Connection, collaboration and progress, for Earth Day 2026

As galleries prepare for Frieze New York, a subtle shift is taking place behind the scenes, and it’s changing the relationship with the status quo.

The rising cost of shipping is a familiar challenge for galleries; it adds financial pressure, particularly when exhibiting at art fairs.  

In response, Frieze is collaborating with ROKBOX LOOP to lower shipping costs for Frieze participating galleries.  

ROKBOX LOOP is a radical collaboration between fine art shippers, insurers and ROKBOX. It provides an international rental network for reusable fine art shipping crates, for one way journeys. LOOP’s reusable, lightweight crates provide superior protection while reducing carbon emissions by up to 92% per trip (compared to single-use wooden crates, see the LCA).

The circular model is already making a difference. 

It has already helped galleries and other clients to save 28 tonnes of packaging waste and 64 tonnes of CO2e. It proves that collaboration and shared infrastructure translates into measurable change.

For galleries, the shift isn’t just technical and economical, it’s deeply human. 

It’s reshaping relationships: to the materiality of packaging; to our connection with ecology, made tangible through the reduction of waste; and to one another, through the growing dialogue about climate resilience within fine art shipping.

The collaboration between ROKBOX and Frieze, both GCC Active Members, embeds cost-saving, carbon-lowering practices, and brings sustainability into sharper focus. It illustrates that meaningful, positive change can happen not only through the art we exhibit and the conversations we enjoy, but also in how we move art through the world.

It’s a commitment shared by many Gallery Climate Coalition members, including New York gallery Ortuzar.

As David from Ortuzar reflects: “I am very pleased with the ease of packing artworks and the support of the Rokbox Loop team, and I will sleep a bit better knowing there are fewer conventional crates destined for landfill.”

As Earth Day prompts reflection across the cultural sector, initiatives like this remind us that progress often begins with rethinking the fundamentals, and choosing to do things differently, together.