KADOCOM's CSR Commitment

CSR... what is it exactly?

What is this CSR everyone is talking about? CSR stands for Corporate Social Responsibility, which is defined as a company’s voluntary contribution to sustainable development, both in its activities and in its interactions with stakeholders. It covers three areas: environmental, social and societal.

In other words, committing to CSR means having a positive impact on society while remaining economically viable.

And from another perspective, for the 22 employees of Kadocom, it’s about giving even more meaning to a profession that’s already enjoyable at its core — helping our customers bring joy to their loved ones!

KADOCOM's Approach

Kadocom is a young lady born in 2006… A lady of a certain age, true, but one who has always maintained a start-up spirit by embracing creativity, innovation and growth. While she has evolved and progressed on CSR issues for many years, the management team — driven by a shared will across the company — decided to step things up in 2022 by launching a much more concrete CSR initiative.

It all began with the Diag Impact...

To launch our approach in 2022, we enlisted the help of a (wonderful) external agency, specialised in supporting companies with their CSR strategies, A l'Unisson, to carry out a Diag Impact assessment covering the 7 pillars of CSR as defined by ISO 26000. This included interviews with the entire Kadocom team in Boulogne-Billancourt and Toulouse.

This made it possible to establish a clear overview of our CSR standing, highlighting both our strengths and, of course, our weaknesses. We received a score of 59.4 / 100 at the end of this assessment. Not bad, but Kadocom still has room for improvement!

Following this assessment, immediate measures were taken and a medium to long-term action plan was put in place.

... then came the ECOVADIS certification

To kick off 2023 in the best way, Kadocom was assessed by Ecovadis, an independent benchmark organisation that has already audited over 75,000 companies worldwide and issues internationally recognised labels.

Did Kadocom need a little CSR medal, you might ask? Yes and no.

No, in the sense that we didn’t view the label as an end in itself, but rather a starting point — a launchpad, an incentive to do better and aim for a higher score in 2024.

We are fully aware that there is still a way to go.

Yes, because this Ecovadis certification is important internally as it helps us better position ourselves, and it’s just as important for our clients and partners who now more than ever need to know the values of the businesses they work with.

This Ecovadis audit resulted in a score of 67 / 100 (an improvement from the Diag Impact!) and placed us in the 91st percentile — meaning Kadocom scored higher than 91% of companies evaluated by Ecovadis — and earned us a Silver Medal. And to be honest… we were pretty proud of that!

Our big goal for 2024 then became... Olympic Gold! And for that, we’re putting the spotlight on the environmental aspect of our strategy.

2023, the year of... carbon footprint!

To delve deeper into the crucial environmental aspect of our CSR strategy, we decided to carry out our carbon footprint assessment for the year 2023, with the help of the Carbo platform developed by the company Green Lantern...

The aim? To calculate the total greenhouse gas emissions generated by our company and implement an action plan to gradually reduce this carbon footprint until we eventually reach carbon neutrality.

This first assessment was no easy task, as it involved not only our entire team but, more importantly, each of our suppliers. For each item, we collected the necessary information to calculate the CO2 footprint generated by the delivery of our goods — specifically the exact location of the production site, the precise route taken to reach us, and the mode of transport used. To make our next audit easier, we developed an automated distance calculator for each supplier order in our internal procurement system.

And here is the result:

Kadocom’s operations generated 514 tCO2e during the assessment period, which represents:

• 79% less than the average for companies in our sector (2106 tCO2e/year)
• 26 tCO2e per employee
• Equivalent to the annual carbon footprint of 47 French citizens

You can view the full details of our carbon footprint assessment here. It might even inspire you to do the same!

It’s now up to us to reduce that footprint — particularly the share of our product catalogue that isn’t made in Europe. While all our gifts are personalised in our Toulouse workshop, around 50% of our stock comes from outside Europe. Our goal is to gradually reduce this proportion.

• ... without suddenly disrupting our offering or endangering our economic viability
• ... and by sometimes balancing choices between eco-design and product origin. For example, in 2023 we decided to offer customers aprons made from 100% organic cotton (GOTS-certified), without changing the country of manufacture — Pakistan — in order to maintain our pricing.

More info on our product traceability

Whether for our newest site, the corporate gifts platform cadeau-business.fr, or any of our consumer-facing sites — starting with amikado.com — we felt it was essential to provide visitors with useful information about the origin and design of every product.

Our goal is to inform visitors about the “eco-friendly” credentials of our products in three key areas:

• Proximity of origin (France or Europe)
• Eco-design (Organic cotton, recycled materials, etc.)
• Durability (especially water bottles and lunch boxes)

It’s then up to each person to judge the level of eco-responsibility for each item. You’ll find an explanation of the labels displayed on our product pages below.

2023 was also the year of:

• Sourcing in France or Europe for some of our key product ranges, such as leather goods
• Local sourcing of new products that we hope will become true bestsellers — including beer gift boxes from the Toulouse region and a cosmetics range made with donkey milk from the Basque Country
• Switching much of our cotton textile range to organic, including aprons, tote bags, gift pouches and leisure bags
• Our Toulouse team’s participation in an urban greening project alongside the “Pousse aux Abris” association… In 2024, our Boulogne team will join in!
• A team-building event in April and weekly newsletters to strengthen the bond between the company’s head office and its Toulouse branch
• Donating our obsolete stock to the association Dons Solidaires
• Continuing to offer charity round-up donations at checkout on our websites in support of the association Aide et Action
• A CSR survey conducted among all our suppliers, who returned completed questionnaires along with precise location details for each product or material (manufacturing and transit sites to our warehouses), enabling us to calculate carbon footprint. This year’s response rate: 80%, compared to 20% in 2022.
• Implementing verified product reviews through Trusted Shops

2024: a Gold ECOVADIS certification to reward our 2023 efforts

One year after receiving our Silver Medal, Ecovadis awarded us Gold. A great source of pride for our team, recognising all the efforts listed above.

