In November 2021, Geartrade, the family-owned marketplace of ‘UnNew’ gear for outdoor enthusiasts, announced the completion to become Climate Neutral Certified.
“We went through the Climate Neutral Certification process more for the learning than for getting a certificate to hang on the wall. We’re fully aware that our goal of growing a responsible business is far from over, and we’re going to keep adding positive building blocks whenever we can,” said Aaron Provine, president, Geartrade.
Geartrade launched its consignment program in the summer of 2021 with the goal of making it easier for outdoor gear sellers to become a part of the “UnNew economy”. Through the program, Geartrade offers to send free boxes and pre-paid shipping labels to sellers to fill the boxes and send them to Geartrade. Once received by the company, the used gear is evaluated, appraised, photographed, posted for sale, and monitored through a seller dashboard.
“The benefits of recommerce are more about putting the brakes on consumerism than leading the charge on environmentalism. But, still, it would be totally inconsistent for Geartrade to be evangelizing and celebrating the benefits of the UnNew marketplace without doing everything we can to minimize our impact,” added Provine.
The company’s initial steps toward re-use and sustainability include recycled and compostable mailer bags, no plastic purchases for company use, reuse of plastic that is shipped to facilities, separating and recycling materials whenever possible, no paper-towel use in company facilities, and a commitment to planting trees though its One Tree Planted non-profit.
