The Travel Corporation’s Tour Brands – Luxury Gold, Insight Vacations, Trafalgar, Costsaver and Contiki – will no longer produce branded merchandise to give away.
Instead, the money that would be spent on such items will be used for projects that fight climate change on behalf of clients, trade partners and staff.
The move is said to be an industry-first and is part of TTC Tour Brands’ climate action plan.
The company said: “After assessing the unnecessary carbon emissions emitted by the business, they discovered that by saying no to ‘more stuff’ they could prevent the equivalent carbon emissions of 6.5 million car-driven miles from entering the atmosphere annually.
“As a result, from today, the brands within the portfolio commit to no longer ordering branded merchandise for gifting, with more brands across The Travel Corporation to follow.
“In its place, TTC Tour Brands will repurpose the funds traditionally allocated to branded merchandise and introduce donations to nature-based solutions projects that will remove a further 1.5 million car-driven miles’ worth of carbon emissions from the atmosphere by December 2024.”
Kelly Jackson, TTC Tour Brands managing director, said: “No one needs ‘more stuff’, yet everyone needs to take responsibility for the future of our planet.
“Our industry as a whole is no exception, and we believe the gift of travel should be preserved for generations to come.
“We continue to do what we can to make a positive impact in line with our How We Tread Right five-year sustainability strategy and our not- for-profit foundation, TreadRight.”
TTC Tour Brands will donate to projects that are already supported by the firm’s not-for-profit foundation, TreadRight: GreenWave’s Kelp Climate Fund Project and Rainforest Rescue’s Daintree Project.
The TTC Tour Brand offices will rehome any leftover or outdated merchandise to local charities or use for internal fundraisers, with donation supporting to their nature-based solutions partners.