Coming into 2020, Scottish clothing brand Endura made a commitment to plant 1 million trees to help reduce carbon in the atmosphere. Even with the global pandemic, over 600,000 trees have been planted, putting them well on their way to hit their commitment to helping the environment.
“The one thing we must focus on now is the climate emergency,” explains company founder and Managing Director Jim McFarlane. “Once the ice caps have melted you’re not going to refreeze them any time soon – that’s the reason for our Million Trees initiative.”
The textile industry is the second-highest emitter of carbon emissions behind the oil industry. One of the best ways to remove carbon that has already been released into the atmosphere is reforestation. Not only does it pull carbon dioxide out of the air, but forests release huge quanities of oxygen, not to mention providing a habitat for many endangered species of the world.
By the end of June 2020, 619,962 trees have been planed on a sponsored site in Mozambique. Eden Reforestation Projects, a local organization Endura is working with to plant the majority of the trees, employs local villagers to help with the reforestation efforts. Not only does this provide income to help reduce the extreme poverty in the region, but it also helps educate those involved about the importance of trees in their ecosystem. The areas where the trees are planted are part of the mangrove channels of Mozambique’s coast, which provide a breeding ground for fish that are important to the region’s commercial fishing and a home for many species of threatened birds and animals.
“It’s one world, so we’ll plant trees wherever we can do it quickly, cheaply, and wherever they’ll be protected.” says Endura’s co-founder and Brand Director Pamela Barclay.
Closer to home, Endura has embarked on a project to plant native trees in Scotland as part of the project.
The One Million Trees Initiative is just part of Endura’s efforts to reduce their impact on the environment. Their clothing is made to last, bucking the trend of fast fashion found in many other parts of the clothing industry. Along with their clothing being perfluorocarbons (PFC) free since 2018, Endura offers repair service to keep their kit in service for as long as possible. The brand also donates 1% of their total sales to various causes.
Even with all of this work to help reduce their impact on the environment, Endura knows there is more to be done.
“We continue to work hard to drive authentic sustainability across the whole product offering and the business,” Barclay explains, “but our brand has a long way to go.”
Environmental impact is not something that can change overnight, and it must become a focus all companies to do their part to reduce emissions and waste while conserving precious natural resources. We hope to continue to see brands step up to do their part as Endura has done.
Heckling Editor, Image Taker, Crash Test Dummy, and Beard Master at Bikeworldnews.com
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