How do we keep our market booth display zero waste?

Helloooooo, friend!

Now as you know, last Tuesday, April 22nd, was the 55th Earth Day celebration! 🌎 

While every day is Earth Day around here, it's always such a fun excuse to celebrate Mama Earth a little bit extra.

Part of our extra celebrations were our only two in-person events of the year: the Starbucks Sustainability Fair for Starbucks employees up in Seattle, and the South Sound Sustainability Expo here in Tacoma.

The South Sound Sustainability Expo was actually the very first in-person event I did after launching A Drop in the Ocean back in early 2019. 

My roommate at the time sent me the link before we even had all of our initial product in-hand. But the event seemed like such a great one that I decided to apply, and just six days after our online store launched, I set up our very first booth at the Expo.

And it's been a core part of our Earth Month traditions ever since.

our booth setup at this weekend's South Sound Sustainability Expo

A few years ago, while at another local event, I took a look at our booth and I realized wow...our booth setup is really freaking sustainable...

We're committed to zero waste in all ways, and we have a whole blog post all about how we do it, but it wasn't until that moment that I fully realized how much our zero waste values are translated into our booth display.

So while I'm still riding the emotional high (and simultaneously an introvert hangover...iykyk 😅) from last week's events, I wanna share all the ways we've curated our ultra-sustainable booth setup.

Because NGL...it's really freaking cool and I really wanna show you all the things 😍😄

Tiered Display Stands from OfferUp

I found these beautiful tiered display stands on OfferUp several summers ago. 

I had spent the afternoon by the water brainstorming what my ideal booth would look like, and it included stands like these. I took to Pinterest and tried to find something that fit the vision I had, but nothing was quite right.

I decided to take a peek over at OfferUp just in case there was something over there.

And when I found these stands, I knew this was it.

These stands were custom made for a soapmaker just a few miles away. Her husband had made them for her business, but she was closing up her shop and wanted to give these beauties a new home.

Totally one-of-a-kind, and nothing new was purchased to add these to my display.

Baskets from Goodwill

Both of these wicker baskets were found at my local Goodwill. They’re the ~perfect~ size for displaying our Swedish dishcloths and our Umutima Heart Bags and I’m so happy I found them.

Vintage Camping Chairs as Shelves

Okay so these might actually be the coolest part of the setup.

These wooden stands are actually vintage camping chairs!

I found them in an antique shop in La Conner, Washington many years ago after picking up some products down the street.

They’re totally plastic-free and fold flat so they’re super easy to transport to and from events.

I’m so in love with these chairs and absolutely couldn’t imagine a booth setup without them.

Chalkboard Frame from Goodwill

I found this gorgeous frame at Goodwill over a decade ago, while I was still in college.

At that time, it was white, and I just absolutely fell in love with the design. I replaced the print that was inside with the chalkboard, and it hung in many a kitchen as a meal planning board before finding its new home as part of our zero waste display.

The frame has undergone a few paint jobs before becoming the beautiful blue that it is now, and as it gets towed to and from markets a little more of the previous paint color starts to come out.

I love this frame and no matter where this business takes me, it will always be by my side.

Metal Basket from Second Use Building Materials

This metal basket is another one of my favorite finds. 

(Have I said that about everything so far?? 😅)

On my quest for a sustainable display back in 2019, I stopped into Second Use Building Materials in Tacoma and fell in love with these solid metal baskets. I had to restrain myself to only get one, but I’m sooo glad I found it! I love the way our wool dryer balls look displayed in this basket.

Plus, it was salvaged locally! And now it's getting another life with A Drop in the Ocean.

 

Storage Bins, Extension Cords, and Curtain Lights

So I don’t have photos for these, but I think it’s also pretty darn cool that even the storage bins I use to carry our bulk refill jugs and a bunch of our smaller products are also from Goodwill. 

Honestly, at one point I was planning to buy these things new, but decided on a whim to stop into my local Goodwill first to see what they had. 

And what they had was perfect. 

Not only did I save a ton of money by getting them at Goodwill, but I also stayed true to our zero waste values.

And lastly, even our extension cord and our curtain lights (that I truthfully don't really use anymore, now that the events we do are during the daytime - but I've still got 'em!) are reused.

Someone donated them to RE Tacoma several years ago (our very-sadly-now-closed-but-I-miss-it-every-day local free store for small business), and I gave them a second life with our display. 

So now I'm curious, friend, which of these secondhand finds is your favorite? The vintage camping chairs tend to get a whole lot of love, but I wanna know YOUR fave!

Comment below and let me know!

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Related:
5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About A Drop in the Ocean
How to Host a Zero Waste Business Shower + Anniversary Party