Woolworths scooped two international accolades at the Shop! Global Awards 2020 in June. The retailer's 'Christmas Gifting Window of 2019' was recognised in both the Sustainability and Window Display categories in the Design Awards segment of the competition, which recognises excellence in retail design, including originality in the use of space and materials and quality of concept execution.

The award-winning display was inspired by indigenous South African trees and used origami techniques to fold paper leaves out of recycled and recyclable paper. These leaves were used to create unique handcrafted Christmas trees for 10 window displays in stores across the country.

Part of the Christmas trees were live tree seeds, housed in specially designed seed pods. These leaves and seedpods were made in close collaboration with a local Non-Government Organisation (NGO). The trees were lit-up from inside to give them an attractive glow. The inclusion of movement, ensured that the trees moved up and down slowly, giving an impression of each tree “growing” in front of the customers’ eyes.

“It is such an honour to receive these awards; this is a significant acknowledgment for the hard work of our teams. In line with our Good Business Journey, we wanted to create a beautiful backdrop to display our Christmas gifting offering, while reinforcing our brand’s vision for a #zerohunger future, which involves a long-term commitment to help alleviate hunger in South Africa," said Woolworths. The 20,000 live tree seeds were donated to educational projects where the seeds were germinated and planted to aid the sustainable food production in under-resourced communities.

Over 450 entries were judged by international industry leaders in this year's Shop! Global Awards. Join us in congratulating Woolworths’ team to this great prize.