'A Big, Green Step': Grassracks + VNC

Since 2014, Grassracks has been using Vermont Natural Coatings to coat their sustainable, bamboo storage racks.

We spoke with Evan, co-founder of Grassracks, to learn how Vermont Natural Coatings fits into their business and mission.

Keep reading to learn about the different *wheys* (we couldn't resist), that Grassracks utilizes our non-toxic wood coatings!

Tell us about the history of Grassracks and how your relationship with Vermont Natural Coatings began

The story of Grassracks is a tale as old as time. Two best friends from high school (and avid outdoor adventuremen) graduated from college and saw an opportunity to create something beautiful, eco-friendly, and helpful for all of our outdoorsy peers. Andrew used his engineering background, I used my marketing, and when the dust settled we had created an epic line of strong, functional, good-looking, and sustainable racks for almost any type of outdoor gear. Our priority was creating incredibly high-quality products and part of that is using eco-friendly materials like bamboo. Obviously, being an eco-conscious company goes beyond just the material, it extends into every aspect, including what we use to finish and protect our products.

Our connection to Vermont Natural Coatings originally came about through a mutual friend. Andrew (of Vermont Natural Coatings) and I (Evan of Grassracks) have a very close friend in common who is as close as you can get to a superhero in real life. She’s a truly epic human. One day I was updating her about Grassracks and our mission and she immediately connected me to the wonderful people at Vermont Natural Coatings. It’s kind of funny, almost like fate.. because we had been really struggling to find a finish that we liked and she basically just plopped the answer right in front of us.

Then it was just a matter of sampling a few different finishes and picking what we liked best.

How does Vermont Natural Coatings contribute to Grassracks’ efforts in being sustainable?

Switching to Vermont Natural Coatings was a big, green step for us. We had a few different milestones. Step 1 in our process was to determine what materials we could use that fit our functionality and aesthetic requirements within the spectrum of products that were sustainably grown and contribute to a healthy environment. Initially, we just found some easy-application sealer for our products; like something you would use on your deck, we brushed it on, but that took forever and it was terrible. Then as we started to really wrap our heads around how we could be holistically sustainable, we started to look into every aspect of our business from boxing and shipping to scrap, nesting, and finish.

We went online and bought the gamut of different eco-friendly finishes and oils to test. They were OK in some aspects but nothing offered us exactly what we wanted. At first we just kept saying the word “eco-friendly finish”, not really knowing what we wanted or needed. After we started to do some spraying and spent many hours in spray booths wearing masks with fans and filters around us, we added “non-toxic” and “low VOC” to the list. This is something that would not only benefit the environment and our customers but also ensure that our own lungs would have a better chance at breathing air well into the future....which we are big fans of.

Once we turned the cans around, we realized how good Vermont Natural Coatings was. For example, in terms of VOCs alone, most “low VOC finishes” sit around 250 g/l, the Vermont Natural Coatings product that we use is 95 g/l, so not even half of some other products. 

The whole Vermont Natural Coatings' idea of using the whey from cheese-making to displace harmful chemicals traditionally found in finishes is the stuff that environmentalist dreams are made of.

What were you looking for when you landed on Vermont Natural Coatings?

Equally important to a sustainable product was performance. Obviously it’s nice if something is eco-friendly but if it doesn’t work, it’s not useful and won’t be adopted. Even though our racks are intended for indoor use, they’re made for outdoor gear like surfboards, skis, snowboards, bikes, and more. Lots of these sports end up with wet gear, so it was important to use a robust finish that would hold up to moisture and UV. 

Despite being displays, our products get a fair amount of traffic, especially with active adventurers. Because of that, we wanted something that could stand up to scuffs and use. What we landed on was Vermont Natural Coatings' PolyWhey® 3500. It more than meets our needs. We did a lot of our own, some hilarious, testing and Vermont Natural Coatings was by far the best. Actually, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen your mar testing, but I’m sure it’s great, based on our own highly scientific and professional testing methods.

Regarding aesthetics, a large part of our mission is to make the best-looking gear racks on the market and since bamboo is such a beautiful material, we wanted a finish that would bring out the natural color and grain of our product without affecting clarity. The finish dries clear which brings out the natural bamboo color and shows off that beautiful grain.

Lastly was application. In our search, we tried a lot of oils and while we liked how they made the products look, it took too long to oil every piece. We needed something that could be applied easily in scale.

What is the application process of the product like?

Application is great, it’s a very easy spray. Back in the olden days when we were just starting out, we would brush this on by hand.. which just took an eternity but we evolved to spraying and that has saved us just a ridiculous amount of time and puts a gorgeous smooth finish on our products.

One of the great things is that we don’t have to cut the finish with thinner, which removes a step from traditional lacquer finishes. We just pop it into our feed cups and spray our heart out.

Something I didn’t expect was just how fast Vermont Natural Coatings would dry. It dries incredibly fast and that saves us a ton of time.

What is your favorite Vermont Natural Coatings product?

I’m partial to the PolyWhey® 3500 that we use. The application and cleanup is so easy, it’s incredibly robust, it dries well and looks fantastic with our bamboo. We couldn’t be happier with it.

I have recently found myself in possession of some Vermont Natural Coatings stains and wood conditioner, though. I’ve been playing around with them with some art pieces that I create through my passion project turned fully fledged brand, Bodhi Life, and they’ve turned out great.

What new projects does Grassracks have on the horizon?

I would love to be mysterious and say we have some top secret things that we’re working on.. but the reality is that our goals are pretty transparent, create the best racks for people who love their gear and the environment. Not just because it organizes and protects our stuff, but because it acts as a picture frame that fires up our adventure highlight reel every time we catch a glimpse of our favorite gear. We want to be a no-brainer product for every outdoor athlete. 

While we focus mainly on outdoor gear racks, we will be expanding that into some cool display for musical instruments and general organization in the near future.

Ok, I said nothing mysterious, but we actually have been working on some cool furniture designs for a few years that could change how people purchase, receive, and assemble furniture. I’ve said too much.. it’s in development and it’s awesome.

Check out our friends at Grassracks!