Last January, Pottery Barn announced its intent to plant three million trees by the end of 2023. Now a year later, the company said it has reached nearly half that goal, planting more than 1.4 million trees across the United States and around the globe in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation.
According to Pottery Barn president Marta Benson, the initiative is just one part of the company’s larger goals of increasing sustainability and circularity.
“One hundred percent of our outdoor wood collections are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and, by the end of this year, 50 percent of the wood used by Pottery Barn, across the board, will be responsibly sourced,” she said. “Together with our goal to plant 3 million trees by 2023, we’re focused on this mission to better our brand, our communities, and the planet.”
According to Pottery Barn, so far the trees planted have contributed to 1.1 million tons of C02 gas absorbed, 66,000 tons of pollutants removed from the air, and 1.5 billion gallons of water filtered.
The company has focused its efforts on planting in areas with vulnerable forests, such as the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and the Mississippi River valley. Additional locations announced for this year include the Longleaf Pine Private Lands in Alabama and Texas, as well as the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Virginia. The trees also are pledged as part of the World Economic Forum’s 1t.org initiative to conserve, restore and grow 1 trillion trees by 2030.
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The tree planting program coincides with several other efforts to increase sustainability at the Williams Sonoma-owned company. According to Benson, Pottery Barn will have achieved 100 percent sustainably sourced cotton by the end of 2022, as well as 50 percent sustainably sourced wood across all product categories. Along with that, the company anticipates 75 percent landfill diversion across the company, with an ongoing goal to make continuous improvement in reducing packaging and leveraging recyclable materials.
Benson said the company also plans to grow its circularity efforts through the Pottery Barn Renewed pilot program. Partnering with The Renewal Workshop—a company that helps brands recycle and reuse textiles—Pottery Barn offers a range of restored bedding, bath, curtains, table linens and more.
“Our industry-leading sustainability commitments and our responsibilities to our communities and future generations are just as important to us as bringing together good products, people, and values,” she said.