The Sourcer

The Sourcer is a branded merchandise sourcing agency based in Bradley Stoke, north Bristol. It handles design, sourcing and logistics, covering branded products, point of sale material and bespoke items. Its website states that it has over 25 years of experience, with work spanning employee gifts, campaign kits, event merchandise and products for teams in different countries.

The agency describes a service running from initial concept to final delivery, with creative support extending to design, marketing and print management. Examples of briefs it invites include giant branded inflatable elephants and new starter kits personalised with staff names.

Products and applications

Its corporate gifts and promotional merchandise offer includes apparel, bottles and stationery. The website identifies employee gifting, campaign activations, loyalty rewards and conference giveaways as applications. Product browsing is organised into bags and travel, drinkware, clothing, notebooks, technology, writing, and point of sale and print.

• Bags include the Crescent AWARE™ RPET half moon sling bag, made from recycled polyester with an adjustable shoulder strap and an AWARE™ tracer.
• Drinkware listings include Ocean Bottle Original, a RINGO Pro MagSafe® water bottle and a Tana recycled plastic tumbler with handle.
• Other listed products include a Marshall Willen II speaker, a VINGA recycled PET blanket and reversible bucket hats.

Personalisation and delivery planning

For staff welcome packs, The Sourcer explicitly offers individual staff names. It also states that it has experience in international logistics for geographically dispersed teams. Its wider service combines product sourcing with branding and delivery, rather than stopping at product selection.

The agency says it regularly handles urgent orders, assessing options against the final deadline, quantity and branding required. Alternatives may involve a different product, branding method or express production route. Its ordering article describes a typical sequence covering the brief, product selection, stock checks, artwork, approval, production, quality checking and delivery. It identifies bespoke packaging, personalisation, multiple branding positions and physical samples as factors affecting planning.

Environmental information

For buyers considering environmental merchandise options, its Carbon Conscious Collection has a defined assessment and offsetting process. The Sourcer says every product in the collection undergoes cradle to grave life cycle analysis, covering raw materials, production, transport and disposal. It states that emissions are offset using Gold Standard verified carbon credits, with the offset cost shown within the quote.

Its guidance on recycled products also considers recipient suitability, durability, packaging and end of life options. The agency says it helps clients assess product use, quality and available environmental information, rather than selecting on recycled content alone.

Source: thesourcer.com, thesourcer.com/what-we-do/branded-merchandise, thesourcer.com/how-far-ahead-should-brands-plan-merch