News
All furniture is $3 on Fridays this summer to support Goodwill’s sustainability work
June 9, 2022
Update: This sale is extended through Oct. 31, 2022. Yayyyyyy!
All furniture will be $3 at Goodwill on Fridays starting June 10. The Furniture Friday deal will continue through September 30, during the nonprofit’s busiest furniture donation season.
“Shoppers will get a great deal on nice furniture pieces, but there are other reasons for this deal — sustainability and employee safety,” said the Senior Vice President of Retail Operations. “Furniture is one of a few items we can’t usually recycle. That means unsold furniture must go to landfills, which is the last thing we want. The $3 price point isn’t revenue-generating, but it helps the Earth, which is a huge part of why we made this decision.”
The sustainability move will also cut transportation costs and the related fossil fuels because unsold furniture gets toted to the nearest Goodwill warehouse, where it has another chance to be sold for even steeper discounts, down to 25 cents.
June through September is furniture donation season for the local nonprofit. Furniture tends to be the largest, heaviest items at Goodwill. That means when a few donations of couches, tables and wardrobes come in, the back rooms of the store can fill quickly. By offering the furniture at [operational] cost, Goodwill hopes to keep backrooms of stores clear and safe for all employees.
“We’re incredibly grateful to this community for their continued support by donating their furniture, shirts, shoes and more,” said the Senior Vice President of Retail Operations. “Revenue from stores funds Goodwill’s mission to invest in people who need support achieving their work and life goals — including our own employees. We can’t do it without these donations.”
This move is one of many recent investments in sustainability by Goodwill Northern New England. In January 2017, the Northern New England based nonprofit voluntarily banned single use plastic bags from its stores. In February 2021 it upgraded its fleet of tractor trailers to improve its transportation fuel efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint. In 2022 it announced a multi-year, 3-phased logistics and supply chain optimization initiative, which included replacing boxes and wood pallets with more durable materials to reduce waste.
Handpicked-tagged items are excluded from these discounts.
Goodwill Northern New England is a nonprofit social enterprise in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Store revenues fund its mission to invest in people who need support to achieve their work and life goals. Goodwill NNE’s programs include workforce training programs, 22 group homes that support adults with disabilities, active community supports for adults with disabilities, AmeriCorps programs, business-cleaning services, and Goodwill NNE operates two brain injury clinics to help people get back to their lives after a brain injury. Of course, our stores also embody our mission to support the Earth through re-use, while offering good jobs and free supports to all sorts of people.