Sustainable Outdoor Furniture by Gloster
Spanning all the way from the days of our founding through the present, Gloster has held environmental sustainability and equitable business practices in the highest regard. In choosing to make environmental consciousness and community development foundational pillars in our pursuit of creating eco-friendly outdoor furniture, we have taken the path less walked—and we are immensely proud to have done so. In 2022, there are a variety of ways that these priorities are put on display.
The story of Gloster’s commitment to establishing equitable relationships with the communities we are based in is best told through the corporate social responsibility program in place in Surabaya, Indonesia—the home of our sustainably-managed teak plantation and factory production facility. Manifesting in a variety of ways, this program’s overall goal is to improve the conditions of the local village that surrounds our facilities. Perhaps the most significant way in which this commitment is brought to life is the way in which Gloster approaches waste management at our facilities. Contrary to the practices of most furniture producers, Gloster’s “offcut materials”—smaller byproducts of the trimming process used for teak lumber—are not simply disposed of, but rather used as biofuel for the drying kilns essential to the teak harvesting process. Management of larger waste materials is handled by a village-owned and operated organization called Bumdes, which in turn reinvests the income generated from management of these materials into community-benefitting efforts such as combatting food insecurity, early-childhood education services, community organizations and infrastructure, and much more.
Gloster’s focus on equitable business and environmental practices extends beyond our facilities in Indonesia and are recognized by more than just those within our organization; we have also received accreditations from multiple independent organizations for our adherence to these standards. Gloster is jointly verified each year by the Indonesian government and EU authorities for an FLEGT license. In addition to ensuring that timber producers are not bringing illegally harvested timber to market, this yearly license acknowledges our compliance with stringent parameters on forest management, environmental impact, labour rights, community benefits, and more. Both of Gloster’s main facilities in Surabaya, Indonesia, and South Boston, Virginia are graded as “leaders” by the MindClick Sustainability Assessment Program, a rigorous program used by Marriott International Hotels to asses the environmental impact of products and facilities throughout their life cycle. According to this organization, the grade of “Leader” denotes “exemplary use of environmentally and socially responsible practices throughout the life cycle of all product lines, from material choice to end-of-life solutions.”
We may live in a different world than the one of our founders, but one thing that has never wavered throughout the years is Gloster’s commitment to environmental sustainability and community equity serving as the foundations of our business. In 2022, we are proud to have these commitments on full display across all areas of Gloster Furniture.
