San Francisco — Williams-Sonoma, Inc., the world’s largest digital-first, design-led and sustainable home-furnishings retailer, has unveiled a new commitment to plant 6 million trees by 2023 in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation. This new goal doubles Williams-Sonoma, Inc.’s original commitment made by the Pottery Barn brand in January 2021 of planting 3 million trees within the same timeframe.
To date, Pottery Barn has planted over 1.5 million trees as part of the brand’s tree planting program with the Arbor Day Foundation, which plants one tree following the purchase of every indoor wood furniture item.* According to the Arbor Day Foundation, the estimated impact of the 1.5 million trees Pottery Barn has planted to date includes the absorption of 1.1 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere, the removal of 68,000 tons of pollutants from the air and the filtration of 1.5 million gallons of water.
As part of the new goal, all of Williams-Sonoma, Inc.’s home-furnishing brands, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, West Elm, Rejuvenation and Williams Sonoma Home have also signed on for the one-for-one purchasing program, replicating Pottery Barn’s model where the purchase of each piece of indoor wood furniture* results in the planting of a tree. Throughout the month of April, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, West Elm and Williams Sonoma Home will also be accepting donations on behalf of the Arbor Day Foundation, and each dollar collected will plant a tree.
The announcement of the new sustainability goal follows the recent news that for the fifth consecutive year, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is the only exclusive home-furnishings retailer featured on the ‘Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies.’ The tree planting program is one part of Williams-Sonoma Inc.’s robust sustainability strategy which includes commitments to responsibly harvested wood resulting in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. being recognized as a top 10 global leader in responsibly-sourced wood by the Sustainable Furnishings Council for 4 consecutive years.
“Our teams are dedicated to improving the quality of life at home for our customers,” says Laura Alber, president and CEO of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. “We are proud of the progress Pottery Barn has made by planting over 1.5 million trees to date. By including all of our home-furnishings brands in our tree planting program, we are creating additional opportunities for our company and our customers to make a difference.”
“Meaningful commitments like this from Williams-Sonoma, Inc. are vital in securing the future of our shared planet,” says Dan Lambe, CEO of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Their partnership will enable us to drive substantial impacts in some of our most vulnerable forests, helping to maintain the invaluable ecosystems that rely on them.”
The contribution of Williams-Sonoma, Inc.’s 6 million trees will also be counted toward 1t.org’s mission to conserve, restore and grow one trillion trees by 2030. To learn more about these efforts, visit https://www.1t.org/pledges/6-million-trees-to-restore-protect-our-forests.
For more information on Williams-Sonoma, Inc.’s sustainability efforts and the brand commitments to planting trees, visit:
- Pottery Barn: www.potterybarn.com/plant-a-tree
- Pottery Barn Kids: www.potterybarnkids.com/plant-a-tree
- Pottery Barn Teen: www.pbteen.com/plant-a-tree
- Williams Sonoma: www.williams-sonoma.com/arbordayfoundation
- Williams Sonoma Home: www.williams-sonoma.com/arbordayfoundation
- West Elm: www.westelm.com/arborday
- Rejuvenation: www.rejuvenation.com/landing/plant-a-tree
* Indoor wood furniture containing at least 80% of wood; upholstery furniture is excluded.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is the world’s largest digital-first, design-led and sustainable home retailer. The company operates in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, with unaffiliated franchisees who operate stores in the Middle East, the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea and India.
Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation has grown to become the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees, with more than 1 million members, supporters and valued partners. Since 1972, almost 500 million Arbor Day Foundation trees have been planted in neighborhoods, communities, cities and forests throughout the world. For more information, visit https://www.arborday.org/.
SOURCE: Williams-Sonoma, Inc.