Christmas each year sees the world’s rubbish output spike massively with millions of tonnes of cards destined for landfill. One billion Christmas cards (17 for every man, woman and child) in the UK alone. 1.9 billion cards in the US. (Hallmark research).As a leading New Zealand direct agency, Rapp Collins didn’t like the antiquated label "junk mail", nor did it want to create junk, especially when it came to Christmas cards.

The agency wanted to demonstrate to clients, business partners and friends that it could still send a traditional Christmas greeting in a sustainable way.

Insights showed that people did not re-use cards because they feel embarrassed or “it seems cheap. So the agency created a world-first: a traceable card that was proudly intended for re-use, not just at Christmas, but on any occasion.

Perpetual Card looked like a regular greeting card, but featured a detachable cover design and pocketful of Velcro-backed graphics to change out for any occasion. Inside, an erasable 'whiteboard' space could be wiped clean for new messages. And while it was designed to send on, you could still keep track of it, following its global adventures via www.perpetualcard.com.

Perpetual Cards have now crossed the desks of not just clients and business partners, but environmentalists like Al Gore, Prince Charles, singer Jack Johnson and NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark. People immediately responded (the Prime Minister’s office wrote to say how much Helen welcomed her “beautiful” and “unique” card) and began registering online to track their cards.

The agency Christmas card is still continuing to circulate the globe, carrying greetings and wishes between loved ones around the world.