Our Commitment to the Environment

Gardener’s Supply is in business to spread the joys and rewards of gardening, because we believe that gardening can bring about positive changes in people’s lives, in communities and in the environment.

For more than 25 years, our company has been a trusted resource for earth-friendly products that help people garden in harmony with nature. In addition to the products and information that we provide to our customers, how we operate our business can also play an important role in leading the way to a more sustainable future.

Climate change is a staggering environmental challenge. Gardener’s Supply, like many businesses around the world, is grappling with how to measure our environmental footprint and how to establish realistic goals that will help us minimize that footprint as much as possible, as soon as possible.

The standards for measuring environmental impact are evolving rapidly. Carbon emissions, also referred to as greenhouse gas emissions, are gaining international acceptance as an effective currency for calculating and tracking these impacts.

The "greenhouse gas protocol" is becoming a widely accepted accounting tool for quantifying carbon emissions and establishing standards. The program focuses on three categories of emissions. Scope 1 emissions are those directly within our ownership or control. Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from our consumption of purchased electricity or heat. Scope 3 emissions include all other indirect emissions such as transportation, outsourced activities, waste disposal, employee commuting, etc.  (Scope 3 also accounts for positive affects of business activity, like helping our customers grow food at home thus reducing trips to the store for food from far off lands.)

Our company’s long-term goal is to neutralize the carbon impact of our business. Working with Spring Hill Solutions, we have completed audits for both Scope 1, Scope 2 and selected Scope 3 emissions. Below are some of the areas we are addressing, and the actions we are taking.

Working with Kilawat Technologies and Efficiency Vermont, we have implemented a combination of energy efficiency retrofits and behavioral changes that have significantly reduced the amount of energy that we use in our offices and warehouses.

As an employee-owned business, our staff has been instrumental in making these changes and maintaining our focus on continued energy and waste reduction. A cross-functional team, representing all areas of the business, meets regularly to gather and implement ideas ranging from carpooling and lunchroom composting, to office paper reduction and the use of earth-friendly cleaning products. 

Gardener’s Supply has been promoting earth-friendly gardening and since 1985, and we are the country’s leading source for products that help people recycle waste into compost, build better soil, control pests organically, conserve water, protect biodiversity and grow their own food.

We always consider environmental factors when sourcing our products and favor the use of recycled or renewable materials.

We print our catalogs with Quad Graphics, an industry-leader in environmentally responsible initiatives and policies. Working closely with them, we strive to print and mail our catalogs as efficiently as possible. We are also committed to using paper that contains a minimum of 10% post consumer recycled fibers. Please pass along or recycle our catalogs.

We want our catalogs to be welcome in your home. If you are receiving duplicate catalogs, too many catalogs, or catalogs to more than one person in your home, we want to know about it. Please call us at 1-800-843-1819 if you’d like us to make a change in how we contact you, or if you wish to be removed from our mailing list. We use this information to “clean” our mailing list each time we send out a new catalog.

Earth Carbon Offsets encourage preservation of tropical forests.

Deforestation of tropical forests is responsible for about 25% of the planet’s carbon emissions, so reducing deforestation can have a significant effect on slowing climate change. Protecting tropical forests also preserves fragile ecosystems and safeguards biodiversity. Carbon offset credits are a way to create financial incentives for tropical countries to protect and preserve their forests.

Gardener’s Supply, and in particular our company’s founder Will Raap, are actively involved in carbon offset initiatives that are working to protect the Earth’s tropical rainforests. To offset the carbon emissions created by the printing and distribution of our 2008 Holiday-season catalogs, we have purchased World Bank-approved carbon credits which will help protect tropical forests in Honduras.

If you are interested in carbon credits to offset your own carbon footprint, use our innovative Carbon Calculator to estimate your personal carbon footprint and make a purchase. If you already know how many credits you want, you can make a purchase of Earth Carbon Offsets right now.