2022 Annual Report
Inspiring a more sustainable & equitable world through innovative products
At GreenGear, we recognize the responsibility we all have to interact with the environment in a more sustainable way. We’re on a mission to help outdoor events & venues switch to more sustainable products. To do so, we are dedicated to creating reimagined plastic products, such as bags and ponchos, that drive positive environmental and social impact, all without compromising on price or quality.
Our Commitments
At GreenGear, we are dedicated to creating products that drive environmental and social impact, all without compromising on price or quality. To start, we designed and sell a rain poncho made from sugarcane ethanol.
This year, GreenGear has begun the process to become a certified B-corp and NYS Benefit Corporation. We have also become members of the Green Sports Alliance and expanded our work with environmental nonprofits through our partnership with 1% for the Planet. We are committed to continue to create products that promote sustainable development. We directly contribute to 9 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals as listed below.
Letter From CEO
To our fans, supporters, and partners:
In 2022, we have grown our business significantly. First, we attained the minority-female owned business certification and became Green Sports Alliance members. We also have begun the process to become B-Corp certified and to amend our incorporation documents to become a New York State benefit corporation.
Second, we have made great strides in our supply chain. We’ve found a partner in the U.S. to add a biodegradable additive to our material. We will start to use this material in merchandise bags and then implement it in our ponchos as well. Therefore, our products will remain being made from renewable resources, reusable, and recyclable, but now also biodegradable for bioconsumption - meaning they can degrade in landfills without releasing methane gas and degrade faster in soil and oceans, all without producing microplastics. Furthermore, this will help us bring more local production to our domestic customers.
From a transportation standpoint, we have found partners to measure and offset all carbon emissions for our shipments. The large order shipment carbon offsets were implemented in 2022 and all parcel shipments will be carbon offsetted, beginning in 2023.
We are also committed to donating at least 1% of all revenue to environmental nonprofits. This year, we have donated over 1% and, to date, we have contributed over $7000 to environmental causes. We have also begun expanding our relationships with our nonprofit partners, such as Black Jaguar Foundation and EcoAthletes, to begin developing plans to provide value in addition to monetary donations.
Finally, we have grown our team significantly in 2022, expanding to 8 contractors and 5 outsourcing agencies. We are now on a path to provide more benefits to our contractors and create part-time and full-time employment opportunities in 2023.
In 2023, we will be focusing on rolling out our products with enhanced biodegradation, creating more purpose-driven jobs, quantifying our impacts, and joining the B-corp network. Thank you for helping us get here and we are excited to bring more of our product to the market.
With gratitude,
Monika Dharia
2022 Highlights
$1K
Donated to nonprofit organizations
3
Nonprofit partners: EcoAthletes, UpCycle4Good, Black Jaguar Foundation
1.6
Metric tons of plastics reimagined
8
Metric tons of CO2eq displaced*
*Based on raw material; assumes same production cycle and is based on 1.9kg CO2eq / kg of LDPE or PVC and -3.09kg CO2eq/kg for our material (see sustainability section for more detail)
Our Impact
We use the B Impact Assessment to assess our public benefit and find areas to improve. This is based on five impact categories: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers. Below, we highlight a few key sections. See the link to our full annual report for further detail.
Community
We partner with nonprofits to help better our communities. To date, we have donated over $7K, have provided volunteer hours to help nonprofit orgs., and allocated resources to provide free, online educational materials for sustainable practices .
Environment
Our products aim to protect and conserve the environment by optimizing their lifecycles. This year, we improved our products in a number of ways including: carbon offsetting all shipments after production and piloting a biodegradable additive for our products.
Customers
We are committed to providing an exceptional and educational customer experience. We provide discounts to all nonprofits and small businesses to promote access to our products. This year, we also implemented initiatives to provide robust messaging guidelines to all customers.
Looking Ahead
We have high goals to continuously improve in 2023. Specifically, this year we seek to:
Rollout our products with enhanced biodegradation
Allocating more of our business purchases to support local, purpose-driven companies
Improve pallet options for B2B orders, minimizing waste
Creating more purpose-driven jobs
Finalize plan to move manufacturing to support more sustainable energy, such as initially through power purchasing agreements. The goal will be to start implementing at certain locations by the end of 2023.
Institute supplier agreements to formalize B-corp values within our manufacturing
Track more of our sustainability metrics, quantitatively, through the EPA Warm Assessment
Public Benefit Disclosures
GreenGear Supply Company Inc. is a proud New York State Benefit Corporation. This report, along with our 2022 financial statements, have been filed with the State of New York. Annual Benefit Reporting is transparent and impact tracking is ongoing.