Problem: we have many gallons of leftover quality paint, in very nice colours.
Ecopainting is an environmentally responsible contractor. One of the most efficient ways to reduce waste is to reduce it at the source. The theory being, if we don’t buy too much, there will not be as much waste at the end of a job. We measure the surfaces well and we use paints that have good coverage. Despite all that, we end up with a few leftover gallons of good quality paint. Why does that happen? There are some good reasons for that:
- The customer sometimes changes their mind about the colour.
- Occasionally the paint store colour match is not acceptable to the customer.
- After a night commercial job, because of the large volume, there is always some leftover paint.
- Despite our best efforts, we still end up with extra paint.
Solution: Give the paint away to people that can use it!
With cool and crisp weather on the way, Ecopainting hosted the first Paint Giveaway of 2017 on March 4, 2017. The idea behind the event was to give away unused cans of paint and also engage with our local community. Whether people wanted to reinvent their living room or freshen up a room in their home, we wanted to make sure there was free paint for everyone.
So, on a beautiful Saturday morning, we waited with baited breath for people to show up at 1345 Morningside Avenue, Unit 20 (our office) and claim free cans of quality paint. There were more than 24 gallons of paint from top brands such as Benjamin Moore and Dulux.
The colours ranged from gray neutrals, green, orange and off whites. The first set of visitors were looking for some light grays to paint their basement. They also got some great advice from our in-house professional painter on what colour to paint a girl’s bedroom. Taking away about two gallons each of perfectly good paint and good advice they left with happy faces. They’d found our event listing on the web and also passed on the information to their friends and family!
In addition, we met with families who were looking to paint rooms themselves – without any outside help. A number of these budding local “painters” asked us why we were doing this – the answer was simple, to ensure all unused paints had a home and were used. It was a very gratifying experience knowing that we had in some way given back to the community.
The first half of the event was becoming a resounding success! As the morning progressed, we had some more families show up – some needed to paint a bathroom, others need advice on what paint would look best on exteriors. In the afternoon, we also had people who had traveled all the way from North York and Pickering to pick up a can or two. There were people from all walks of life who showed up:
- A mother and son duo who took away some nice, pale blue paint to paint a master bedroom that was in need of a makeover.
- A family of three sisters came together and carried couple a few gallons for their individual homes. All three of them complimented us on our ‘green’ initiative to give away paint.
Almost everyone we met had a kind word to us and seemed to be genuinely happy with the paint they got. Nobody returned empty handed and that was a huge plus for us. Apart from the general public, we also met an individual that works for Centennial College. Centennial is a customer we’d painted for recently. He also works as an event marketer and turned out to be a great resource to network with. He left us with some pointers on where we could hold events in the future. He graciously shared our Paint Giveaway event on his LinkedIn group.
Conclusions About the Paint Giveaway Event
Initially, the team was worried about people not showing up and as the hours passed, the worry became about whether there was enough paint for everyone! Next time we might ask for RSVP information, to make sure nobody goes home empty handed. Overall it turned out to be a busy and fun Saturday! The team at Ecopainting had a great time chatting with the community, discussing paints and educating families about colour choices. We had a really good feeling about this event and were thrilled to see such a great participation from the community.
We are planning to hold some more events this year, mostly focusing on sharing our knowledge and experience. Stay tuned!