And so, as of February 2020 we have pledged to donate a portion of our proceeds from every shirt and hat sale to assist in the planting of 8 trees. We have partnered with Eden Reforestation Projects who are the ones physically planting those 8 trees throughout the world. We absolutely love their mission of providing fair wage employment to impoverished villagers as agents of global forest restoration.

Nepal is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world and rural villagers in Nepal directly depend on their natural environment for food, shelter, and income. When the local environment is damaged or destroyed, the poor are the first to feel the negative effects. Forced to live on marginal lands, they are at greatest risk. Without financial resources or the knowledge to manage vulnerable resources in a sustainable way, they often further degrade their lands in order to survive. In this way, the problem perpetuates their poverty.

Madagascar is more than just an island from an animated movie. It’s a nation with over 200,000 species of plants and animals that don’t exist anywhere else in the world. But more than 90% of Madagascar’s original forests have been destroyed, displacing entire animal species and taking away the Malagasy’s ability to farm and live on the land. Entire mangrove estuaries are gone, leaving the bare earth to wash away into the sea.

After decades of work and millions of dollars invested by the international community, Haiti remains one of the most environmentally degraded countries on earth. With 98% of Haiti’s forests already gone, the UN estimates that 30% of the nations remaining trees are being destroyed each year. The majority of Haiti’s population uses charcoal as their primary cooking fuel, and charcoal production is a major cause of the continued deforestation of Haiti. This deforestation magnifies the effects of hurricanes and contributes to soil degradation which leaves people without anyway to farm their food.

Made up of over 17,000 islands, Indonesia is one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. These islands are home to 12% of the world’s mammals, 16% of the world’s reptiles and amphibians, 17% of the world’s birds and 25% of global fish populations. Among these 17,000 islands, there are 135 threatened mammal species, including the endangered Sumatran Tiger, Orangutans, the Javan Rhinoceros and Sumatran Elephants.

An estimated 40 million rural dwelling Indonesians rely heavily on the biodiversity of their environment for subsistence needs. Traditional fishermen rely on the wetland ecosystems all around the islands, including mangroves, coral reefs and sea grass for their livelihood. In the last 3 decades, Indonesia has lost over 40% of its mangrove forests, affecting not only the environment and the species that rely on them but also the communities that depend on this ecosystem for survival.

Mozambique is located on the eastern coast of Africa with 68% of its population living in rural parts of the country. This Eastern African country is home to 20 globally threatened bird species, and over 200 endemic mammal species. With over 45% of the population living beneath the poverty line, the population relies heavily on its natural resources and forests for survival.

Historically home to vast mangrove estuaries and forests, Mozambique’s mangroves have been largely decimated and destroyed.