Sustainability
Keeping umbrellas out of the landfill.
Over 33 million umbrellas are thrown away across North America every year. Our umbrella-sharing service and recycling program are built to change that — one broken umbrella at a time.
How It Works
From broken umbrella to brand-new product.
Umbrellas are made of fibreglass, aluminium, fabric, and more. Here’s how we keep every part in use.
Collect & sort
We collect broken umbrellas from across our kiosk network and sort them by material, so every part can be handled the right way.
Take it apart
Each umbrella is dismantled into its parts — fibreglass, aluminium, and fabric are separated so each stream can be handled properly.
Recycle & upcycle
Parts are recycled at the right facilities, and fabric and frames are upcycled into brand-new products with our partners.
33M+
umbrellas sold in North America every year
The Problem
Umbrellas are built to be thrown away.
Wind and rain are tough on cheap umbrellas, and a single storm can leave thousands of them broken. Most people have nowhere to recycle a bent umbrella, so it ends up in the landfill — fibreglass, aluminium, and fabric all wasted. Minimizing that waste is one of our core values.
Our Upcycling Partner
Upcycled with Common Thread.
We have the great pleasure of upcycling our umbrellas with Common Thread, a social enterprise that turns reclaimed materials into new, reusable products — while creating meaningful work along the way.
A social enterprise creating jobs for people with barriers to employment
Umbrella parts become reusable products like tote bags and seat covers
Recycling your umbrella helps the environment and creates jobs in our community
Corporate Social Responsibility
Let’s work together to upcycle broken umbrellas.
Adding value to our community and the environment drives everything we do. We’re always looking for organizations to team up with — reach out and let’s build something good together.
support@umbracity.com