The race is on! We’ve been planting, protecting or restoring a tree for every refill sold. With just over one month to go, this is how we're doing

On Earth Day this year, we made a big announcement. We committed to planting, protecting or restoring a tree for every refill sold throughout the year, with the goal of reaching 5 million trees by the end of 2022. As of today, we have sold 3,362,734 refills and therefore helped to nurture 3,362,734 trees. These trees are in locations all over the world, but our main focus has been helping to restore mangrove forests in the Sundarbans, India and Tudor Creek in Kenya. 

Here’s a small update about how those projects are going. 

Our tallest sapling is 3 ft  

The photo above shows our first batch of saplings planted in the Sundarbans this year. It took 3 months for them to reach this height, but this species of mangrove is called Xylocarpus moluccensi, and can grow up to 98 ft tall (the length of two volleyball courts) so there’s a way to go yet! These beauties are being monitored and protected by the local community that work on these projects.

The number of people from local communities involved in these projects is: 687 

As well as working to restore the mangrove forests that act as vital protection to the local villages against storms and floods (you can read more about the stories from our India project, here), this project has also provided jobs for many members of these communities. From planting seedlings to monitoring the nurseries or assessing the soil, lots of work has gone into giving these mangrove trees the best opportunity to thrive. Many villagers have lost their homes due to cyclones and floods, and these projects are also helping the communities financially. 

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Our support continues  

Once the seeds have been sown, this is not the end of the story. Seedlings are planted in nurseries, which are closely monitored by CCTV and the root systems are also managed by the workers. Nursery sites have been carefully chosen according to the terrain and they have made sure these sites are located away from crabs and goats that love to eat certain species of mangrove saplings.  

After four to nine months (depending on the species) the saplings are ready for transplanting. Three to five weeks after planting, the propagules are checked for leaves and where none appear, they replant and introduce new propagules and sometimes seedlings. One day, these baby saplings will grow into a dense forest that the local communities are hopeful will provide them and future generations with protection against the storms and floods they have seen become more frequent in recent years. That's why special attention has been paid to the pattern and places the saplings have been planted in, to ensure their best chance of providing ultimate protection in the future.  

There are just two months to go before the end of the year and we are passionate about reaching our goal of planting, protecting or restoring 5 million trees. Want to help us? Every refill you buy, means a tree is nurtured. If you’re new to refills or want to know all about the refillable products we offer, we've made this handy guide for you. Join the refill movement today!