Why Are You Still Gifting Boring Cards? The Dishcloth That Changed Everything.
Let’s have a frank conversation about greeting cards.
You spend twenty minutes in the card aisle to pick the funniest one you can find (or the most heartfelt, no judgement), write something lovely inside, hand it over and watch it get read, smiled at and propped on a mantelpiece for approximately eight to twelve days before it vanishes forever into the recycling bin. Except, here’s the kicker. It probably doesn’t make it into recycling at all.
You spend twenty minutes in the card aisle to pick the funniest one you can find (or the most heartfelt, no judgement), write something lovely inside, hand it over and watch it get read, smiled at and propped on a mantelpiece for approximately eight to twelve days before it vanishes forever into the recycling bin. Except, here’s the kicker. It probably doesn’t make it into recycling at all.
Many of my friends are not keepers. Cards are well received but not kept. The message I wrote thinking it was one to save, was discarded after it fell over on the shelf for the 2nd time. Gone.
A whopping 7 billion greeting cards are purchased every year globally, and the majority end up in landfill. Why? Because most of them are completely unrecyclable.
Glitter - microplastic nightmare.
Glitter - microplastic nightmare.
Foil - can’t be processed.
Metallic inks, ribbons, embossed bits and bobs - all recycling contamination.
One glittery card in a recycling batch can cause the whole lot to be rejected and sent to landfill. So that sparkly “Happy Birthday” card you lovingly chose? It’s out there, slowly decomposing for up to fifteen years, releasing methane as it goes. Cheerful, right?
And what did it cost you? Cards these days aren’t cheap. You can easily spend $8–$12 on a card that will have a lifespan shorter than a block of cheese. Meanwhile, the recipient is left with a vague sense of guilt about whether to keep it or toss it, and a mantelpiece that needs clearing.
Enter the Dishcloth Greeting Card. Yes, really.
I don’t do things by halves here at The Green Collective, and when I say I’ve reimagined the greeting card, I mean it. Our SPRUCE Dishcloth Greeting Cards are exactly what they sound like. A beautiful greeting card that unfolds to reveal a full-sized, genuine SPRUCE Swedish dishcloth. Write your message. Hand it over. Watch their face when they realise the card is the gift.
For years I have told customers you can write a message on a SPRUCE dishcloth. Works great to then wrap it around a bottle of olive oil or wine. It's the card, giftwrapping and part of the gift all in one. I saw a chance to change the shape of the card, so that it folded perfectly into a card shape. It's also a pretty nifty shape for hanging over your tap.
For years I have told customers you can write a message on a SPRUCE dishcloth. Works great to then wrap it around a bottle of olive oil or wine. It's the card, giftwrapping and part of the gift all in one. I saw a chance to change the shape of the card, so that it folded perfectly into a card shape. It's also a pretty nifty shape for hanging over your tap.
Available in 7 stunning NZ-inspired designs: Pohutukawa, Wildflower, Rata, Marlborough Daisy, Manawa Roa (long-lasting love), Indigo Shapes and Hearts. Each card is just $10.50. That’s card and gift, done and dusted, for the price of a sad foil-covered card from the gift shop.
But what actually is a Swedish dishcloth, and why should I care?
A SPRUCE Swedish dishcloth is a cellulose and cotton hybrid; part cloth, part sponge, entirely brilliant. It replaces up to 17 rolls of paper towels, lasts for up to 12 months of daily use, is machine washable, dishwasher safe and when it finally reaches the end of its very long and useful life, it composts at your home.
So instead of gifting something that lasts eight days before heading to a landfill where it’ll sit for fifteen years, you’re gifting something that works hard in someone’s kitchen every single day for a year. The card literally becomes the most useful thing in their kitchen. Then composts in their home garden. That’s a plot twist even Hallmark couldn’t pull off.
Steal the joke you spy. Write it in the dishcloth card.
Here’s one of our favourite things about this concept, the card still is a card. Write your message, your funny joke or your “sorry I forgot your birthday”. Fold it back up. Hand it over as a card. Let them think they’re getting a normal card. The dishcloth reveal is half the fun.
It’s also, dare we say it, the gift that solves the eternal gifting dilemma: “I want to give something meaningful, not just a card, but I don’t want to show up empty-handed, but I also don’t want to spend $60 on something they might hate.” A dishcloth greeting card is the answer. Instead of choosing between a gift OR a card you can now grab a 2 for 1.
The numbers, since we love a good reality check:
∙ 7 billion cards purchased globally each year
∙ Most end up in landfill within days of being received
∙ 195,000 metric tons of greeting card paper waste hits landfills annually
∙ Our dishcloth cards: $10.50, used daily for up to 12 months, then composted
Shop the collection:
Individual cards from $10.50, sets of 4 from $42.00, and if you want to be the most organised person in your friend group, our set of 7 covers virtually every need you’ll face this year. Same day dispatch before 11am, free shipping over $95, and the satisfaction of knowing you’ve chosen a unique show-stopper.
