From Trash To Treasure
Digs With Dignity’s sustainability mission
earth day with digs with dignity
sustainability
We believe in a social responsibility to support the homeless community and the environment. We carry out this responsibility by balancing custom designs with sustainable solutions from our 10,000+ square foot warehouse that is filled with donated and refurbished furniture and home goods from the Chicago community. According to Architectural Digest, “The EPA estimates that 9 million tons of furniture are tossed every single year. That’s roughly 5% of everything brought to landfills (a sizable chunk, especially when you consider the amount of food waste and packaging materials thrown away).”
We believe in a Chicago where furniture pieces do not end up in alleys. At DIGS, we work strategically to restore and upcycle furniture on a weekly basis and to date, have kept over 200,000 lbs of furniture and home goods out of landfills.
Gently used furniture and home goods are collected from various sources in the community through monthly pickups and warehouse drop offs.
The furniture is sorted and stored in our 10,000 sq ft warehouse.
Pieces that DIGS can’t use are donated to other causes in the community.
Based on our custom design, the upcycling process begins, which may involve painting, staining, reupholstering, or adding new hardware.
Once the upcycling is complete, the furniture pieces are inspected for quality and functionality.
The upcycled furniture is then moved into the apartments of families, providing them with a place to call home!
sustainability
Gently used furniture and home goods are collected from various sources in the community through monthly pickups and warehouse drop offs.
The furniture is sorted and stored in our 10,000 sq ft warehouse.
Pieces that DIGS can’t use are donated to other causes in the community.
Based on our custom design, the upcycling process begins, which may involve painting, staining, reupholstering, or adding new hardware.
Once the upcycling is complete, the furniture pieces are inspected for quality and functionality.
The upcycled furniture is then moved into the apartments of families, providing them with a place to call home!
We believe in a social responsibility to support the homeless community and the environment. We carry out this responsibility by balancing custom designs with sustainable solutions from our 10,000+ square foot warehouse that is filled with donated and refurbished furniture and home goods from the Chicago community. According to Architectural Digest, “The EPA estimates that 9 million tons of furniture are tossed every single year. That’s roughly 5% of everything brought to landfills (a sizable chunk, especially when you consider the amount of food waste and packaging materials thrown away).”
We believe in a Chicago where furniture pieces do not end up in alleys. At DIGS, we work strategically to restore and upcycle furniture on a weekly basis and to date, have kept over 160,000 lbs of furniture and home goods out of landfills.
What is upcycling?
Upcycling means creating a new item from a donated good by repairing, refurbishing or repurposing. It gives items that would end up in landfills a new lease on life. When we upcycle, we make a unique finished product, customized to the style and personality of our DIGS clients. Coffee tables, headboards, dining chairs, lamps, and picture frames are imaginatively transformed. By continually upcycling our donations, we reduce waste, save energy, and give the community an environmentally beneficial alternative to disposing of unwanted furniture and household items in landfills.
In addition to our in-house upcycling efforts, DIGS partners with organizations such as the Junior League Club of Chicago, PAWS, Animal Care and Control – City of Chicago and The Honeycomb Project to further our green initiatives. Organizations like these give us a space to donate overworn towels, sheets and blankets, repurpose unusable fabric and scraps into floor poufs for children’s bedrooms, and give new life to furniture that needs a sand or fresh coat of paint.
We believe in a Chicago where furniture doesn’t end up in alleys or dumpsters, but rather in the homes of those who need them. We welcome you to join us in our efforts to reduce furniture waste and create a greener Chicago.
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