Fluff & Tuff By Debbie Eisele

Ellen and Chris Lawson, started Fluff & Tuff in 2010 out of a desire to create plush toys that offered durability, amazing designs and ultra-plush fabrics. Fluff & Tuff conducts an annual charitable campaign around the holiday shopping season called Holiday Charity Toy, and a #igiveafluff campaign each June. Ellen took the time to share with us the details of both charitable initiatives Fluff & Tuff conducts yearly. Lawson shared details about Fluff & Tuff’s mission and products that give-back.

What is your mission?

When Chris and I began Fluff & Tuff, we had a few guiding principles in mind: durable yet attractive toys, exceptional customer service and philanthropy wherever possible.

How do your products serve the mission?

Our Holiday Charity Toy is a foundational piece of our charitable giving at Fluff & Tuff. Each year, our Holiday Charity Toy support has grown and we have been able to give back to dogs in need all over the country. Each holiday season, since 2013, we design a unique, limited-edition toy and donate 100% of our profits to a variety of animal related charities. For the 2019 holiday season, we committed our donation from The Good Dog Bone, our 2019 Holiday Charity Toy, to needy shelters/rescues to provide food for their dogs. Each Good Dog Bone sold will provide 16 meals!

We started #igiveafluff in 2015 to share the fun of playing with toys to dogs in need. It’s my personal favorite of all the events we do throughout the year and it is so simple. During the month of June, for each photo posted on social media with a Fluff & Tuff toy and tagged #igiveafluff, we donate a toy to a shelter/rescue dog. With the enthusiastic support from our retailers and their customers, #igiveafluff grows each year — to date, we have donated over 4,000 toys throughout the U.S. to needy dogs from this campaign alone.

How can retailers get involved?

Our charitable campaigns are growing exponentially every year and we have our retail partners to thank for the added awareness. Their enthusiastic support helps us easily spread the word on these great causes that help make a difference to so many dogs. We provide them with tools to help them promote our charitable campaigns such as POS pieces and social media images.

By offering our Holiday Charity Toy and helping promote our charitable efforts, our retail partners are a reason why these initiatives are so successful. They are just as passionate about giving back as we are!

What are the plans for the future?

2020 marks our 10-year anniversary! We’re planning some fun surprises in this next year to celebrate, along with #igiveafluff and our Holiday Charity Toy! 

For more information, visit www.fluffandtuff.com.

Cutlines:

Fluff and Tuff #igaf results.png

The #igaf campaign has been highly successful and to date, Fluff and Tuff has donated over 4,000 toys throughout the U.S. to needy dogs from this campaign since its inception.

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The Good Dog Bone from Fluff and Tuff is the 2019 Holiday Charity Toy.

Debbie Eisele

Debbie Eisele is the former managing editor for Gift Shop Plus, Stationery Trends and a variety of special issue publications, including: The Guide, Holiday Shop, Celebrations & Occasions and Waterfront Living.