Custom Patch Hats is proud to announce our commitment to environmental regeneration through two organizations, One Tree Planted and SeaTrees. We care deeply about the planet and about creating a business that gives back to nature. It’s not new news that many of the natural places we love and treasure across our country and our planet are in danger of being irreversibly changed for the worse. It is our hope that by contributing to the reforestation of land and waterways that we can make a positive impact in restoring the health of the planet.
“Unless we keep this planet healthy, everything else is for naught.” -Victoria Principal
We felt deeply connected to both organizations because here in North Carolina, we can enjoy both heavily forested natural areas and miles of unique and vulnerable Atlantic coastline. At one time, much of North Carolina was covered in old growth forest, trees so big you needed a few friends to wrap your arms around one, and good luck seeing the top. But nearly all of that was cleared for logging by the early 1900s, with it entire ecosystems were destroyed. And of course, deforestation is not just a North Carolina, or United States problem, it’s a global problem. The Amazon Rainforest is consistently in the news for the scale of deforestation happening and the impact it has on our global climate health.
One Tree Planted plants trees all over the world in the highest-need areas like the Amazon, and Appalachia, and India. They partner with local organizations and communities to facilitate planting events. So, not only are the trees cleaning our air and water, creating habitats for biodiversity, reducing erosion, and contributing to our health and wellbeing, they are creating jobs for social impact in those communities.
“The Earth is what we all have in common.” -Wendell Berry
SeaTrees takes a similar approach, but their focus is on ocean health. The earth’s oceans contain 90% of the carbon in the global carbon cycle; it’s a powerhouse at sequestering carbon, the leading cause of the “greenhouse effect”. We can see the ocean health deteriorating before our eyes – coral reefs dying, overfishing, oil spills, the plastic, coastal erosion. The sandy shores of the Outer Banks are especially vulnerable to coastal erosion and rising sea levels.
SeaTrees directs their efforts at planting mangroves and kelp. Like One Tree Planted, they plant all over the world utilizing local organizations and communities. Involving local people in these plantings gets them connected to their community, their environment, creates jobs, and of course, sequesters carbon. Mangroves and kelp boost biodiversity, reduce erosion, and clean the air and water.
It’s a win-win. We really feel that both organizations are doing something, making a real, positive, growth-oriented impact on the health of the planet. It’s not just advocacy and education, it’s regeneration.
Our commitment is to donate 1 tree or 1 square foot of kelp per paid order. Which means in September of 2021, we planted over several hundred trees and square feet of kelp.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead
If you would like to contribute to SeaTrees and One Tree Planted on your own or through your business, visit them online and schedule a call.
Fast Facts
- 25% of all medicines contain elements from trees
- Kelp can grow up to 2 feet a day in ideal conditions
- Mangroves play a key role in holding the coastline in place
- A mature evergreen tree can intercept more than 15,000 liters of water a year
- 22 lbs of CO2 is sequestered by a mature tree every year
- Kelp is not a plant but a very large brown algae
- Urchin eat kelp, and sea otters eat urchin
- Mangroves store 5x more carbon than terrestrial forests
