At Betancourt Group, we love a goodie bag. For Climate Week NYC, we challenged ourselves: could we create a 100% plastic-free, nearly biodegradable goodie bag that felt intentional, exciting, and sustainable? The answer, we’re proud to say, is yes.
I’ve attended events my entire career, and one of my favorite moments was constantly receiving the goodie bag. From the simplest versions—just a notebook and a pen, to the most extravagant (yes, I once attended a brand event where every guest received designer sneakers, and another where the gift was a watch worth over $1,000), the contents varied, but the effect was the same. Goodie bags enhance the experience. They show that hosts care about their guests and want to gift them something memorable to take home. It was never about the monetary value; it was about hospitality, generosity, and that spark of joy you feel when you unpack it later.
Traditionally, though, goodie bags have been heavy on plastic. That makes sense: plastic promotional products are affordable, easy to order in bulk, and ubiquitous in the events world. No shade there. But for Climate Week this year, we asked ourselves: what if we did something different? What if we created a promotional bag that was completely plastic-free, from the bag itself to every item inside?
So, with just two weeks before the festival, we set out on an experiment. The goal wasn’t perfection—it was to see if it could be done at all. We researched sustainable promotional items, sourced products with intention, and decided to produce a limited run of 24 bags. Along the way, we also found items that we can repurpose for future activations. If the feedback is positive, this may become a signature of how Betancourt Group shows up at events: sustainable, thoughtful, and a little bit joyful.
Importantly, we didn’t just want to fill the bag with random things. Each item was chosen with use, purpose, and delight in mind: a notebook and pen, a portable straw, a candle, a potting plant, and even a small “intention stone” to represent the film The Paper Bar. Together, they align with the climate change playlist we curated for the festival. Each piece is functional, but also symbolic—sparking joy, reflection, or creativity.
A Brief History of the Goodie Bag
The tradition of giving guests take-home tokens dates back centuries. In medieval Europe, aristocrats offered guests love tokens or keepsakes at gatherings; by the Victorian era, it was common to gift porcelain trinkets or ribboned boxes as mementos of social events. In the modern era, the “goodie bag” became a staple at weddings, conferences, and eventually Hollywood award shows. The Oscars’ famed “Everybody Wins” gift bags, sometimes valued at over $200,000, became cultural icons, stuffed with luxury trips, jewelry, and high-end products.
Whether modest or extravagant, the throughline has always been the same: goodie bags are a gesture of appreciation, a way to make an experience linger a little longer.
Looking Ahead
Our Climate Week bag is far from the Oscars, but it’s born of the same spirit: hospitality, care, and connection. We wanted to promote our business, yes, but just as importantly, we wanted to prove to ourselves that we could create something sustainable, intentional, and fun.
We hope these bags spark joy for those who receive them. More importantly, we hope they inspire other organizations and companies to rethink what a goodie bag can be. With creativity and care, it’s possible to delight guests while also aligning with our values.
At the end of the day, it’s not about the bag, it’s about the feeling it leaves behind. And if our experiment spreads even a little joy while highlighting the work we do, then it’s already a success.
– Angela