courtesy of cedarcraft

Planter power

CedarCraft is as dedicated as ever to greener products

by Julie Kendrick

Turning trash into treasures is the goal of modern upcyclers, who reuse discarded materials to create new, useful items. That’s long been a focus for San Diego, California–based Costco supplier CedarCraft, which started out in 2003 with the mission to turn wood scraps into functional, innovative products.

“One of our passions is to ensure that trees are completely utilized, and our team was excited to work with a progressive lumber mill to ‘rescue’ wood pieces that were being chipped after milling,” explains CEO and founder of CedarCraft Glen Dobi. “We hit upon the idea of using western red cedar trim cuts to manufacture planks that restaurants and home grillers could use to prepare cedar plank salmon.” The product’s 2005 launch in Costco marked the beginning of CedarCraft’s relationship with the company.

Next, CedarCraft worked on rescuing smaller pieces of discarded cedar, using a finger-joint edge-gluing process to create wood panels for a full line of planters.

“We’re very proud to be selling high-quality cedar planters for which no trees are specifically harvested to make the products,” says Scott Haskins, CedarCraft’s vice president of business development. “Our green story, coupled with product quality, has really resonated with Costco members.” Other CedarCraft products are made from sustainably sourced fiber that’s certified by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification and manufactured in British Columbia.

CedarCraft is also committed to environmental initiatives. “We’ve partnered with the National Forest Foundation to implement a program to help offset the carbon emissions associated with the delivery of planters,” Haskins says. “As part of the program, one to two trees are planted for every CedarCraft planter purchased at Costco.”

The company’s product line introduced self-watering irrigation systems into the planters, which has helped propel the business forward. “With the launch of that feature, we began to experience the explosive growth every small company is hoping to achieve,” Haskins says.

Self-watering planters can encourage a formerly brown-thumbed gardening wannabe to bloom into a green-thumbed master gardener. “They save time and water,” Haskins explains. “And when plants have a consistent water supply, they’re healthier and more productive. That makes for some very happy urban gardeners.”