We are so excited to announce to you on World Environment Day our new 6 month project as part of our sustainability commitment to you and our planet.
For the next 6 months, we are partnering with 3 organisations to:
1. Clean 100 kilometres of Australian shorelines
2. Plant 2,000 trees on Australian soil
3. Provide 30,000 meals to Australians in need
These causes are really close to our heart, and we have rigorously researched the organisations we are partnering with to ensure we are providing the best support to our environment and our community. We will release more information throughout the next two weeks, so stay tuned for details.
We want to thank every customer who has inspired us to make better choices and go greener. This is just another step we are taking alongside our commitment to transition our entire range into compostable and more sustainable packaging. You have the power to vote with every dollar you spend, and we are so proud that a portion of your purchases with us are going back to help our environment and community.
We are so excited to announce our partnership with Clean Ocean Foundation to clean up 100km of Australian beaches over the next 6 months! Clean Ocean Foundation is an Australian Charity whose aim is to reduce all forms of ocean pollution. We have partnered with them to fund the clean up of 10 different sites in Australia over the next 6 months that have a high density of litter, that are 10kms long, with teams spending 10 hours cleaning up each site.
Here's a few facts about why we're taking action to help clean up our beaches:
1. Globally, 8 million items of litter enter the marine environment everyday, with estimates of 70% ending up on the sea bed, 15% on beaches and 15% floating on the surface.
2. According to research by CSIRO, 75% of rubbish along the Australian coast is plastic, and the density of plastic ranges from a few thousand pieces to over 40,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometre.
3. In one day, Australians produce enough plastic waste to fill an entire beach.
4. Plastic takes up to 1000 years to decompose and every piece can therefore kill more than one marine animal.
5. At least 77 species of marine wildlife found in Australian waters are affected by entanglement in or ingestion of marine debris. It's believed over half of all sea turtles are harmed by plastic ingestion.
This is the second step we are taking to help reduce waste in our country and beaches, with our first step being our commitment to moving our entire range away from plastic and into compostable or more sustainable packaging.
Carbon Neutral Charitable Fund
We are proudly partnering with Carbon Neutral Charitable Fund (CNCF) to plant 2,000 trees in Australia over the next 6 months.
CNCF has planted over 5.4 million trees since 2007 on degraded land in Australia, to support natural ecosystems and wildlife, and help reverse some of the damage that mass deforestation has caused in our country. CNCF’s approach is to take degraded, unused farmland and restore the natural habitat by planting a mix of native vegetation that are indigenous to the area. Planting trees offsets the carbon emissions we create every day, and they are absolutely crucial to the health of our planet and wildlife.
Here’s a few facts as to why we are taking action to help plant more trees:
1. Australia is one of the top 10 deforesters in the world and has lost nearly 40% of its bushland and forest.
2. Trees are critical for maintaining safe levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide on our planet. They filter air and water from harmful pollutants, and they help cool the planet by vacuuming up harmful greenhouse grasses and turning it into oxygen. In cities, trees can reduce overall temperatures by up to 8 degrees Celsius.
3. Native trees also assist our agricultural areas to be more sustainable, prevent salinity and soil erosion, provide shade, shelter, food and habitat to native animals.
4. The effect of land clearing has been disastrous. Around 20% of Australian mammals, 7% of reptiles, 13% of birds are listed as Extinct, Endangered or Vulnerable, including koalas.
5. Only 10% Australian land being cleared is being restored, so we’re racking up an extreme environmental debt that we aren’t keeping up with.
The rate of deforestation in our home is so alarming, and we all need to do our bit to help if we want Australia to stay beautiful and healthy.
We are thrilled to announce the last part of our Project Give Back commitment to our environment and community. We're partnering with OzHarvest to provide 30,000 meals to Australians in need over the next 6 months!
OzHarvest is incredible. They are Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, collecting quality excess food from commercial outlets and delivering it directly to more than 1300 charities supporting people in need across the country. They have rescued 37,000 tonnes of food that would be otherwise wasted and delivered 109 million meals to Aussies in need since 2004
Here's a few facts about food wastage and people in need, taken from OzHarvest's website:
1. Nearly four million Aussies experience food insecurity each year, one quarter are children.
2. Over 710,000 Aussies rely on food relief each month.
3. Over 5 million tonnes of food ends up as landfill in Australia, enough to fill 9,000 Olympic sized swimming pools.
4. One in five shopping bags ends up in the bin = $3,800 worth of groceries per household each year.
5. The Government estimates food waste costs the Australian economy $20 billion each year.
There is more than enough food to go around to care for everyone in our country, and we are so grateful for the work that OzHarvest does and proud that a portion of your purchases with us will be going to help to nourish our country.
