Organic linen purveyor Coyuchi is taking home textile rentals one step ahead with new, closed-loop program.
More and more brands — from
IKEA
to H&M and West Elm — are adopting a rental model in order to reduce
waste and support the ever-growing sustainability movement, and consumers are
taking note. But what does it mean to be ‘sustainable’ these days? It seems the
word has been so overused, it has started to lose its gleam and meaning.
Each year, the US generates 21 billion pounds of post-consumer textile waste —
that’s billion with a “B.”
To truly make a difference in how much waste we create, we need to close the
loop, completely. Rental programs — such as clothing-rental service Rent the
Runway’s recent
partnership
with West Elm, to offer home textile rentals — offer a better solution than
buying, but is it really the best we can do?
Product rentals have the potential to help if the product is used to its fullest
life cycle; however, the constant turnover tends to accelerate wear and tear,
granting these items an express ticket to the landfill. Rentals may see more use
from more people, but it doesn’t actually extend the life of the products being
passed around; ideally, each product would be renewed or recycled at the end
of its rental (and useful) life. To be circular, there needs to be a closed-loop
process from design to end-of-life and back into design again — a continuous
circle, versus the make-use-dispose cycle that happens all too frequently with
textiles today. And that’s not even factoring in the environmental cost of
nonstop shipping back and forth.
Designing for Circularity-Friendly Behaviors
Join us as leaders from BBMG and REI examine how leading brands are innovating and scaling circular models to attract new fans and earn customer loyalty, all while eliminating waste — Thurs, May 9, at Brand-Led Culture Change.
Coyuchi’s first-of-its-kind, closed-loop textile program, Coyuchi for
Life, is a circular solution to the growing
problem of landfill waste that many rental programs will, unfortunately,
eventually add to. The organic linen subscription program sends fresh sets of
organic sheets and/or towels to arrive at subscribers’ homes in increments of 6,
12 or 24 months, with rates starting as low as $5/month. As soon as the new
sets arrive, subscribers can simply send their previously loved linens back to
us in the packaging provided. Next, our partners at The Renewal
Workshop step in to renew, upcycle or recycle these returned linens: They may
be laundered, using an earth-friendly, waterless process; mended and sold as
“refreshed”; or, if they have tears or other issues that can’t be fixed, offered
to artisans and independent designers who upcycle textiles into new products
such as bags, clothing and accessories. Any Coyuchi linens that aren’t upcycled
are recycled. The process of textile recycling is still evolving, but the goal
is to someday be able to re-spin 100 percent recycled cotton, completely closing
the loop.
The circularity of Coyuchi for Life keeps linens out of landfills; but it also
makes more sustainable, organic sheets and towels more accessible to a wider
demographic. In addition to our low monthly rates, our “refreshed” linens are
specially packaged and labelled, then sold at a discount in our brick-and-mortar
Point Reyes Station store.
Shopping with end-of-use in mind helps to cut down on textile waste, and Coyuchi
for Life makes this goal easy and accessible for all of our subscribers.
However, even non-subscribers can do their part, because Coyuchi recently
launched another take-back program, 2nd
Home, where customers are now invited to
send their Coyuchi linens back when they’ve reached the end of their life cycles
— no subscription necessary. As a thank you, 2nd Home participants receive a
discount toward a future Coyuchi purchase. The returned linens then receive the
same treatment as Coyuchi for Life textiles — the Renewal Workshop refreshes,
upcycles or recycles each item, keeping every textile in the loop and out the
landfill.
Being aware of our footprint starts with creating products that are kinder to
the earth and its inhabitants. And it ends with reusing or properly recycling of
said products. It’s a huge step that more and more brands are looking into
rental programs, and even better that customers are all for it. But in order for
these renewable programs to be optimum rather than just satisfactory, they must
close the loop completely.
Published Jul 26, 2019 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST