UPS helps businesses grow with sustainable shipping and easy returns

Dustin Martin, CEO of Up Paint, had a simple but powerful question: What happens to unused paint? The answer – 85 million paint gallons in the U.S. are wasted every year, and much of it ends up in landfills or oceans. This problem sparked the idea for the world’s first commercial upcycled paint company, Up Paint. They take leftover paint and transform it into fresh, high-quality color through a proprietary process.

But shipping paint isn’t easy – it’s heavy, messy and highly regulated. That’s where UPS comes in. Together, we built a logistics solution that not only keeps paint safe in transit but also powers Up Paint’s  “Buy 1, Recycle 1” program. Through this program, every gallon ordered online includes prepaid return shipping so customers can send back old paint for free recycling.

“UPS’s network allows our customers to drop off old paint at The UPS Store locations across the U.S., which means we can recycle at scale,” Dustin shared. “Their sustainable shipping options, speed and reliability have made a critical difference in the trajectory of our company.”

“Up Paint was excited about how we could make things simple for their customers,” said UPS Vice President of Sales Robert Wypyski. “With prepaid returns and The UPS Store network – and the fact that about 86% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of one – recycling becomes effortless. That kind of convenience is what drives real impact and long-term growth.”

Together, we’ve already saved over a million gallons of paint from ending up in the environment … and we’re just getting started.

Shared values: At UPS, sustainability is a mindset. We listen to our customers and work with them to advance tailored sustainability solutions such as low-carbon shipping, supply chain optimization and emissions reporting.