My Environmental Mission
I am no tree hugger, but I am a mother. I’m a businesswoman and soon to be grandmother. What’s my environmental position? That’s easy; I want to leave my children and grandchildren a world that’s better than the one I inherited from my parents. I may not look like an eco warrior, but I am.
We make every product we sell carbon neutral by donating to carbon sequestration projects around the globe. We have given money to forest management here at home and mangrove protection abroad. We also enable customers to voluntarily match our donations thereby making their purchase carbon positive! Carbon positive is removing more carbon from the atmosphere than is created by producing a product.
In 2021 we began to address our corporate carbon footprint by partnering with a tree planting organization in Costa Rica. We traveled to Costa Rica to inspect the operation with the idea of creating a long term partnership. Our carbon footprint as a company is complex, but it’s easy to see that the global travel we do adds quite a bit to our total. We believe planting trees that sequester carbon is a very good first step.
We don’t want to travel less as we believe in the positive effects enlarging our global impact through travel.
My eco goals are..
We make every product we sell carbon neutral by donating to carbon sequestration projects around the globe. We have given money to forest management here at home and mangrove protection abroad. We also enable customers to voluntarily match our donations thereby making their purchase carbon positive! Carbon positive is removing more carbon from the atmosphere than is created by producing a product.
In 2021 we began to address our corporate carbon footprint by partnering with a tree planting organization in Costa Rica. We traveled to Costa Rica to inspect the operation with the idea of creating a long term partnership. Our carbon footprint as a company is complex, but it’s easy to see that the global travel we do adds quite a bit to our total. We believe planting trees that sequester carbon is a very good first step.
We don’t want to travel less as we believe in the positive effects enlarging our global impact through travel.
My eco goals are..
Why have we chosen Costa Rica?
Costa Rica is a prime location to plant trees to fight global warming! Costa Rica is located within 10° of the equator, where trees grow for 365 days of the year. Continuous growth rates without a period of hibernation accounts for the largest amount of carbon sequestration.
The Southern Pacific Zone of Costa Rica is one of the few places on Earth with intact stretches of healthy rainforest. Creating wildlife corridors by replanting trees in deforested pastures promotes the growth of biodiversity! Preserving and promoting this unique ecosystem is so important when species loss is increasing due to climate change.
The country of Costa Rica understands the importance of preserving their natural resources. Over 25% of the landmass is protected in National Parks and public/private land reserves. Natural features such as trees and rivers are given constitutional protection.
The Southern Pacific Zone of Costa Rica is one of the few places on Earth with intact stretches of healthy rainforest. Creating wildlife corridors by replanting trees in deforested pastures promotes the growth of biodiversity! Preserving and promoting this unique ecosystem is so important when species loss is increasing due to climate change.
The country of Costa Rica understands the importance of preserving their natural resources. Over 25% of the landmass is protected in National Parks and public/private land reserves. Natural features such as trees and rivers are given constitutional protection.
The Cotton Conundrum
Also in 2021 we began to shift our products towards organic cotton where possible. Using organic cotton should be very easy in this day and age, but it’s not. America only grows 1% of its total cotton crop in organic.
In India and Peru where we produce much of our product, certifying cotton as organic, that’s traceable and reliable is difficult. Nonetheless we have been advised by one of our environmental mentors, Eileen Fisher, who has faced the exact same issues to forge ahead regardless of traceability or certifications.
In India and Peru where we produce much of our product, certifying cotton as organic, that’s traceable and reliable is difficult. Nonetheless we have been advised by one of our environmental mentors, Eileen Fisher, who has faced the exact same issues to forge ahead regardless of traceability or certifications.
Fair Trade
Getting the stamp of “Fair Trade Certified” is a long and arduous process for manufacturers, especially the smaller ones we typically deal with.
In lieu of official designations we have chosen to take the time to visit every workshop and factory we make product in before we begin to ensure working conditions meet our standards.
We will begin to have discussions with our partners in India and Peru about becoming certified while ensuring they understand our primary intent is to protect workers from harm and ensure fair wages and working conditions.
In lieu of official designations we have chosen to take the time to visit every workshop and factory we make product in before we begin to ensure working conditions meet our standards.
We will begin to have discussions with our partners in India and Peru about becoming certified while ensuring they understand our primary intent is to protect workers from harm and ensure fair wages and working conditions.
The Bigger Picture
We understand how important treading lightly on the planet means to all of us. It’s not worth being in business knowing what we know without making a positive impact. We don’t want to stop traveling or buying things we love that make us happy.
We just want to do all that knowing we are making a positive impact with every trip, every product and every relationship we have. For a business to really last and be important for everyone involved it must serve a greater good we can all get behind. In our industry that greater good is the earth that supplies us with the materials we need to make our product.
Sometimes I wish it could be more of a unique niche but it’s not. We have a responsibility to improve every bit of soil that grows our cotton and the people who work in those fields.
We just want to do all that knowing we are making a positive impact with every trip, every product and every relationship we have. For a business to really last and be important for everyone involved it must serve a greater good we can all get behind. In our industry that greater good is the earth that supplies us with the materials we need to make our product.
Sometimes I wish it could be more of a unique niche but it’s not. We have a responsibility to improve every bit of soil that grows our cotton and the people who work in those fields.
Having Mentors
Much of what we are attempting to do has already been done. We are not reinventing the wheel, just getting onboard with doing our share and maybe a little bit more. The stars of this movement have been doing it a long time and have fought many battles we will get to enjoy the fruits of.
When we started doing research on our industry we found four companies we thought could be great mentors. Patagonia is the granddaddy of environmentalism in the consumer clothing business.
Eileen Fisher is a bit newer to the space, but is racing up the environmental curve and making a huge impact. Stella McCartney is the most outspoken, brave, stylish, iconoclast in the fashion business when it comes to environmental and moral issues. We are in awe of her power and commitment. Dr. Bronner while not a fashion brand, but is run with a cosmic conscience we envy and hope to emulate.
When we started doing research on our industry we found four companies we thought could be great mentors. Patagonia is the granddaddy of environmentalism in the consumer clothing business.
Eileen Fisher is a bit newer to the space, but is racing up the environmental curve and making a huge impact. Stella McCartney is the most outspoken, brave, stylish, iconoclast in the fashion business when it comes to environmental and moral issues. We are in awe of her power and commitment. Dr. Bronner while not a fashion brand, but is run with a cosmic conscience we envy and hope to emulate.
