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INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Talking Tables
The Natural Meadow collection features recycled paper and upcycled fabric and is plastic free
Bringing fun to every gathering
The desire to bring people together lies at the heart of everything we do at Talking Tables, says the team behind the Award-winning brand. We are the go-to brand for design-led and sustainable products that add fun and style to every gathering, helping to create lasting memories of time together. You’ll find our collections in many of the world’s top retailers, from John Lewis and Selfridges to Barnes and Noble and leading independents, as well as on our B2C website. We also provide private label ranges, primarily to the grocery sector. Talking Tables was established in 1999 by Clare Harris, who saw a gap in the market for products that would get the table talking at get-togethers. Mark McCormack joined her in 2001. Two decades on, and with ‘tablescaping’ a major trend, the company has offices in New York and Shanghai and is selling to 60 countries, with the US and Europe primary markets after the UK. We remain privately owned, something that has helped us be a value-driven business. The past year has been a milestone one for us. We are proud to have achieved a King’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade, to have become B Corporation, Good Business Charter and Living Wage Foundation accredited and to be declared a Great Place to Work. All provide important benchmarks for Talking Tables to improve upon. As Clare says: “We are highly honoured to receive
the Award. It provides huge inspiration as we look to bring Talking Tables to even more customers in the USA, Europe and beyond.” Clare also recently received the giftware industry’s highest accolade, winning The Greats Outstanding Achievement Award for 2023. Talking Tables believes that time together is the best of times, something that has also become increasingly valued by the public following their pandemic isolation. Often a major public occasion is the impetus for a gathering, none more so than the Coronation of His Majesty, and we were pleased to contribute to the celebrations with a collection of fun and suitably Royal table decorations and bunting.
Cotton Initiative and the Forest Stewardship Council. We are keen not only to offer customers sustainable choices, but to spread better practise throughout the industry. We work with the industry’s association, the Giftware Association, to bring brands together to share experiences and best practise by hosting regular Talking Together events at our South London HQ. opportunity to gather together with others or celebrate what should be a special occasion. We are committed to giving the experience of gatherings to more people, including those with less opportunity to get together. We work locally with charities like Lifeline and foodbanks and also nationally with Re-engage, who bring the elderly socially isolated together via tea parties. But we couldn’t achieve anything without an engaged Talking Tables team. We were especially happy to achieve Great Place to Work status in 2022 as it is based on the results of an independent employee engagement survey. TALKING TABLES 5 Union Court, 20 Union Road, London SW4 6JP Tel: +44 (0)20 7627 6767 • info@talkingtables.co.uk www.talkingtables.co.uk Community spirit We recognise that not everyone has the
Doing business better As a B Corporation we believe that business can be a force for positive social and environmental change. Our products are either recyclable or reusable. We are market leaders for sustainability in our sector; we offset paper products with tree
planting and are well on our way to removing all single-use plastic. This season we have introduced our most sustainable collection ever, Natural Meadow. Plastic free, it uses recycled paper and upcycled fabric. We work with a number of partners on our sustainability journey, including Ecologi, Better
King’s Awards Magazine 2023
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