Reverb connects music makers with retailers, manufacturers, and independent sellers around the world, creating a diverse gear market that benefits everyone—buyers get access to a large and unique selection of musical instruments from all over the globe, neighborhood music stores reach customers beyond their own cities and towns, and used and vintage instruments find new homes. With online shopping increasingly a part of our day-to-day lives, it’s easy to overlook the environmental impact of shipping gear from doorstep to doorstep, with delivery trucks and cargo planes burning fuel along the way.
Today, just in time for Earth Day, Reverb is announcing a bold step toward addressing our community’s footprint. From this point forward, 100% of shipping-related carbon emissions from Reverb will be offset by investments in projects that prevent the release of or remove carbon from the atmosphere. Now, when you ship or receive a package through Reverb, we will balance out the carbon emissions by investing in purposefully selected environmental initiatives that are close to our hearts—and hopefully yours as well.
This program will come at no additional cost to buyers or sellers. Our parent company, Etsy—the global marketplace for unique and creative goods—will be investing in offsets on Reverb's behalf. Since Etsy became the first major online shopping destination to offset 100% of shipping-related carbon emissions last year, it has offset more than 173,000 metric tons of CO2 by protecting forests, sponsoring renewable energy projects, and developing greener methods for producing auto parts. Offsets are an important immediate first step to balance our impact as we work toward longer-term emissions reduction solutions.
Reverb's approach will make each purchase on our site more sustainable by supporting important forest management projects, including ones that protect hardwoods traditionally used to build musical instruments. Each project addresses deforestation and degradation through active restoration and sustainable management efforts.
Supported Forest Management Projects
- Peru's Madre de Dios Amazon project protects Brazilian rosewood and mahogany trees, among other indigenous plants and vulnerable animal populations.
- The Floresta de Portel project in Brazil's state of Para, which lies within one of the country's largest rainforests, protects Coração de Negro Swartzia and Jacaranda Copaia, which can both be used to make musical instruments.
- The UPM Blandin Native American Hardwoods Project supports the continued conservation of nearly 20 million trees in native, mixed hardwood forests in Minnesota.
Now, when you buy or sell on Reverb, you’re not only making the world a more musical place, you’re making it a little greener too.
