Supporting Social Enterprise
We believe that every action has the capacity to create positive impact. As does every purchase.
By strategically partnering with vendors that align with our values, together we can foster a kinder, more equitable world.
As a family-owned company, we work hard to develop authentic relationships with key partners who deliver products that are the very best for our guests and for the world. We engage with social enterprise companies who focus on more than just revenue, and include social impact as a staple in their business model.
From our retail spaces, to corporate gifting, to guest rooms and spas, we’re offering more and more items that drive impact and change lives. You’ll know them by the Products with Purpose tag. These partnerships allow us to make our work in hospitality – and our guests’ stays – more impactful for our neighborhoods and beyond.
Transforming lives through the dignity of work
With Procure Impact, we enable work for those with underestimated potential.
Our partnership with Procure Impact connects us and our guests with high-quality products made by underestimated makers, artisans, and craftspeople. Thistle Farms empowers women survivors of exploitation through lotions, candles, and lip balms. Cameron’s Coffee & Chocolates provides job skills to adults with intellectual disabilities while creating elegant chocolates. Unshattered supports recovering individuals with fashionable bags, offering community and economic stability. These purchases enable healing and provide a sense of value and purpose through meaningful work.
Broadening our positive impact with every bite
Sustainable procurement of food products and packaging with Avendra.
With Avendra as our partner, we sharpened our focus on sustainability in procurement and identified more sustainable and ethically sourced products in our supply chain.
More than ever, we partner with vendors who match not just our elevated quality standards, but our sustainability strategy as well. Often this means buying from local, smaller partners - like Hen Pen farm who provides the Meritage Collection with cage-free eggs. Or Box Water who supplies single-serve water in cardboard rather than plastic bottles.
This allows us, and our guests, to expand the positive impact we have in our communities and beyond.
Reducing plastics in our oceans
Our partnership with 4Ocean aligns with our respect and honor of the ocean.
We’ve joined in 4Ocean’s global mission to end the ocean plastic crises. As two of our resorts are beachfront, honoring and maintaining the ocean is near to our hearts.
4Ocean teams around the world pull plastic from oceans and rivers while providing consistent, living-wage employment to those most affected by plastic pollution. Artisans create jewelry from plastics recovered from the ocean to fund the cleanups and spread the message.
To do our part, we’ve pledged to reduce our plastic use across our portfolio. We’ve begun fulfilling our pledge by selecting vendors who prioritize plastic reduction by reducing excessive packaging, using recycled materials, avoiding single-use plastic wrap and using glass or reusable packaging as much as possible.
Water-bottle workwear
Environmentally conscious uniform selection with Jalin Design.
Jalin Design provides our teams with uniforms that are stylish, comfortable, durable – and made out of recycled water bottles.
The recycled polyester that is used in our uniforms at select properties reduces plastic waste, lowers non-renewable petroleum extraction and has 75% less emissions than virgin polyester. This fabric is designed for longevity, which means it will stay out of a landfill longer, reducing this type of waste.
We have launched recycled water-bottle uniforms at two properties, Ko’a Kea Resort and Hotel Viata Austin, with our sights set on more in the future.