Circularity Press Release

THE CALIFORNIA BED, BATH, AND APPAREL RETAILER IS NOW PRODUCING A RECYCLED BLANKET MADE EXCLUSIVELY OF COYUCHI ORGANIC MATERIAL

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - April 1, 2020 - Coyuchi, the pioneer of sustainable home textiles, announced today the company has entered the circular economy and begun producing recycled items made entirely of its own, organic material. The company is on track to become the first in the home industry to make a new product using the original, natural and certified organic fibers that it is known for, and plans to release a blanket made from a blend of new and recycled Coyuchi materials later this year. 

Achieving circularity is a major milestone for the 29-year-old California small business in its mission to close the loop on textile creation and keep its products out of landfills. Coyuchi launched a takeback program three years ago in partnership with The Renewal Workshop. As Coyuchi’s take-back partner, The Renewal Workshop renews, recycles, or upcycles used products returned to it through Coyuchi’s proprietary customer programs, Coyuchi for Life and Coyuchi 2nd Home™. When the renewal process is complete, Coyuchi sends what can be resold to the 2nd Home Store at the company’s only retail location in Point Reyes Station, and the remaining material contributes to the production of our recycled product.

“Our goal is to be the leader in circular home textiles in the same manner we’ve done in organic textiles,” says Eileen Mockus, CEO of Coyuchi. “We are uniquely positioned to take this step because of our existing transparent supply chain of only the safest inputs into the product, so we can also pave the way for other brands to take steps toward sustainability. Coyuchi could not be more thrilled to pilot a recycled product using our own fiber as the final proof of concept that we can close the loop."

ORGANIC CIRCULARITY BEGINS WITH ORGANIC

Since its founding in 1991, Coyuchi has been committed to delivering the highest possible standard of luxury textiles while maintaining the integrity of organic cotton’s natural fibers. This commitment is emulated through the certification of Coyuchi products with the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), the top certification for ecologically and socially responsible practices throughout every step in the supply chain of textiles. 

Due to GOTS adherence to a strict set of rules ensuring the welfare of the materials, the environment, and the working conditions of every human involved along the way, Coyuchi can be certain its recycled products are responsibly processed just like its new ones. Both our new and recycled lines are free of a long list of chemicals that may be harmful to you, the planet, or the person producing it.

An organic decision for your home helps to preserve our precious soil and waterways against the harmful effects of pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers and other conventional (non-organic) agricultural runoff that contributes to global warming, climate change, soil degradation, and pollution. When consumers choose organic v. conventional cotton, they make a choice to support (via Textile Exchange): 

• 46% reduced global warming potential
• 70% less acidification potential
• 26% reduced eutrophication potential (soil erosion)
• 91% reduced blue water consumption
• 62% reduced primary energy demand

PIONEERING TEXTILE TAKE-BACK PROGRAMS

In 2017, Coyuchi made its first move toward circularity by becoming the first home brand to partner with The Renewal Workshop. Since then, Coyuchi has launched two programs designed to incentivize customers to return its used products: Coyuchi For Life and Coyuchi 2nd Home™.  

Coyuchi became the first brand to offer a subscription bedding service in 2017 with the launch of Coyuchi For Life. Subscribers enjoy new organic cotton towels, sheets and duvets at a low monthly rate every 6, 12, or 24 months. When the plan is up, customers can renew, exchange, buy out, or return. Coyuchi then takes care to renew, upcycle or recycle the returned items. This program now has several thousand subscribers and continues to grow year-over-year. 

In 2019, the company responded to customer demand for a method of recycling Coyuchi brand sheets without a subscription with the introduction of Coyuchi 2nd Home™. In this program, Coyuchi offers customers 15% off their next purchase in exchange for sending the company used Coyuchi sheets using prepaid shipping. The products go through a rigorous inspection process via The Renewal Workshop, then what can be resold is available for purchase at the 2nd Home Store inside our first and only brick-and-mortar location in Point Reyes. The product that cannot be resold contributes to the progress of our closed loop business and gets used to create recycled products. 

“Coyuchi leads the industry in circular innovation and business models,” says Nicole Bassett, Co-Founder of The Renewal Workshop. “Our partnership extends the incredible sustainability work that the brand does with Fair Trade and organic cotton to take full responsibility for everything the brand makes throughout the product’s lifecycle.” 

She continued, “I am constantly inspired by the innovation of the company to push the industry to look at ownership models for homegoods through the Coyuchi 2nd Home and Coyuchi For Life programs. Coyuchi shows the world that products can be circular and the future of business can be zero waste.” 

THE IMPACT OF CIRCULARITY

Since beginning its partnership with The Renewal Workshop only three years ago, Coyuchi’s impact-to-date has resulted the equivalent of:

• The energy of 2,227 light bulbs per year
• The carbon of 1,924 gallons of gas
• The water of 25 Olympic swimming pools
• 33,953 lbs of toxic chemicals saved 
• 19,031 lbs of textile waste diverted from landfill

Coyuchi has taken back 19,0031 lbs (approximately 2,500 units) of fabric:

• 83% of the product we have received from our customers can be mended, cleaned and resold in our store.
• The remaining 17% can be recycled and we plan to use 60% of this fabric to make our very first recycled product later this year.
• Around 5,000lbs of product has been renewed and resold year-to-date from this program

To learn more about Coyuchi’s circular initiatives, please visit our website: https://www.coyuchi.com/pages/circular-initiatives