Our Tree Planting Initiatives as a Sustainable Business

Trees play an essential role in counterbalancing carbon emissions. Given that the Fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual carbon emissions (The World Bank), it’s never been more important for brands to work towards reducing – and offsetting – their impact.

An increasing number of brands are now introducing policies around tree planting, by partnering with organisations who work alongside local farmers to directly bring social, environmental and financial benefits to their communities. We thought we’d dive into this subject in a bit more detail and discuss some of the advantages of this environmental strategy.

Why is it Important to Support Tree Planting?

The Impact of Deforestation 

Each time you say the word ‘Deforestation', a forest the size of a football pitch is removed (WWF). Deforestation unsustainably clears land to create land for urban use, to grow crops or to raise livestock. However, this comes at a serious cost, as the removal of trees destroys vital ecosystems, communities and natural flood defences, whilst also directly contributing to climate change.

The Benefits of Reforestation 

Tree planting can help to reverse some of the harm caused by deforestation. Reforestation is highly beneficial to our planet and to local communities; it creates new employment opportunities, restores ecosystems and poses as a natural flood defence – not to mention the fact that trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
 
However, there needs to be careful consideration of where to plant the new trees - areas that were previously forests are best, and it’s important to nurture the saplings well so that they’re able to grow.

The importance of conservation

“When combined, reforestation and conservation can make the biggest positive environmental impact” - One Tree Planted 

Whilst reforestation certainly has its benefits, one of the best short-term strategies is conservation. In many cases, it’s far more sustainable to protect existing forests in the first place, which efficiently soak up more carbon and have become more resilient to natural hazards - like fires, storms and droughts (BBC News). Trees take years to grow, and the environmental benefits of reforestation are often not felt for a long time.

What are We Doing To Support Tree Planting? 

Y.O.U Underwear has recently partnered with organisations to plant trees on our behalf. Over the 2020 Black Friday weekend we planted 110 trees with the Eden Reforestation Project, and we’ve recently partnered with Treedom to plant 50 trees in our very own Y.O.U forest! This was all on top of our usual donation of two pairs of underwear for every pair of underwear sold.

• Eden Reforestation employs local people to restore and replenish lost forests and mangroves.
• Treedom provides financial aid to farmers to plant trees, whilst supporting their work as they wait for the trees to grow!
• Ecologi works with Eden Reforestation to plant trees. For every sign up to our newsletter, we're planting a tree in our Ecologi forest. You can sign up here (and plant a tree for free!) 

Don’t worry if you missed out on getting your own tree, you can still support these two brilliant organisations and even get a discount to start your own forest with the discount code ‘YOU15’ to receive 15% off Treedom Trees!

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By Isabella Richardson