Sustainability
Our mission is to inspire and empower people to go places, while leaving a positive impact on people’s lives and the planet.
Our Priorities
At our core, we’re a company that wants to see our customers out in the world: exploring, connecting, working, and discovering. And while we obsess over the design and functionality of our products, we’re equally concerned with our larger impact as a business.
For us, it’s not enough to “do no harm” when it comes to environmental impact. We are part of a growing movement that believes businesses can actually lead the way in reversing environmental damage and creating innovative solutions. We’re always seeking ways to improve our supply chain and the lifecycle of our products.
We also know that you, our customers, are conscientious and uncompromising, and you expect the same from the brands you support. As a business, we’re in it for the long run—and to us, that means honoring our planet and the people with whom we share it.
In 2018, 15% of our products were made with eco-friendly materials.
In 2019, our goal was to double that amount and we’re excited to be right on track!
Our goal is to increase that amount to 75% by 2025.
Our Products & Materials
Recycled Poly Collection
Recycled Poly is a technical fabric made from plastic bottles. On average, each bag in our Recycled Poly Collection saves 22 plastic bottles from entering our landfills.
Organic Canvas Collection
Our Organic Canvas Collection is made from cotton that’s organically grown without the use of toxic fertilizers and pesticides.
As we expand our product line, we’re excited to incorporate even more eco-friendly materials.
We hope to start packing our products in biodegradable poly bags, which will break down completely in landfills, thereby reducing our carbon footprint.
For select products, we hope to start using sustainable materials made from plant-based fibers. These materials contain no animal products and are biodegradable.
For new orders of our nylon laptop bags, we have switched 37.4% recycled nylon, which is created using post-consumer and discarded nylon. In the next year our objective is to move to a 100% recycled nylon.
Our goal is to transition into exclusively using 100% Certified Organic Cotton for our canvas Catalina collection for any future orders. Doing so will encourage species biodiversity in local ecosystems.
100% of our Nappa leather will soon move to a silver-rated status audited by the Leather Working Group. This guarantees hides to be sourced in the most sustainable way. Using LWP certified suppliers allows us to trace our supply chain.
Our signature hummingbird lining is getting a sustainable facelift. As of this year, we will start implementing a weave composed of 50% recycled material.
Our Partners
The Renewal Workshop
As of 2020, we officially partnered with The Renewal Workshop, the leading provider of circular solutions for apparel and textile brands. With their help, we have stopped 1,000 bags from reaching landfills. Based in Cascade Locks, Oregon, the Renewal Workshop operates a zero waste circular system, recovering the full value of items already created. We are excited to have found an organization that can repair and renew damaged bags and rethink the possibilities for our products’ lifecycle.
Future-Fit
We are proud to be members of Future-Fit’s global Changemaker Community. As a member, we join a wide range of businesses that are using the Future-Fit Business Benchmark to consider all of their social and environmental impacts and ultimately chart a path to success in an ever-more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.
Yale Center for Business and the Environment (CBEY)
Our cofounder (and one of the sons), Jan Lo, was invited to serve on the Advisory Board of the Yale Center for Business and the Environment, which trains and empowers future leaders to develop "business solutions to systemic environmental problems" from the Yale School of Management and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. With this group, Jan is currently helping to advise on a range of projects, such as how emerging technology can help to address environmental sustainability challenges.
EcoHealth Alliance
Earth Day 2020 we have selected to partner with EcoHealth Alliance, an international nonprofit dedicated to protecting the health of people, animals, and the environment from emerging infectious diseases.
Our Challenges
Prioritizing sustainability can be complicated and costly. As a small, family-owned business, we know that our commitment to sustainability means that we will sometimes sacrifice opportunities or revenue in order to be responsible, and we’re proud to do that. Today, our primary challenges are:
We can’t do it all—at least not right now.
While we expand our sustainable practices, we know it will take time to integrate sustainability into all elements of our business—from our supply chain to our in-office operations. As a small business, we need to prioritize rigorously. To do so, we’ve created an internal sustainability board that ensures we’re progressing and pushing ourselves to be ambitious. For example, we are working towards becoming a B Certified business (B Corp), which would mean we’ve met “the highest standards of verified environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability.”
Tradeoffs are inevitable.
Materials like “vegan leather” are great for those looking to avoid animal products, but they’re not harmless. Many vegan leathers (specifically PVC) are a form of plastic; therefore, they aren’t biodegradable and they can contain harmful chemicals that damage the environment. For now, we’ve opted to use traditional leather over vegan leather, but we continue to research emerging resources that offer a promise of sustainability, are non-toxic, and allow us to uphold the high standard of quality that defines our products. Internally, we have to weigh this kind of tension when choosing materials, and we always prioritize with our customers’ best interests in mind.
Our Ongoing Commitment
When it comes to sustainability, we’re excited to build on our current momentum. We look forward to having a dynamic dialogue with our customers about our strategy, so don’t hold back. Questions? Suggestions? Send them to us at support@loandsons.com.
Looking for more info? Read the latest company updates in our 2020 Sustainability Progress Report.