Making This Right Through Reforestation

May 1, 2024

Our partnership with One Tree Planted 

The toilet paper industry is responsible for more than its fair share of deforestation. It’s a product made primarily of hard and soft wood tree pulp and requires the decimation of millions of acres of our forests each year.

Traditional toilet paper is an incredibly wasteful product with a short life cycle. It begins with the destruction of trees and ends with being flushed down into our sewers. Is that really worth the sacrifice of thousands of trees per day?

When our planet loses trees, we lose more than just beautiful wooded lands. Habitats for diverse plants and animals are eliminated, and rich soils are left vulnerable to drought and erosion. We also gain something: greenhouse gas. 

When it comes to human impact on the planet, we’re most guilty of emitting greenhouse gases. Transportation, electricity, fertilizing food crops, and raising livestock all contribute to the production of greenhouse gases. Deforestation is another culprit.

Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, traps the earth’s energy and keeps it in our atmosphere. Trees are the planet’s number one weapon against the increase in greenhouse gases because they help regulate carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

During photosynthesis, leaves take in carbon dioxide and water from the air and soil. Then, they use the sun’s energy to convert it into compounds, like glucose, that feed the tree and allow it to grow. 

If you don’t find that already impressive, the result of the chemical reaction that turns carbon dioxide into glucose is oxygen! Trees eliminate harmful carbon dioxide and trade us for life-giving oxygen.

As we continue to lose trees to the production of traditional toilet paper, the planet’s ability to lessen this harmful greenhouse gas weakens. We also lose out on the precious oxygen that trees provide.

We’ve got to take our forests out of flushing, so HeyBamboo offers you a better way to wipe! 

Our Impact on Toilet Paper Production

HeyBamboo wants the best for your bum, but that’s a close second to our desire to do what’s best for the planet!

HeyBamboo toilet paper is 100% bamboo and contains zero tree byproducts. In manufacturing our toilet paper, HeyBamboo will never contribute to tree loss. That’s because we use the amazing super plant bamboo.

Bamboo is not a tree but a grass that can be harvested without disrupting soil ecosystems and without the need for replanting. When a bamboo stalk is cut, it simply grows back. (Think of the grass on your lawn or the hair on your head!)

Not only do we make use of the very best material for toilet paper, but we also ensure that our production process uses less water and electricity. Add our compostable wrappers, recyclable shipping labels, and zero-plastic packaging for a perfectly eco-friendly product.

Despite all our environmental efforts, we know we can’t go at it alone. 

That’s why we’re proud to share our partnership with One Tree Planted, a non-profit organization dedicated to deforestation.

Our Partners: One Tree Planted

One Tree Planted is a charity organization established in 2014. They put it very simply; their goal is to get trees in the ground. 

Like HeyBamboo, One Tree Planted recognizes the importance of trees to our environment and the result reforestation efforts can yield.

Reforestation is the act of replanting trees in areas that have been degraded or deforested. Sometimes this is a result of a natural occurrence like a wildfire, but a significant contributor is unnatural, and that’s the human impact of harvesting trees for paper products.

Reforestation efforts can be accomplished by encouraging natural regeneration, where the roots of old trees that are still alive in the ground are encouraged to grow. Additionally, reforestation occurs when saplings are planted in an area.

The benefits of reforestation? Well, they’re essentially reversing all the devastating effects of deforestation.

Reforestation:

  • Increases the number of trees available to absorb carbon dioxide
  • Prevents soil erosion
  • Provides habitat for plants and animals 
  • Reduces the impact of global warming and climate change
  • Helps protect endangered species that live in our forests
  • Prevents flooding and landslides

One Tree Planted is on a mission to make it easier for everyone to contribute to positive environmental change through reforestation.

One Tree Planted has efforts in 80 countries across the globe, working with nearly 700 planting partners. They’ve got some other pretty impressive stats!

The impact of One Tree Planted:

  • Over 92 million trees planted since 2014
  • From 2021 to 2022 doubled the number of trees planted
  • 44 million trees already committed for 2023
  • Restored nearly 98,000 hectares of forest
  • Less than 20% of all revenue goes toward operating costs; funds are for the forests!

One Tree Planted has active projects in four major regions: North America, Latin America, Africa, and Asia/Pacific. Additionally, One Tree Planted consistently focuses on supplementing trees in critical areas where they’re identified as needed most. Currently, that project focuses on the reforestation of Longleaf Pine forests in North America.

How it Works

One Tree Planted accepts donations on its website, where contributors can choose their region or even the specific project they’d like to support. Those donations are distributed to their planting partners who grow saplings. When the saplings are viable, the One Tree Planted team sets out to transplant them to areas impacted by deforestation. 

Their process for planting is careful and effective. It isn’t a matter of simply planting a tree in a field. The One Tree Planted team has a robust approach to re-establishing healthy forest growth.

Important steps in their process:

  1. Assess the condition of the land and local land use.
  2. Be well-informed about what species are most appropriate for the region.
  3. Scale seedling production at nurseries to meet the need in the area.
  4. Ensure staff and volunteers are available and in place.

Once planting has been completed on a project, they monitor the progress of the trees and chart the impact over time. You can see exactly how your contribution has promoted positive environmental change!

That’s not all; they offer eco-conscious businesses an opportunity to make even more of an impact. What does that mean for HeyBamboo?

The Planting Power of Your Purchase

We have a fantastic opportunity to help tackle deforestation with our product. One Tree Planted plants a tree for every box of HeyBamboo toilet paper sold; it’s like double the deforestation! 

By purchasing bamboo toilet paper, you’re contributing to a more environmentally-friendly approach to T.P. (Bamboo is your tree-free option!) On top of that, every box you purchase gives back to our forests. Imagine, every time you go, our world gets greener!

We’ve taken the work out of doing your part to help counter the effects of deforestation. With HeyBamboo, it’s easy! Buying our toilet paper automatically makes you an eco-conscious consumer, and with our One Tree Planted partnership it also makes you a tree champion!

You have to wipe anyway; why not put some plant power behind your poo?

HeyBamboo Gives You an Added Bonus

We set out to create top-quality toilet paper that checks all the boxes for comfort and reliability. We also didn’t budge on our commitment to the environment. 

The added bonus of buying HeyBamboo is getting the opportunity to put your purchase toward worthy reforestation efforts. We’ve put together a great product and a great partnership with One Tree Planted; now, we just need you! 

Buy a box or start a subscription to save and ensure you never run out of our tree-free T.P.!

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Joslyn Faust is the founder of HeyBamboo, where she has made it her mission to eliminate the waste of wiping! Through knowledge, compassion, and intentional habits, she believes we can make a difference in the future of our planet. Joslyn embraces efforts that curtail climate change and is committed to doing her part in saving our trees, one T.P. roll at a time. You can connect with her on Linkedin

Resources:
USDA
One Tree Planted