Meet Ren Li

Ren Li launched his outdoor furniture venture in 1999 by establishing a company in Hangzhou (initially called Hangzhou Zhongyi Trading Ltd) to tap China’s booming furniture market. He soon renamed the company Letright – embodying his personal motto to “do things right and do the right things” – and set out to raise the bar for elegant outdoor living. China’s rapid economic growth and Ren Li’s own passion for nature-inspired design fueled this founding vision. In Ren’s view, outdoor spaces offer a refreshing and liberating experience, and Letright was created to make high-end outdoor living accessible and sustainable.

Do things right and do the right things.

Letright’s corporate vision is to become “a global leader in outdoor living through innovation and sustainability”. The company integrates R&D, design, manufacturing and sales to offer total outdoor-living solutions. Its official mission – “Better outdoor living, happier human beings” – reflects Ren Li’s belief that superior product design and customer experience must go hand-in-hand with environmental responsibility. Under his guidance, Letright has cultivated a strong R&D culture and international outlook, striving to provide differentiated lifestyle solutions while preserving nature.

Commitment to Sustainability

Ren Li’s focus on sustainability emerged from a personal turning point in 2001. After only a couple of years in business, he visited a timber supplier and saw a once-forested hillside stripped bare to meet his furniture orders. Shocked and pained by the sight, Ren Li realized he needed to reshape his business around environmental stewardship. He later explained that this event inspired him to act on the principle that “every positive action, no matter how small, contributes to a larger impact.” From that moment, Ren Li resolved to transform Letright into an eco-conscious enterprise, even though few others in the industry were doing the same.

This commitment meant making concrete changes in Letright’s operations. Ren Li ordered his factories to stop using natural wood and harmful materials – banning timber, PVC and cadmium where possible – and to focus on recyclable, non-toxic alternatives. He and his team spent years developing new materials and technologies. For example, in 2001 Letright began large-scale production of solar-powered garden lights to cut energy use, and in 2007 introduced Polywood (an eco-friendly wood-grain composite) to reduce the use of natural wood. By 2016 Letright deployed advanced heat-transfer technology to create durable wood-look finishes on aluminum frames, giving customers the warmth of wood without the environmental cost.

Integrating sustainability also meant overcoming skepticism. Colleagues and customers initially questioned why Letright refused even FSC-certified wood. But Ren Li stood firm: he publicly declared that choosing sustainability over short-term profit was the company’s core principle. Over time, Letright won customers by matching or exceeding wood’s performance in design and durability, proving that eco-friendly practices could go hand in hand with luxury and growth. This culture – from product development to factory waste management – has become deeply ingrained, with Letright’s operations now certified to international environmental standards (ISO 14001) and powered in part by solar energy (saving thousands of tons of CO₂ annually).

In line with Ren Li’s vision, Letright has continued to push sustainable innovation. The company’s latest showcase is the Solaryard Smart Pergola (Ombra), launched in 2023. This solar-powered, climate-controlled pergola extends outdoor living year-round and even achieves a net negative carbon footprint by generating more clean energy than it uses. Each step – from product design to factory processes – reflects Ren Li’s drive to make environmental responsibility a practical advantage for customers and the planet alike.