Our progress in 2024:

• Significant reduction of our waste (cardboard, packaging, protective foam)
• Ongoing sourcing in France and Europe
• Deepening social dialogue during the 2024 renewal of the Works Council (CSE)
• Climate Fresco training during our Annual Team Building event
• Team participation in social/environmental initiatives

CSR Labels Featured on Our Sites

Memberships of Kadocom

Ecovadis

EcoVadis certification allows companies to measure their environmental, social, and ethical impact based on CSR principles. In 2024, Ecovadis awarded Kadocom Gold status, placing us in the top 4% of companies evaluated in our industry.

learn more about Ecovadis >

La French Fab

Kadocom is a member of the French Fab and upholds the values set out in its manifesto:

• innovation
• modernising production facilities
• adapting work organisation
• environmental and ecological performance
• and finally, expanding export and internationalisation capabilities

learn more about the French Fab >

Global Compact

Created in 2000 by Kofi Annan, the Global Compact is a United Nations initiative encouraging companies to adhere to 10 key principles to help build a more sustainable society. By joining this programme, Kadocom is committed to publishing its progress each year in terms of sustainable development. In other words, this membership is not just a pretty label, but a real commitment to ongoing improvement.

learn more about Global Compact >

Product-Related Labels

Official Labels

Made in France

This label means that a significant part of the product's manufacturing process was carried out in France, in accordance with criteria defined by the EU Customs Code.

We do not take into account the personalisation process when assigning this label — we focus solely on the product’s manufacture before it arrives at our workshop.

However, we do consider the origin of the materials, and when there are multiple production or supply sites, we provide detailed information on our product pages.

learn more about Made in France >

GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard)

An international certification for organic textiles that is based on both environmental and social standards throughout the entire production chain.

A fabric bearing the GOTS label is made from natural raw materials grown without toxic substances that could harm human health or the environment.

learn more about the GOTS label >

OCS (Organic Content Standard)

The OCS label certifies the presence of organic materials in products containing at least 5% natural fibres, based on three key criteria:

• No GMOs used in crop cultivation
• No chemicals used in the transformation process
• Full traceability from farming to the final consumer

Its main difference from the GOTS label is that OCS does not consider working conditions or environmental impact.

learn more about the OCS label >

OEKO TEX Standard 100

Also known as “Confidence in Textiles” in France, this label guarantees that no harmful substances are present in textiles or production materials, making them safe for human use and the environment.

learn more about the OEKO-TEX label >

EVE-Vegan

One of the leading international standards for vegan product and service compliance, guaranteeing respect for vegan principles worldwide — including animal welfare, environmental protection, and human health.

learn more about the EVE-Vegan label >

PETA-Approved Vegan

An international label certifying that a product respects animal welfare and contains no animal-derived materials, nor has it been tested on animals. This label is managed by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

learn more about the PETA-Approved Vegan label >

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)

An environmental label that certifies wood products come from forests or plantations that are managed responsibly and sustainably (according to FSC principles: management that meets the social, economic, ecological, and cultural needs of current and future generations).

learn more about the FSC label >

EPV (Living Heritage Company)

A state-issued label designed to recognise French companies with exceptional artisanal or industrial expertise.

learn more about the EPV label >

AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée)

The AOC (Protected Designation of Origin) denotes products that meet the criteria of the AOP and protects the name within France. It serves as a stepping stone to the European AOP designation.

The AOP (Appellation d’Origine Protégée) applies to products for which all production stages are carried out in a single geographic area using recognised expertise, giving the product its distinct qualities.

learn more about the AOC label >

Kadocom's Additional Icons

These are unofficial icons created by Kadocom that we feel help better explain the nature of each product.

Personalised in France

The item is personalised either in our Toulouse workshop — for the majority of our range — or by one of our partners based in France. Personalisation methods include engraving, embroidery, hot stamping, and all other printing techniques (digital, sublimation, plotter, inkjet, etc.).

Made in Europe

This label is the European counterpart to “Made in France.” For Kadocom, this mainly includes products made in Spain and Italy. We’ve also included Turkey for some textile items, considering the shorter distance compared to Asian countries.

Reusable Containers

This label applies to items like insulated water bottles or lunch boxes, which help reduce daily waste and limit the use of single-use plastics. Even if manufactured outside Europe, these products are highlighted for their reusable and durable nature.

Plant-Based Product

Rather than being an official label, this icon is used to indicate plant-themed gifts in our range — such as seeds and potted plants.

Naturally eco-responsible, these gifts often include ceramic or wooden pots that can be reused for new plants or even as pencil holders, for example.

Recycled

While the Möbius loop is not an official environmental logo, it signifies the recycled nature of the product.

All items made with recycled materials — like our Tanns range made from recycled bottles — may not carry a formal certification such as GRS (Global Recycled Standard), though some textile bags do.

ESAT (Supported Employment Establishment)

This label means that the product has been at least partly made or assembled in an ESAT, an organisation that supports people with disabilities by providing professional activity in a protected environment with medical and social support.