How do we keep our market booth display zero waste?

A Drop in the Ocean Zero Waste Store: How We Keep Our Farmer's Market Booth Zero Waste
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This post first appeared in our weekly Make Waves Mondays email series on May 2, 2022 and was updated and re-shared again on April 28, 2025.



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 South Sound Sustainability Expo

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

A Drop in the Ocean Tacoma Zero Waste Store Booth Setup

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

A Drop in the Ocean Tacoma Zero Waste Store Booth Setup

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

A Drop in the Ocean Tacoma Zero Waste Store Booth Setup

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

A Drop in the Ocean Tacoma Zero Waste Store Booth Setup

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

A Drop in the Ocean Tacoma Zero Waste Store Booth Setup

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. 

A Drop in the Ocean Tacoma Zero Waste Store Booth Setup

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!



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


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