I want to break tree... The commercial use of tree, that is. Grove Collaborative is a consumer packaged goods unicorn offering sustainable products and a Millennially-pleasing website font. Grove elevates un-sexy basics — like toilet paper, trash bags, and fabric softener — by positioning itself as a positive force for the environment:
- 'Tree-Free': How Grove describes its Seedling paper products (like tree-free TP) — they're made of just one ingredient: 100% Sustainable Bamboo
- 'Tree-Positive': Grove offers the "first 'tree-positive' paper in the World" (don't bother Googling the term — we tried). A portion of every Seedling purchase goes toward tree-planting.
Grove just announced it's going Plastic Free by 2025... It's already plastic-neutral, which is the same idea as carbon-neutral — it pays to intercept plastic before it reaches oceans/landfills. It also offsets carbon emissions from its free shipping. To get plastic-free, Grove will gradually use more glass and aluminum. But here's what really fascinated us:
- Bamboo: Grove is obsessed with it — bamboo paper, straws, cutting boards — even the $25 paper-towel holder has a bamboo handle (to hold your bamboo paper towels).
- Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world (note: not a tree). While trees take around 20 years to grow back after harvesting, bamboo takes only 3 months – Grove also assures us) that no baby panda will be left hungry in the making of its paper.
Being "sustainable" is no longer enough for a brand... Supermarkets and drugstores already boast eco-friendly options like Seventh Generation or Method. Grove's brand stands for approachable sustainability — but its new aggressive commitment to tree-free-ness is what sets it apart. We're in an era of sustainable products right now (think plant-based meat) — Grove's focused on the next era: sustainable packaging. They're even working on shampoo concentrate to reduce plastic bottles.