2nd Home Renewed Press Release

The First Fully Circular Home Brand Scales Successful Brick-and-Mortar Pilot to Ecommerce

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - October 29, 2020 - Coyuchi, the leader in sustainable home textiles since 1991, announced today the ecommerce expansion of 2nd Home Renewed, the brand’s line of products that are recollected, cleaned and mended, then resold. 2nd Home Renewed has been available exclusively through a pilot in Coyuchi’s Point Reyes Station store since 2017, and the brand aims to broaden access to its renewed products through the launch of this new online store. 

2nd Home is an integral piece of Coyuchi’s closed loop business model, which the company announced it completed earlier this month through the release of its Full Circle Recycled Cotton Blanket & Throw. The expansion of this renewal program to ecommerce demonstrates Coyuchi’s commitment to growing the renewed portion of its business and continued effort to divert product from landfills, to which textiles contribute 17 million tons each year. 

“Coyuchi is proud to be the first home brand to achieve circularity, and the expansion of 2nd Home to ecommerce represents the next step for us in home textiles innovation,” says Eileen Mockus, CEO & President. “By widening the audience for our renewed products, Coyuchi aims to expand the reach of our circular initiatives and ultimately reduce our environmental impact.” 

THE ROLE OF 2ND HOME IN CIRCULARITY

Coyuchi’s journey toward full circularity began in 2017 when customers expressed a desire for a way to recycle the Coyuchi brand items that no longer had a place in their home. The company responded with the creation of its proprietary take back program Coyuchi 2nd Home Take Back, which offers customers 15% off their next purchase in exchange for sending back used Coyuchi products using prepaid shipping. The used products go through a thorough inspection and CO2 cleaning process via The Renewal Workshop, then what can be mended is released through the brand’s 2nd Home Renewed label. The remaining fabric that doesn’t pass the inspection process contributes to the supply of Coyuchi-brand recycled yarn fibers, spun by Recover, for the Full Circle Recycled Blanket and Throw, as well as future recycled products.  

Until now, 2nd Home Renewed has been available exclusively through Coyuchi’s brick-and-mortar retail store in Point Reyes Station, California. As a frequented destination for Coyuchi loyalists and visitors looking to take home a piece of the California coast, the store has served as the perfect pilot for 2nd Home for the last three years. In that time, 2nd Home has grown to represent 15% of units sold out of Point Reyes Station and developed a following among customers on the hunt for pieces from Coyuchi’s previous collections. 

Through this ecommerce expansion, Coyuchi aims to replicate the thrill Point Reyes Station visitors have experienced while shopping the rare finds the 2nd Home label offers. The new online store will post new inventory on a daily basis, making it easier than ever to shop the unique, storied pieces that shoppers crave today.

THE RENEWAL PROCESS

Coyuchi was the first home textiles company to partner with The Renewal Workshop (TRW) when the organizations joined forces in 2017. As Coyuchi’s renewal partner, TRW puts each product through a six-stage certification process to ensure it meets the like-new quality standards to be resold. 

The first stage of the process is cleaning products to return them to clean-as-new standard. TRW utilizes Tersus Solutions, the world’s most advanced waterless cleaning technology, which harnesses the gentle cleaning properties of liquid CO2 to remove oils, particulates, and odor that degrade the useful life of apparel. 

In this closed-loop system, the CO2 starts out as a gas and is compressed to a liquid. Once in liquid form, it runs similar to a standard washing machine, using an environmentally safe detergent through cleaning and rinsing cycles. At the end of the process, the pressure is released and the CO2 turns back into a gas. This process eliminates the need for water, thus using fewer natural resources, and produces no effluent. The avoidance of heat also protects textiles against shrinkage and fiber degradation.

After the product is fully cleaned, it is re-inspected by TRW’s Quality Lead, then either approved for labeling or the item is sent for repairs by a sew tech. Every product is branded with a 2nd Home label  so customers have confidence that it has been certified to meet the quality standards for Renewed Apparel.

 When repairs are complete, the product passes through TRW’s Quality Assurance department for final inspection to confirm the repairs and labels meet the required standards set by both TRW and Coyuchi. 

THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Since implementing 2nd Home in 2017, Coyuchi has taken back 34,694 lbs (approximately 10,000 units) of fabric:

• 83% of the product Coyuchi has received from customers can be mended, cleaned and resold
• The remaining 17% can be recycled and this is what Coyuchi uses to make its Full Circle Blanket & Throw
• Around 6,000lbs of product has been renewed and resold year-to-date from this program 

The impact Coyuchi’s partnership with The Renewal Workshop has resulted in the equivalent of:

• The energy of 2,532 light bulbs per year
• The carbon of 2,166 gallons of gas
• The water of 25 Olympic swimming pools
• 36,475 lbs of toxic chemicals saved 
• 34,694 lbs of textile waste diverted from landfill

“This is a monumental achievement in the home textiles and apparel industry because Coyuchi has not only produced a fully circular product, it has also developed an entirely circular operating system,” says Nicole Bassett, Founder of The Renewal Workshop. “In doing so, Coyuchi has developed the most advanced circular business model in home textiles and apparel today. The Renewal Workshop is incredibly honored to work with a leader that is willing to take the risks necessary to do something that has never been done before.” 

To learn more about Coyuchi’s circular initiatives, please visit our website: https://www.coyuchi.com/circular-initiative  

ABOUT COYUCHI

Since 1991, Coyuchi has been crafting the finest, coastal-inspired organic bedding, sheets, towels, apparel, and more for a clean, environmentally conscious home. We intend to change the way people think about buying home textiles by providing transparency, product innovation, and practices that limit harm to the environment and the people who live in it. Transparency means being open about our supply chain, fiber, chemistry, and safety. We are product innovators with a commitment to organic, regenerative, and circular practices that serve the planet and its people. We see ourselves as disruptors in the way home textiles are made and activists for a cleaner and safer planet.