About 10 years ago, Stuff Etc., Iowa’s largest consignment store chain, was ahead of the trend in adopting solar power. Since its founding in 1985 in Iowa City, it has expanded to eight locations across the state, including Ankeny, Cedar Rapids, Clive, Coralville, Davenport, Dubuque, and Waterloo. In 2016, the company decided to partner with Fairfield-based Ideal Energy Solar, one of the state’s original solar companies, to install solar panels on the roofs of two of those buildings, one each in Cedar Rapids and Coralville.
Stuff Etc. Founder and now-retired CEO Mary Sundblad-Greb had considered going solar for about five years. Amy Van Beek, Ideal Energy Solar co-founder and COO, told The Gazette, “One of our salespeople, Jeff Carey, knew Mary and that the company was looking at solar. He set up a meeting with Mary, and she liked the way we were designing the systems with the battery and other details.”
The solar array in Cedar Rapids can generate more than 227 kilowatts, and the company sells excess power back to local utility Alliant Energy. The Coralville site, capable of generating more than 215 kilowatts, also features the first commercial-grade battery for a solar energy system in Iowa and the first solar-plus-storage system installed by Ideal Energy Solar. During peak summer demand, the battery system detects high power usage and switches to battery power until demand declines. At the time of adoption, this enabled Stuff Etc. to avoid being charged a higher annual rate by Linn County REC (now Corridor Energy Cooperative), which had a limited net metering policy.
The decision paid off. “We think that’s a huge part of our business, which aligns directly with renewable energy,” explained Stuff Etc. co-owner Sara Sunblad. “So what we overproduce we can store, and then use at another time to help reduce our carbon footprint.” Over 25 years, the solar arrays are expected to save Stuff Etc. about $1.8 million in energy costs, or about $75,000 per year. At the time, Ideal Energy Solar design specialist Channing Congdon believed the Cedar Rapids system would pay for itself within five years, and the Coralville system would pay for itself in under a decade.
The company also expects that the panels will avoid about 8,000 tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to planting 200,000 trees. “What we do is all about recycling and not using up as much landfill and energy… So it just was a good fit for our company to go that way,” Mary added to CBS2 about the decision to adopt solar power.
Photo Courtesy Stuff Etc Quality Consignment
In fact, Stuff Etc.’s entire business model is based on giving products new lives and keeping them out of landfills. The company considers this especially important given the fashion industry’s significant environmental footprint, and buying used can reduce demand for new clothes, save resources, and lower pollution levels. “Take a step towards a more eco-friendly lifestyle by embracing secondhand treasures. Every item you purchase from us contributes to reducing environmental impact, giving pre-loved items a new lease on life,” Stuff Etc. describes. The company also finds ways to use items it cannot sell, such as turning textiles into rags, sending items to those in need, or repurposing books into insulation.
The company, which resells used items, also gives back to its local community through its ‘Charity Umbrella,’ which selects at least one charity to support each month. The company also hosts fundraising events for additional organizations. For Earth Day, it donated 10% of all sales to six conservation-focused nonprofits: the Bur Oak Land Trust, the Cedar Valley Association for Soft Trails, the Dubuque Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, the Friends of Vander Veer, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, and the Soil and Water Conservation Society. Local organizations can also create a charitable store account, toward which customers can donate unwanted items. “As they sell, your organization will accumulate money to be used as you see fit,” Stuff Etc. notes.
Photo Courtesy Stuff Etc Quality Consignment
