Work and Money

How will the Post Office cope with this?

The card displayed in Spitalfields measures four metres by three metres and is as tall as a London bus.   It's been created by homeless artists who use the Crisis Skylight centre in nearby Commercial Street and its aim is to make businesses think twice before splashing out on cards this year.

According to homeless charity Crisis, one tree is needed to make about 3,000 cards and 22,000 tonnes of cards will be dumped this year.  They also say that the average company will send 1379 greetings cards and spend £1,080.

But Crisis doesn't want firms to stop sending cards altogether.  Further research has told them that almost 70% of firms believe sending Christmas greetings is an important branding exercise.  Their answer is to encourage companies to donate the cash they would have spent on cards to Crisis, and in exchange participating businesses will receive a short film of the artists creating their huge festive masterpiece which companies can then email to their clients as an eco-friendly e-card. 

At work on the giant card

Crisis back up their argument by saying their corporate survey reveals that three out of four people believe it is important that businesses are not seen spending significant amounts of time and money on elaborate Christmas cards.  Three quarters of companies apparently say that sending e-cards is a better investment than traditional cards since they save time and money.

Leslie Morphy, chief executive of Crisis said “The Christmas Card Challenge is our most crucial corporate fundraiser helping us raise £1 million. By simply donating the money that would normally be spent on traditional company Christmas cards, businesses can support homeless people while continuing to wish their clients a Merry Christmas."

Allen and Overy, Barclays, Bradford and Bingley and Fidelity International are some of the firms which have leant their support to the Crisis Christmas Card Challenge.