· By Studio
2000+ Trees with Ecologi
Last year, we committed to planting one tree for every roll of wallpaper sold. We're so excited to announce we've just reached a milestone of 2,023 trees!
Ecologi is on a mission to offer an impactful solution for companies to offset their carbon expenditure and protect our planet. So far, 2.6 million tonnes of CO2 have been removed from the atmosphere through Ecologi's projects, such as the restoration of 100,000 native and threatened trees in the Kenyan rainforest, as well as the introduction of a system to convert methane into electricity in India.
Thanks to your purchases with us, CommonRoom's contribution so far has seen 872 trees planted in Madagascar, 764 in Kenya, 150 in Tanzania, 118 in Uganda, 113 in Mozambique and 6 in Ethiopia.
In Madagascar - the world's second largest island country - Ecologi has been working on a mangrove project at Kandrany, planting the species Avicennia Marina. Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot: over 90% of its wildlife cannot be found anywhere else on Earth. However, owing to deforestation in recent years, Madagascan wildlife has been diminishing, with entire animal species and local communities displaced. Importantly, the mangrove estuaries have been dwindling in numbers. Mangroves not only protect the land from coastal erosion, but are home to many marine species. Plus, mangroves are one of the most carbon-rich species of tree on the planet: what's known as a 'carbon sink'.
Ecologi is aiming to undo this issue. 'Our mangrove restoration efforts in Madagascar support planting locations on parcels of coastal land to the North West of the island, near Mahajanga. Whilst the combined restoration area is wider, to date we have funded mangrove planting spanning an area of around 600 hectares of this degraded coastal region – and as each small pocket of land is planted, our community’s funding is directed to support further planting, further along the coast.'
It's pretty incredible to know that our contribution of trees is helping this vital landscape be restored, and thus protecting the unique species inhabiting Madagascar as well as reducing CO2 emissions. Read more here.
It's a fact that action must be taken by everybody to tackle the climate crisis. We're grateful to Ecologi for offering a solution to small businesses like ours and we're grateful for you making this possible with your wallpaper purchases.
We work hard to ensure all our products are made in the UK, and that the businesses we work with are thinking about sustainability. For example, the inks used in our wallpapers are environmentally friendly and toxin-free, whilst the paper itself is from forests that are FSC certified. Read our sustainability statement here.
Nature and the natural world is a huge inspiration for our designs at CommonRoom. Whether it's the endangered species of Twin Flower, the joy of a four-leaf clover in Lucky Leaf, or the charming animals to be found in Curious Creatures, the impact the planet and our environment has upon art and design is undeniable.
As a thank you, for the month of June we'll plant two trees for every roll of wallpaper sold. Here's to reaching 3,000 trees!
Twin Flower by Fee Greening ~ Twin Flower (Linnea borealis) was the favourite plant of Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, and is an emblem of Scotland's ancient Caledonian forests, such as the Cairngorms National Park. This wildflower is sadly under threat owing to the culling of its natural habitat - the pine woodland - and the decline in cross-pollinators such as bees, which can be found in Fee's illustration. This design exemplifies the necessary regeneration spring brings and the sense of pride we must take in our natural surroundings to keep beautiful species such as Twin Flower alive.
Ivan Rabuzin, On the hills - Primeval Forest, oil on canvas, 1960