We are not a sustainable company… yet.
We are big fans of sustainability at Loot, but we are not a sustainable company. Not yet. Sustainability is a lofty goal that we hope to one day achieve; but in the meantime, we’re proud to do our part in the industry to reduce waste.
We started our business to help with the waste and inefficiency that we were seeing in the industry. We noticed that a lot of people were purchasing items for one time use and either selling them off or throwing them away. That’s when it dawned on us there needed to be more rental options in the market than there currently were.
We are proud to be a member of the circular economy. In a nutshell, the circular economy’s goal is to eliminate waste and keep things in circulation longer while regenerating nature. In our operation, we are very strict to try to keep our furniture pieces out of the landfill as much as possible. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, over 12 tons of furniture waste ends up in landfills. Furniture waste is often overlooked because the frequency is much lower than other products, but it is still quite a problem.
How do we address this at Loot? First, we are intentional to seek items that are made from recycled materials. To be honest, the furniture industry has a long way to go to becoming more sustainable; yet, in our exploration, we’re encouraged to see that conversations regarding sustainability are being had and I believe more products will be around the corner.
Secondly, we have staff on hand to repair and nurture our pieces to keep them in tip top shape before each rental. They apply measures to keep items tuned up and rent-ready before each event. And I will tell you, these items go to lots of parties!
Lastly, we’re suckers for sourcing vintage items to add to our collection, which is what started the dream in the first place! Shopping vintage is one of the best ways to contribute to the circular economy, and sometimes the most stylish as well! Boy, the stories these pieces could tell from all the life they’ve led!
When our items no longer fit the quality that we stand for, we make them available for purchase and give them a new home. We love our warehouse sales where we get to meet new people, visit with our community, and see the excitement to repurpose something that we’re offloading. We often have a give-away pile of beautiful pieces that might be missing a leg or a cushion. We always offer these for free in exchange for the promise that the item will be put to use and not in the trash. It always warms us to see people’s joy when claiming these items. Sometimes they will describe where they will use them in their space or share their plans to fix them for a new use.
The events industry has a long way to go to becoming more sustainable, but we are proud to be part of the conversation and movement toward a more environmentally friendly event world. We too hope that one day we’ll be able to officially call ourselves a sustainable company. Until then, please always be thinking of ways to become more sustainable in your daily practice and pass along ideas you might have for our events industry to incorporate new ways to reduce the waste. Tending to our environment, just like raising our children, takes a village! Check out some of our favorite sustainable rentals below.