Why Do We Plant Trees?

From the very beginnings of Mari & Clay, we knew we wanted to be a business that gives back to our community. And what better place to start than where everything started- in nature? That’s why we’re a proud partner of reforestation non-profit organization One Tree Planted. 

Our sunglasses frames are derived from wood fibres and our protective cases and delivery boxes are all made from paper. We’ve taken resources from the environment. That is why we decided with every pair of Mari & Clay sunglasses sold, we will plant one tree. During World Environment Day earlier this year, we also planted 10 trees for every pair sold. It’s our way of saying “thank you” to the environment. 

Who is One Tree Planted? One Tree Planted runs reforestation projects across the globe. Their mission is to make it easy for everyone to help the environment through planting trees. They currently have planting projects in North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa. This year, they also created a planting project in Australia, following the devastating bushfires in late 2019. Without hesitation, we knew this was the project we wanted to donate towards. Mari & Clay’s design inspirations are deeply rooted in the Australian great outdoors, and this project is very close to our hearts. 

Mari & Clay is proud to contribute to the goal of planting 250,000 trees across Australia by 2025. We’re excited to hear that the first planting project of 2020 has started in the Northern Rivers in New South Wales, where 31,728 trees have been planted so far this year, with another 27,790 more currently growing in local nurseries!

What makes planting trees good? Trees help clean the air we breathe, filter the water we drink, and provide habitat to over 80% of the world's terrestrial biodiversity. Forests provide jobs and absorb harmful carbon from the atmosphere, and are the key ingredients in 25% of all medicines. Have you ever taken an Aspirin? It comes from the bark of a tree!

Also, trees house our beloved Koalas, who devastatingly had their habitats destroyed during the recent fires. The goal of One Tree Planted’s project in Australia is to create a koala wildlife corridor by forming a linkage of habitat from Byron Bay westward towards Tenterfield, north to the Queensland border and south towards Grafton. Tree species that will be planted include Tallowwood, Swamp Mahogany, Forest Red Gum, Paperbark, Small-fruited Grey Gum, Flooded Gum - a mix of eucalyptus catering to koalas’ appetites.

This road to recovery is long and full of challenges. While forests and land are capable of regenerating themselves, not everything will be capable of growing back after the intensity of the fires. It will require some human intervention and rehabilitation. 

Mari & Clay believes small positive steps contribute to impactful changes. While we cannot travel during COVID-19, we hope that we get our hands dirty and plant trees with One Tree Planted in the future! 

If you would like to learn more about One Tree Planted and their reforestation projects, visit www.onetreeplanted.org

Written by Lauren Chang & Shay Zhang

Information and images provided by One Tree Planted.