Simbly is a sustainable furniture company founded by Josh Dorfman and Christpoher Douglas that focuses on creating quality and environmentally-courteous products.
Simbly is trying to lead the way for furniture brands in the sustainability space as it isn't a vertical that is often recognized like fashion.
Simbly decided to make all orders carbon neutral on behalf of their customers in order to become Carbon Neutral certified.
Since adding EcoCart to the Simbly store, the response from customers has been extremely positive, demonstrated by a 38% lift in average order size.
It was founded by Josh Dorfman and Christpoher Douglas as a project with a focus on delivering design, sustainability, and accessible pricing, all while making their furniture in the USA.
Josh previously had a sustainable furniture retail business, where his favorite line he carried was Christopher’s. At the time, the products he was selling were beautiful, sustainable, but expensive. Due to the price point, he was frustrated that he could deliver something that satisfied all the desired goals, but it ended up only being accessible to a small segment of customers. He didn’t feel like his products were affecting as much change as they aspired to by not being accessible to more people.
Josh returned to the idea of creating sustainable furniture that would meet a need in the market that other eco-conscious brands were not going after. He connected with Christopher on the idea of starting an eco-friendly furniture company that provided the accessibility his previous company lacked, but did not sacrifice on design or quality. Thus, Simbly was born with their quintessential designs as the foundation.
Josh knew that it was easy for consumers to embrace sustainable goods and something they rather enjoyed. With sustainable aspects integrated into the design, they could shift buying behavior towards products that are good for the planet. Josh noted, “There’s more interest from consumers now living sustainable lifestyles than before. I still see customers gravitating towards our products because they love our design and I’ve never seen anyone buy furniture because it’s eco-friendly, they buy because of design. It’s important to never lose sight of why customers buy what they do at the end of the day.”
Josh believes that, compared to other industries, the furniture industry has less of a demand for sustainable practices. “Most consumers can’t tell you the name of five major furniture brands,” Josh explained. “It’s a commodity that’s expensive, and people tend to focus on that aspect and aren’t thinking about asking the sustainability question.”
Simbly is helping lead the conversation of sustainable furniture; furniture brands don’t have as big of a platform compared to fashion brands. It’s just a different industry that lacks the consumer-recognition that follows the fashion industry. While the dynamics of consumers and brands are shifting and changing very quickly in today’s world, this new dynamic hasn’t quite reached the furniture industry, but soon consumers will turn their eyes to the furniture industry and their practices.
Simbly practices sustainability throughout as their supply chain. By having a localized supply chain in the US and flat packing, they have a significantly lower carbon footprint for shipping (as opposed to pre-assembled furniture). They focus on the certified wood in their furniture to be more eco-conscious. They are also members of the 1% For the Planet, which means they donate 1% of our revenue to environmental causes. Simbly also has partnered with One Tree Planted, which means they plant one tree for every furniture product sold.
“Overall, Simbly works to minimize the carbon footprint of our operations, which means we are very intentional about how far our products travel from where they’re made to their final destination,” said Josh. “Our packaging materials are made just 15 miles from the furniture factory.”
Intent on furthering sustainability initiatives, Josh started researching solutions for sustainability through Shopify since the brand’s inception, which is how he came across EcoCart. Josh loved how easy it was to integrate into their shopping cart. He notes, “What I really loved was the customization that enabled us to pay for the offsets; we own the cost; I really feel that companies should own their own footprint.”
EcoCart offers flexible options for e-commerce brands looking to offer carbon neutral products:
– Companies can pass the carbon offsetting cost along to customers who opt-in by selecting “Make My Order Carbon Neutral” when they
check out.
– Companies can incur the cost themselves (usually 1-2% of the product cost)
Brands like Simbly choose to make all their products carbon neutral by offsetting the shipping and manufacturing emissions with EcoCart. When customers see brands taking this responsibility, they are more likely to checkout, especially with high-consideration items like furniture and electronics.
Josh emphasizes the importance of letting it be known to their customers that Simbly takes responsibility for their own carbon footprint. When the company pays to offset on behalf of their customers, the customers see it as something that is automatically there for them as an added benefit. This is exactly the kind of solution Josh wanted for Simbly. He sums it up nicely, “It’s positioned as offsetting manufacturing and shipping; when a consumer sees that, they can breathe a sigh of relief; it feels like a comprehensive solution.”
Since adding EcoCart to the Simbly store, the response from customers has been extremely positive, demonstrated by a 38% lift in average order size (comparing sales from the six months prior to implementing EcoCart to the six months after). “Customers love seeing our message about offsetting with EcoCart at checkout,” said Josh. “We are able to help explain to customers what it is and how it works, and in turn customers appreciate that we go an extra step to make sure we can offer our furniture with the lowest possible carbon footprint.”
Shop sustainable furniture at https://simbly.com/ and enjoy carbon neutral products thanks to Simbly. Own your own store? Drop us a note and learn how you can offer carbon neutral shopping to your customers.
