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https://www.barrons.com/articles/good-company-outers-built-to-last-outdoor-furniture-01662062547
Outer co-founders Terry Lin and Jiake Liu want people to spend more time outside—and they aim to do that through comfortable outdoor furniture that is sustainable and built to last.
Lin, who is a former head furniture designer at Pottery Barn, says he found that traditional brands overlooked the opportunity for innovation in outdoor furniture design.
“We came to the hypothesis that brands and manufacturers were approaching the problem the same way they had always approached [outdoor furniture]—how to make it look nicer,” Liu says.
He points out that Americans spend approximately 90% of their time indoors, according to the EPA. “No one was thinking about how to make it function better or make getting outside easier. From Day One, we have focused on solving those two problems.”
Outer offers outdoor furniture, including sofas, chairs, dining sets, tables, and rugs, in wicker, aluminum, and teak. It also offers concrete fire pits, blankets, and furniture covers.
The Fire Pit Table Cooking Set can be used as a regular table when its cover is on, or as a tabletop grill, with a reversible cast iron griddle and stand on top. The Fire Pit is made from Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete cement, which requires less energy to produce and has a smaller carbon footprint than other forms of concrete.
Outer also recently launched its Teak & Aluminum Dining collection, made from certified teak and heat-resistant aluminum; the largest set seats 12 with foldable, all-weather fabric chairs.
Outer’s Bug Shield Throw Blankets are treated with Insect Shield, a bug repellent that was given the most favorable and lowest-risk rating by the EPA, and is approved for use by pregnant women, children, and pets. The blankets come in two sizes, standard and large, priced at US$140 and US$190 respectively.
Teak & Aluminum dining sets range from US$6,700 for a set that seats six to US$11,450 for a set that seats 12.
Wicker seating ranges from US$2,900 for a loveseat to US$11,300 for a U-shaped sectional that seats eight.
Lin and Liu say Outer’s furniture is made to last.
“‘Fast furniture’ has major environmental consequences; poorly made pieces end up in the landfill after only one season and a handful of uses,” Lin says. “Not only does fast furniture rapidly deplete our planet’s natural resources, but it also creates a huge waste problem.”
The Outer founders also believe that sustainable materials and environmentally-friendly practices are more important than ever to consumers. Many of Outer’s pieces are made from recycled materials; their wicker furniture is made from recycled plastic, and is itself recyclable. Outer’s rugs are also made from recycled plastic—the 1188 Rug Collection is named after the number of recycled plastic water bottles to make each rug.
The brand’s aluminum collection is guaranteed to last a decade of everyday use; after that, its frames are recyclable. Outer’s teak pieces are Forest Stewardship Council certified, and the company plants at least 15 saplings for every teak chair or sofa sold.
Instead of using resources to maintain a storefront, Outer has a Neighborhood Showroom model in which customers who already own Outer furniture open their backyards to people interested in buying pieces. Currently, Outer has Neighborhood Showroom hosts in 44 states.
Outer also donates 1% of all revenue to 1% for the Planet, a global organization that supports environmental causes. The company became Climate Neutral Certified last November; Outer offsets its carbon footprint by investing in climate change solutions like wind energy in China and repurposing crop residue into biofuel in India.
Lin and Liu say they continue to work on expanding Outer’s product offerings and developing new sustainable materials.
Outer co-founders Terry Lin and Jiake Liu want people to spend more time outside—and they aim to do that through comfortable outdoor furniture that is sustainable and built to last.
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