REI outdoors retailer hits zero waste target

Sumner, Washington-based Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI Co-op) says it has become the first major U.S. retailer to achieve an accepted industry definition of zero waste, which entails diverting 90 percent of generated discarded materials from landfills across its operations in 2024.

REI describes the zero waste adherence as part of company sustainability efforts that “are anchored to the co-op’s wider mission to inspire and enable life outside. To do this, the outdoors needs to be healthy, protected and accessible for all.”

“It was an enterprise effort to achieve this zero waste milestone for the co-op, but it would not have happened without the dedication of employees across all of our operations to reduce and recycle waste at every level,” says Andrew Dempsey, director of climate at REI Co-op.

REI says in 2024 it also reduced its emissions in 2024 by 7 percent compared with 2023 emissions, and 12 percent when compared with what REI calls its baseline year in 2019.

The outdoors retailer also has made Climate Label certification a preferred attribute in the 2025 version of its Product Impact Standards to encourage partners to consider whether the certification is right for their brand. 

The company’s sustainability and recycling-related activities are portrayed in its 2024 Impact Report and financial results, which it released in May.

REI says it closed the year with $3.53 billion in net sales and invested more than $282 million back into the co-op community while ending the year in a cash flow neutral position.

The firm says its “upward financial trajectory and its zero waste milestone” are attributable to its 14,000 employees, who REI says “serve its growing cooperative community of over 25 million members and customers.”

“The last few years have been challenging, not just for REI but for the greater outdoor industry, and yet I remain hopeful,” says Mary Beth Laughton, president and CEO of REI Co-op. “The co-op is a special place made up of 14,000 passionate employees and 25 million members united by a shared sense of purpose.”