Unprecedented times

Planet Earth is going through a very difficult time right now. We produce more than 380 million tons of plastic every year, which is roughly the weight of the entire human population. Meanwhile, we have also cut down 10 million hectares of forest in the same period - an area ten times the size of the Netherlands or almost the size of England.

The truth is that we are currently consuming the Earth's resources at an unprecedented rate. Our consumption patterns have become increasingly unsustainable over the past few decades, which is why our choices are more important now than ever.

That's why we're proud that offering natural and plastic-free products is the foundation of The Bamboovement. It's our way of trying to make the world a little bit better.

Sustainable initiatives

However, there is always an additional step you can take. In our case, for example, collaborating with like-minded organizations. Because we also believe that working together on ambitious initiatives can lead to fruitful contributions. That is why we are very pleased that we recently joined forces with the International Association of Human Values (IAHV) and Eden Reforestation Projects (ERP) together.

We met Shailen Mittal, a member of the IAHV UK Executive Board, at an event in London. From the beginning, the shared ambition to restore the world to health was evident. He is the project leader of Climate Action Now (CAN), an IAHV initiative, to raise funds to plant as many trees as possible.

Reforestation

Shailen's open-mindedness, passion and network paved the way for our new partnership. Through IAHV we came into contact with ERP, a global expert in tree planting with hundreds of millions of trees under their belt. They work in eight different countries and manage over two hundred local projects. A detailed overview of the complete portfolio can be found on this website. Their work has inspired us to focus on planting trees as well. We grow one for every order in our webshop, every freebie sold and every newsletter subscription. In this video, founder Dr. Stephen Fitch explains their daily work to achieve their mission.

Why Eden Reforestation Projects?

There are more and more NGOs working hard to combat deforestation. Why did we choose to partner with IAHV and ERP?

To answer this question, we look at the impacts of deforestation: severe flooding, erosion and desertification. Local ecosystems and communities are particularly affected by these consequences. Native biodiversity is declining sharply and local populations are being pushed into extreme poverty because the land that feeds them no longer exists. That's why we believe that the key to successful tree planting projects is to actively involve local people.

Busy-at-work

ERP's "Employ-to-Plant vision" is a beautiful initiative that recognizes the interest of these local communities. By hiring villagers to grow saplings and plant trees, they provide them with a steady income. As the reforestation project continues, healthy forests are re-emerging. In the meantime, the negative effects of deforestation are starting to fade.

The core values ​​of the Employ-to-Plant method are:

• Working with villages to restore their forests;
• Education of locals in exchange for a fixed income;
• Collecting native seeds from remaining forests;
• Achieving a survival rate of at least 80%.

A growing movement

You might feel discouraged when you read the facts in the first paragraph. Or when you watch the news and see terrifying images and videos of bushfires flaring in every corner of the world. However, an incredible growing movement is working hard to preserve Earth's rich biodiversity.

Countries from all over the world are recognizing the benefits of protecting forests and their ecosystems. Ethiopia is a good example. In 2019, they launched a record by planting 350 million trees in one day. Their new goal? Five billion trees to preserve their national forests. Additionally, new policies are being introduced around the world to combat plastic pollution. African countries are pioneers in the ban on plastic items. Finally, the western countries in their footsteps by introducing stricter policies.

Our goal

We are aware that the production and shipping of products leads to CO2 emissions. That is why we have set ourselves the goal of calculating the ecological footprint of our products. This way we know what to do to fully offset the emissions of our range.

By planting trees, we can offer CO2-neutral and ultimately CO2-negative products. CO2-negative is climate-positive. With these types of products, more CO2 is stored than the production process requires. In 2022, we want to contribute to the restoration of valuable forests by planting at least 100,000 trees.

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