In 2021 Weleda will turn 100 – and what better way to celebrate this remarkable milestone than by planting a Weleda Forest!
The company has announced plans for a long-term collaboration with the UK charity TreeSisters. The aim is to plant one million trees to combat climate change and kick off Weleda’s centenary celebrations in a way that also looks to the future.
Tree planting is one of the most symbolic of actions – one we often choose to mark a special occasion, to remember a loved one, to commemorate the past or look to the future by putting down roots and future growth.
Instead of focusing on a single location, Weleda will plant a forest of a million trees in areas around the world where trees are needed most urgently.
The trees will help to reclaim endangered rainforest, prevent flooding or soil erosion, protect natural habitats, support local communities in some of the poorest countries in the world and empower women in the workplace.
Weleda’s charity partner TreeSisters is a fantastic and high-impact organisation that is changing lives around the world while also helping to change our future.
It funds tropical reforestation projects globally with a focus on initiatives either run by women or supporting women around the world.
The organisation is also My Green Pod’s charity partner; for every transaction on our Marketplace, we pay for TreeSisters to plant a tree in the tropics as a way to say thank you.
Trees provide precious ingredients that are invaluable to Weleda wellbeing products. They are the source of birch leaf extract, leaf oil from silver fir needles, willow bark and horse chestnut bark extracts, myrrh resin extract, apricot and almond seed oil from organic orchards, lemon peel oil from Mediterranean citrus groves, nut oil from argan forests, the buttery goodness extracted from the nut of the Shea tree or coconut palm, sloe berries and blossom extract from blackthorn trees.
Forests also play a vital role as homes for the tree hives in Ethiopia where Weleda sources its organic beeswax.The shelter and shade created by the myriad trees and hedgerows in Weleda’s biodynamic herb gardens provide refuge for pollinators and actively encourage a vibrant biodiversity at Weleda’s growing sites.
‘We exist to rebuild our relationship between people and nature. Our uniqueness as an environmental organisation is that we are combination of women’s work and empowerment and consciousness shift and measurable ecological restoration.
‘When you give to TreeSisters you are growing forest corridors between the last remaining fragments of the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest, restoring vital territories for some of our most endangered species.
‘You are growing buffer zone community forests in Nepal to help protect the last 7% of what was once verdant Jhapa canopy forest, and restoring ancient cloud forest in one of the most biodiverse regions in Northeast India, while restoring soil fertility through agroforestry in the drought plagued South.
‘In Madagascar you are helping men and women out of indentured slavery as they become foresters, restoring both the Mangrove forest that protects their coasts and rehabilitates fish stocks, and the inland forests that house some of the most endangered species of indigenous Lima.
‘In Africa you are restoring rivers, streams and groundwater by reforesting the slopes of Mount Kenya that are so critical for agriculture. And you are growing a protective buffer of forest around the last 250 Cross River gorillas in Cameroon.
‘Climate change is not a spectator sport – it’s time for all of us to get off the bench and start playing this game, to make a difference.’
CLAIRE DUBOIS
Founder of TreeSisters
Every Christmas gift purchase from Weleda will also help fund the planting of tropical trees, sequestering carbon and directly replenishing the world’s forests.
Weleda’s 2020 Christmas collection comprises 10 stylishly simple and affordable gifts, to suit a range of budgets, that care for both people and planet.
At a time when many of us will be looking for gifts that are ethically sourced and sustainable, with minimal packaging or waste, these are gifts that give back and that will help to make Christmas a more meaningful and less wasteful celebration.
The sustainably packaged gifts are printed on board made from largely post-consumer recycled material mixed with FSC-certified board, using solvent-free vegetable inks to minimise carbon impact. For each gift purchased you will be planting a tree with TreeSisters.
Sales of Weleda’s new Christmas gifts have already ensured 47,255 trees will be planted.
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