Grow your own

Vita makes quality, earth-friendly garden structures and takes care of its employees

The word vita is Latin for “life.” Costco garden structure supplier Vita does its best to live up to its name. “Our mission is to bring life to our customers, our partners and our team members through our design- forward products and our humanitarian projects,” says Vita co-owner and design and sourcing manager Eddie DeJong.

Products done right

DeJong says the company develops its products using a wide range of materials and styles to appeal to its customers’ tastes and preferences. “We work really hard at using materials that won’t break down,” he says. As a result, Vita offers a 20-year warranty on its white PVC garden beds.

If you don’t like the look or idea of plastic or polymer, the company also offers wood garden beds, made from lumber and sustainable bamboo (for indoor beds) certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. “We do things right so that our products last,” adds DeJong.

An eye to the environment

While creating quality products is of utmost concern to Vita, DeJong says the company does everything it can to minimize its impact on the environment. “Our cardboard packaging consists of 55% recycled material,” he says.

He also notes that the company’s Urbana garden bed line features aluminum posts that can be continuously recycled. The materials Vita uses for its garden beds are a bisphenol A– and phthalate-free polymer, safe for the environment and for growing vegetables.

Giving back

DeJong says Vita works in various ways to help communities in Canada and beyond. “We grow organic food in an outdoor showroom and research and development area at the company headquarters, which we donate to a local food bank,” he says. “Each year, aside from 2020 and 2021, due to pandemic-related concerns, we host a fall garage sale, also at the company headquarters. We split the profit among team members [employees] equally so they can donate to a charity of their choice.”

Since 2015, Vita has partnered with the community of Kageyo, Rwanda, a remote village with a population of about 3,000. The company has built more than 600 keyhole gardens there. “Most of them were built by a hired team, but some were built by us personally during visits,” says DeJong.