2023 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.
We are a certified minority, woman-owned small business and 1% for the Planet members. From day 1 of our company, more than 1% of all revenue has been donated to environmental nonprofits. In 2022, we also became Green Sports Alliance members and in 2023, we made a stronger commitment to our social and environmental performance by becoming a B Corp-certified company. Now, from 2024 onwards we have a clear framework and strong network to help us continuously improve on the five pillars of our business’s impact: Governance, workers, community, environment, and customers.
Letter From CEO
To our fans, supporters, and partners:
In 2023, we experienced significant growth, scaling our impact and revenue by ~400%. We officially became a B Corp-certified company and have successfully registered as a benefit corporation to formalize our dedication to having a positive impact on all stakeholders.
Second, we have made great strides in our supply chain. We started working with Verde—a partner in the U.S. to add a biodegradable additive to our material. We started working with their PolyEarthylene™ material to develop our EcoShop Bag. We now aim to implement this material into our rain ponchos in 2024. Following the incorporation of this additive, our products continue to be crafted from renewable resources, while also maintaining their reusability and recyclability. Additionally, with Polyearthylene™ our products have the added benefit of being biodegradable for bio-consumption. Unlike oxo-degradable products which rely on exposure to light, oxygen, and moisture from the environment for decomposition, our bags rely on microorganisms and enzyme activity found or present in the environment for degradation and transformation. Oxo-based plastics are known to fragment during degradation leaving behind microplastic particles. Our materials will not produce microplastics during degradation. Furthermore, in third-party testing, our bio-based film with Polyearthylene™ showed no detectable levels of PFAS. Overall, this partnership with Verde will help us bring more local production and improved products 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 for parcel shipments, we started working with Sendle, a B Corp-certified, carbon-neutral company. A small portion of shipments are done through UPS and we are looking to measure and offset carbon emissions for those in 2024.
Third, we started a partnership with Scrapp Recycling to bring a joint sustainable solution to sports stadiums. This partnership will help promote both our bioplastic solutions to single-use products as well as Scrapp’s smart waste management platform. By working together we can bring our solutions to a wide range of customers and help with their infrastructure in the process.
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 $11,000 to environmental causes. We have also begun expanding our relationships with our nonprofit partners, such as the Black Jaguar Foundation and EcoAthletes, developing plans to provide value in addition to monetary donations.
Finally, we have grown our team significantly in 2023. At the end of 2023, Sven Bakhuizen became GreenGear’s first full-time hire, starting in January 2024. In his role, he will focus on GreenGear’s revenue operations, operational efficiencies, and impact strategy. We also grew our work with Chelsea Apostol, through her startup, to manage our marketing efforts, spreading sustainability education along the way. We have enlisted the help of an accountant, IP protection attorneys, and seven contractors for sales, marketing, and lifecycle analyses, along with experts on our plastic film, business development, and sales strategies. GreenGear™ now also has a five-person board of advisors composed of stakeholders from various relevant sectors.
Now that we are hiring and expanding, we are working to outline benefits we should strive to expand for our contractors and get for our employees. We also seek to create more part-time and full-time employment opportunities going forward.
With gratitude,
Monika Dharia
2023 Highlights
$11K
Donated to nonprofit organizations¹
92.9
Overall B Impact Score
6.8
Metric tons of plastics reimagined²
23
Metric tons of CO2-eq captured²
1. This number is our total donations to date
2. Impact numbers assume our products are serving as an alternative to traditional, petroleum-based plastic options. An LCA was conducted using EcoInvent and GABI softwares, encompassing the entire value chain from raw material extraction to end-use. As any other LCA, the results of the study rely on specific parameters, methodological choices, including assumptions and limitations.
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 $11K, have provided volunteer hours to help nonprofit orgs., participated in speaking events, 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: producing our EcoShop Bag domestically and implementing a biodegradable additive into 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 continued to provide robust messaging guidelines to all customers and provide them with their impact metrics if they're interested.
Looking Ahead
We have high goals to continuously improve in 2024. Specifically, this year we seek to:
Create more environmental and social impact through >$1M in sales by focusing on sports, large events, and tourist attractions along with launching our clear bag.
Improve operational and financial resilience by de-risking our supply chain and diversifying our customer portfolio.
Provide customized end-use (e.g., recycling rates) and impact metrics (e.g., CO2 emissions, plastic displaced) for our products to customers through partnerships such as with Scrapp Recycling.
Utilize the updated B Corp guidelines to develop an optimal work environment and long-term profit-sharing plans.
Roll out our EcoRain® Poncho with enhanced biodegradation.
To see additional high goals read our full annual report.
Public Benefit Disclosures
GreenGear Supply Company Inc. is a proud New York State Benefit Corporation. This report, along with our 2023 financial statements, have been filed with the State of New York. Annual Benefit Reporting is transparent and impact tracking is ongoing.