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OUR PHYSICAL STORE HAS CLOSED. Read more on our FAQ page. OUR PHYSICAL STORE HAS CLOSED. Read more on our FAQ page.

PLANTS CAN RECONNECT US

To ourselves, to each other, and to the wider natural world we're a part of.

 

We know we're just a plant shop, but we take the opportunity we have to help foster connection seriously. The connection that we have with the rest of the natural world also drives us to work to be better stewards of it- both personally and in our business practices. We're by no means perfect and we're always looking for ways to improve, but here are many of the ways we put our values into practice:

PLANT SOURCING: Rather than ordering plants from around the country and having them delivered to us, we source our plants from licensed local brokers & growers. This allows us to select healthy plants in quantities we know we can sell before they start to decline, which not only sets our customers up for success, but also helps us keep waste to a minimum. In working with only licensed plant brokers & growers, we also ensure our plants aren't illegally poached- a practice that puts biodiversity around the world at risk.

PLANT CARE: As another effort to set you up for success, and reduce waste, we follow a regimented plant care routine that ensures the numerous plants in the shops are properly watered, checked for pests & disease, and rotated for light as needed. In the rare instances we find pests or disease, we either isolate & treat them until they can return to the shop, or when we don't have space in our isolation area, we give them away to folks up for treating them. When we water plants in the shop, since we water so many every day, we opt to bottom-water- which helps us conserve water.

EDUCATION: By providing thorough care information and education to our customers, you're not only empowered to care for your plants, but this reduces waste through fewer dead plants. We encourage everyone to focus on the plants best suited for their space and lifestyle in hopes of again reducing waste through dead plants or excess plants.

PRODUCT SOURCING: Although sourcing all product locally is most sustainable, we also value offering products that are accessible to everyone which means we have to strike a balance between handmade/locally sourced items and affordable items. Our approach with any mass-produced items is to ensure the companies we work with, and the factories they work with, produce their goods as sustainably and ethically as possible, treat their people well, and pay fair wages. We also now avoid goods from any supplier who doesn't have a North American distribution center- in order to avoid the increased emissions that come along with shipping smaller packages internationally. We also arrange our shipments be sent to us in the lowest packing material intensive way possible- often having to wait for enough product to be in stock to have it sent freight rather than FedEx, etc since those smaller shipments usually mean more packing materials and emissions.

PACKAGING & PACKING MATERIALS: All orders are packed using either repurposed materials we save from shipments we receive, or biodegradable materials. Our packing peanuts are made from cornstarch and can be reused, or simply dissolved in water. All paper contains recycled content and can be reused, recycled, or even composted (the in case of brown paper). Our paper tape is fiberglass-free, with non-toxic glue, and our sturdier packing tape is made from plant-based cellophane. In times when we have an excess of saved packing materials, we pass it on to other small businesses or customers who can use it. In-store, we use 100% recycled content paper bags, and repurposed boxes as carryout trays.

GIVING: We donate 100% of the proceeds from our Seconds Sale items to our non-profit partner, Climate Resolve. We're honored to support Climate Resolve in their work helping communities around Los Angeles build climate resilience. As we're able, we also support other environmental & climate change focused organizations like Earth Justice, Nature For All, and Casa Pueblo.  

PEAT & PERLITE FREE POTTING MIXES: Though every potting medium comes with downsides, two common components- peat moss and perlite have serious enough environmental costs that we decided to eliminate it from the potting mixes we sell and use on our potting bench. Peat moss bogs are the largest terrestrial carbon sink, storing more carbon than all other vegetation in the world combined. Peat bogs are also a kind of wetland, which are crucial to efforts to minimize the effect of climate change, ensure clean drinking water, and protect the species that call peat bogs home. Perlite mining & production uses more energy and creates more emissions than pumice mining since perlite is found deeper down than pumice and requires more processing. In addition to eliminating peat & perlite from our potting mixes, we took the opportunity to address a few other environmental costs of many potting mixes as well:

LOCAL. All of the components of our potting mixes (including our coco coir) come from California or Northern Mexico sources. Product travels fewer miles, cutting down on emissions and packaging. We also drive our fuel efficient PHEV to go pick up the materials, further cutting down on emissions.
LOW WASTE. With the exception of the worm castings, all of the components are never packaged, so there is minimal plastic waste.
PLASTIC-FREE PACKAGING. Our bags are made of recycled content paper, with plant based film liners. They are commercially compostable (just remove the label and tin tie first), and even in a landfill will break down much more quickly than a plastic bag.

We know our industry has a long way to go to reduce the impact we have on the planet, but we're commited to doing as much as we can and working to encourage others in the horticulture world to do the same.