Greeting cards received some really positive PR when Sharon Little, ceo of the GCA appeared at peak time on Simon Mayo’s Drivetime show on Radio 2 yesterday afternoon (Wednesday 28 February). Sharon was invited as the ‘greeting card expert’ after a discussion arose on...
This May a new law from the European Union will come into effect in the UK. The General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, will apply to all companies which process EU citizens’ personal data (for example greeting card purchasers) and seeks to tighten up the rules...
After the success of the Spring Fair Debut, the scheme is coming to Autumn Fair 2018. “The feedback from Debut exhibitors at Spring Fair last week has again been fantastic, and with this area going from strength to strength I’m now really excited to be able to offer...
A short video to give you a flavour of the GCA Speed Dating events.
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) is urging card publishers to stop producing cards featuring images of brachycephalic (flat-faced) breeds, such as pugs, French bulldogs and Persian cats on their products as part of its #BreedtoBreathe campaign. The BVA (the...
The news of the recent jailing of a man in a modern slavery case involving the making of greeting cards for an un-named company (see PG Buzz), had the potential to seriously damage our industry’s reputation. As this is the first time that greeting cards have been...
The winner of the GCA's Tagline Challenge is 'Send a card, deliver a smile’. This is the phrase that received the most votes for an industry tagline which retailers, publishers, agents and trade suppliers felt best represents the spirit of greeting card sending. ...
The GCA and greeting card industry as a whole received a positive thumbs up in the latest WWF Timber Scorecard Report – a biennial report that scores businesses on the visibility of their timber (paper in the case of cards) sourcing policies and the steps they’ve...
Towards an ever more sustainable future The GCA has been actively working on environmental issues since 2008. In 2008 we held our first Green GCA AGM, launched our original Green Resources and our first model Green Card Policy to encourage and support our members in...
Our 2017 Dragons Speed Dating event has been hailed a success!
Just six hours after this event was announced by GCA CEO Sharon Little this morning, Speed-dating with Dragons was sold out! In this exciting new event, publishers will have one to one sessions to pitch their cards to retail buyers from a multiple, a small chain and...
The latest Christmas card research from Royal Mail shows that Christmas cards remain more popular than e-cards and texts. The research showed that an overwhelming 72 per cent of people who celebrate Christmas would prefer to receive cards this Christmas. Only six per...
For Thinking of You Week, the GCA has collaborated with Teacher’s Post, Royal Mail’s magazine for schools and teachers.
Use this unbranded lesson plan to teach a year 4 class about the importance of letter writing.
The latest GCA Market Report 2016 confirms that the UK greeting card sector has grown in value to £1.7 billion in the UK. The report, which covers sales January - December 2015, is the only research based on actual retail sales figures, with data confidentially...
The GCA's new dedicated Thinking of You Week website is now live! Hooray!!! Spread the word!!! Here's the new address: www.thinkingofyouweek.cards This new stand alone website explains the aim of Thinking of You Week - to create a wave of love, caring and...
The GCA’s Sharon Little took part in the launch of Songs of Praise’s UK-wide competition, which calls on all budding artists to dig out their paintbrushes, to help raise money for BBC Children in Need. The competition will give amateur artists the opportunity to have...
No one should let a big birthday go by without being lavished with a fabulous array of birthday cards. And if you're marking a really major 90th birthday milestone and happen to be the Queen, well that sets the bar a little higher! Obviously as the card industry we...
Spreading Happiness By Sending Cards Now in its third year, Thinking of You Week (26 Sept – 2 Oct) inspires people to create a wave of love, caring and happiness by sending a card to a different person each day during this special week. Thinking of You Week has grown...
GCA Guidance on responsibly sourcing paper and board, and on writing a Paper Sourcing Policy.
As reported in our official magazine Progressive Greetings' eBuzz, the UK’s Culture Minister Ed Vaizey has pledged to support the UK greeting card industry. “What can I do to help?” he said in a meeting today (Wednesday December 2), held in Westminster. Ideas included...
Prize Winners from the 2015 Thinking Of You Week competition.
The GCA is meeting with Ed Vaizey Minister of State for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, on December 2nd. We have flagged up to him the importance of the UK greeting card industry as a world leading creative trade and the fact that such mass...
2015 Festive Friday toolkit and photos