Company Picks Up Trash for Every Item They Sell

Often, companies donate to eco-groups that organize trash cleanup but a clothing and accessories company in Philadelphia handles its own trash cleanup for every item it sells.

United by Blue, which was established in 2010 had been, from the start, passionate about waterways and oceans. Its concern for the environment is part of the company’s mission and it organizes and hosts beach and waterways cleanups, picking up one pound of trash for every item it sells, through its website, its own retail stores or through its partner stores.

Committed to a clean environment

Co-founders of United by Blue (UBB) are Temple University alumni Brian Linton and Mike Cangi. Since the beginning, when the company was still doing wholesale business, it was already committed to the principle of picking up one pound of trash for each sold item. The products UBB produces and sells are nothing extraordinary. They consist of shirts for men and women, canvas-and-leather bags, coffee mugs, caps, socks, accessories such as rings, necklaces, watches, sunglasses and cosmetics.

Since they started, UBB and the volunteers have already picked up 248,439 pounds of trash from waterways in 22 states in the country. So far, UBB has organized 137 cleanups.

Majority of UBB’s products use sustainable materials such as organic wool and cotton. From being an online retailer, it now has three physical stores. It has an annual revenue of about $4 million. Linton said that opening their own brick-and-mortar stores contributed much to their success because most consumers trust companies that have a physical presence. Their headquarters/flagship store is located on Second Street in Old City while their second one is near the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. Their newest store is located in Asbury Park and faces the Atlantic Ocean, which is a fitting location for a company that espouses trash-free waterways.

There was huge opposition from investors when they first decided to open their own store since they started out as a wholesale business. They needed a different set of people to manage the retail business. They needed people with experience and have an entrepreneurial spirit. Linton, who is the CEO of UBB said that the decision to have a retail store almost put them under. Today, with the opening of their third retail store, the investors do not question them that much since they have seen proof of the impact company-owned stores had to their business success.

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