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- Yardbird is an outdoor furniture startup with an environmental conscience.
- The hand-woven wicker used in Yardbird furniture uses plastic collected from beaches in the Philippines.
- While comparable sectional sets can cost around $ 5,000, those from Yardbird cost less than $ 2,500.
As the weather warms up again, it doesn’t seem fair to spend the whole night after work or the whole weekend staying locked inside.
We’re not saying you have to go far to enjoy the hot sun and the cooling breeze. If you have a backyard, you can have a wonderful, relaxing time right outside your home, with a drink and a book in hand, or among friends and neighbors on speed dial.
Until recently, new businesses entering the direct-to-consumer space focused on everything that happened inside your home: mattresses, linens and towels, kitchenware, furniture, and more. Considering that we spend the majority of our time indoors, whether cooking, sleeping, or relaxing, it makes sense, but if you wanted a new store to enhance your outdoor space, this was hard to find.
Yardbird, founded in 2017 by a father-son duo, is the outdoor furniture company you’ve been looking for. Obviously, that’s what other people have been as well, as it sold million dollar inventory less than a month after it launched. In 2018, it sold $ 4 million in inventory a few months out of the year.
Garden bird
The beginnings of Yardbird and the making of its furniture
Fascinated by why high-end furniture companies were charging at least $ 5,000 for an outdoor wicker sectional, co-founder Jay Dillon spoke to his father (who had experience in the furniture industry ) and eventually ended up in factories in Asia, where over 95% of all outdoor furniture is made. There he was offered products at one-seventh the retail price, and he knew there was potential for a business.
What makes Yardbird even more remarkable is not only that it sells stylish, high-quality outdoor furniture for less. It’s that the parts are durable, made from intercepted ocean plastic.
As outdoor enthusiasts who wanted to enjoy these exteriors for years to come, the founders of Minnesota sought to create products that reduced human impact on the planet. Dillon had heard of big brands incorporating recycled plastics into their products, but found the process took too many steps and the resale prices for the plastic were too high.
Instead, he met directly with plastic experts and established a relationship with a recycling plant in the Philippines. Together, they spent three years collecting plastic from beaches, rivers and other sensitive places in the Philippines. In 2019, the company incorporated 92,000 pounds of plastic in its pieces and packaging.
According to Dillon, this is how plastic goes from floating on the shore to a Yardbird piece of furniture: “After the recycling plant processes the plastic, we then send it to our wicker extrusion plant and let’s make all-weather outdoor resin wicker from the plastic, then hand-weave it onto the frames. ”
While it may look like traditional wicker, Yardbird wicker is 50% recycled plastic (it hit 64% in 2019) and lasts longer. As an environmentally friendly company, Yardbird also partners with the Carbon Fund to offset 100% of its carbon footprint, and its packaging contains 50% recycled materials.
Apart from the all-weather wicker, the other furniture components are also strong, durable and backed by impressive warranties.
Commercial grade aluminum frames (which come with a 10 year warranty) are lightweight and rust proof. The foam cushions are comfortable and provide good support, and they are covered with a high performance outdoor fabric called Sunbrella, which is water and sun resistant. To take a closer look at this fabric, you can order up to three free samples from the site.
Garden bird
Other services and policies to make purchasing these great pieces of furniture easy and convenient are the 30-day return policy and free curbside delivery on orders over $ 1,500 (a flat rate of $ 95 otherwise applies). Buying outdoor furniture is a big commitment, but Yardbird makes it easy from start to finish, from offering high quality furniture collections to care and maintenance advice once you have your room. .
On her site, you can shop by collection, which categorizes furniture by style or types, such as loveseats, sectional furniture, and dining room furniture.
If you’re ready for some new outdoor furniture that will let you enjoy your lawn, garden, patio, or more, opt for the stylish options from Yardbird.
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