Blog

What Retailers can Learn from Goodwill Industries about Green Retailing

Green retailing is the focus of this week’s National Retail Federation’s annual convention and expo in New York. An article in Silicon Valley’s Mercury News describes the new trend towards greener retailing to lure back reluctant shoppers.

Retailers and experts from around the world are expected to discuss how merchants can alter their impact on the environment, practice sustainability, the future of green stores and “greentailing” in a challenging economy.

Goodwill Industries, since its beginning over 100 years ago, has had a singular focus on “greentailing,” with its business model of reuse. Your donated items to Goodwill stay out of landfills and get re-purposed or recycled to help put people back to work.

Goodwill of Central Arizona, for instance, saves more than 135 million pounds of items from going to landfills every year. The donated items that can’t be sold in its local stores go through its salvage system.

1. Goodwill resells your donated items to help put people back to work
2. What cannot be sold through Goodwill stores are sold in bulk for use around the world
3. Clothing and hard goods that are not suitable for resale are recycled for their materials
   
4. Goodwill International receives more than 23 million pounds of  computers and electronic products annually and re-purposes or recycles it through their E-Waste initiative
5. Goodwill is a partner in E-bay’s Rethink Initiative

What most people don’t know is that 100 percent of the the proceeds received through your donated items to Goodwill are used in your local community to help train and place people in the workforce. And most of the people Goodwill trains for employment are working in industries outside of Goodwill stores.

Ultimately, Goodwill recycles lives at every level.  Now that’s what I call the quintessential “Greentailing!”