page serves as the central guide for creating, ordering, and distributing goodies for Open Food Facts and its companion projects.
Our Philosophy on Goodies
We follow four core principles for all physical items bearing our name.
1. Mission-Aligned & Impactful
Every item should tell our story. A goodie isn't just a free item; it's a conversation starter.
- Reinforce the Message: Goodies should reflect transparency, collaboration, and citizen action. A QR code linking to the app or a "Scan to discover" message is often a great addition.
- Drive Action: The best goodie encourages someone to become a contributor or user or thanks him/her for already being so.
2. Sustainable & Eco-Friendly
As an organization working for the common good, we must minimize our environmental footprint.
- Materials Matter: Prioritize recycled, organic, compostable, or sustainably sourced materials (e.g., FSC-certified paper, organic cotton, recycled PET).
- Reduce Waste: Avoid single-use items. Order realistic quantities to prevent large, obsolete stockpiles.
- Local Sourcing: Whenever possible, use local suppliers (see list below) for events to dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of shipping.
- Design to last Avoid dates, or things that will age on Goodies. If you can't give them away for the event, they would be obsolete.
3. Useful & Long-Lasting
We want our goodies to be used, not thrown away. The longer an item is used, the greater its impact.
- Ask: "Would I use this myself?" A high-quality, useful item (like a durable sticker, or a nicely designed t-shirt) is far better than a cheap, disposable one (like a low-quality plastic pen or a foam stress ball).
- Durability > Novelty: Choose items built to last. This reinforces a message of quality and respect for our planet's resources.
4. Financially Responsible & Scalable
We are a non-profit, and every euro counts. Our goodie strategy must be financially sustainable and scalable for our global community.
- Frugality First: Always seek the best balance of quality, sustainability, and price.
- Global vs. Local:
* Local: For most events, local printing of items like stickers or flyers is the most cost-effective and eco-friendly solution. * Central: For high-quality, durable items (like t-shirts or bottles), a central order might be necessary to ensure quality and get a good price, but shipping must be factored in.
- Funding: Goodie costs should be part of an event's budget or a specific project budget. For large-scale items, we can explore sponsorships or create "supporter packs" that people can buy to fund free goodies for contributors. Also, consider the "Return" of a goodie. The more costly the goodie, the more thought about who you're giving it to, and for what occasion, you should have.
Procedure
Requesting Goodies for an Event
If you are organizing a meetup, conference, or workshop and need goodies:
- Plan Ahead: Contact us at least 4-6 weeks before your event. Production and shipping take time.
- Contact Us: Post your request in the #swag channel on Slack.
- Define Your Needs: Please provide the following information:
* Event name and date * Expected number of attendees * Type of audience (e.g., developers, general public, nutritionists) * What goodies you think are needed (e.g., stickers, flyers) * Full shipping address and contact person (if applicable) * Your budget (if any)
- Review & Approval: The team will review the request, check central inventory (if any), and propose the best solution (e.g., shipping from stock, or ordering from a local supplier near you).
Proposing a New Goodie
Have a great idea for a new item (e.g., a t-shirt, a water bottle)?
- Discuss: Start a conversation in the #swag channel. Share your idea, its purpose, and how it aligns with our principles.
- Design: Mockups can be created using our design assets (Please get in touch with the Design team, in #design). The design must be validated by the Design team to ensure brand consistency.
- Source & Quote: Try to understand the cost structure for different quantities (e.g., 100, 500, 1000).
- Document it: Present the final proposal on the wiki, in a subpage of this page.
Potential Goodies
- Stickers: High-impact, low-cost. Perfect for laptops and notebooks. In the future, might include a QR code to download the app.
- Magnets: Useful for sticking on a fridge. A great "call to action" in the kitchen.
- Organic Cotton Tote Bags: Provides a large area for our message. A walking billboard. Con: people already have many of those
- T-shirts: Excellent for active contributors and at major events. High visibility. Must be high-quality, organic cotton, and ethically produced.
- Roll-ups / Kakemonos: Reusable for many events. Essential for having a professional, visible stand. XBanner are much more lightweight, transportable, and you can swap the banner easily.
- Flyers / Postcards: Good for specific calls to action or specific targets. Must be on 100% recycled paper. Must include a QR code to download the app and contact information. Must be small.
Goodies to Avoid
- Cheap plastic pens
- Plastic-wrapped single-use items
- Low-quality USB sticks (e-waste)
- Anything that feels like "junk" and will be quickly discarded
- Anything that excludes a fraction of the potential target (avoid niche goodies)
Important links & Documents
- Canva folder for Physical objects (goodies, rollupsā¦): https://www.canva.com/folder/FAFR8ooFjFA
- Figma folder for Physical objects and projects: https://www.figma.com/files/project/32732616
Printed materials
Australia & New Zealand
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Europe
Finland
France
Obiprint (France)
Magnets, stickers, kakemonos, business cards etc.
- Stickers A8 (5.2x7.4 cm) * 1000 = 120⬠HT + 7⬠HT (Shipping) (Day+4 for printing + shipping time)
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
United States
Get in touch
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