By: Ashley Byars
With other trending social issues such as gun control and women’s empowerment dominating the headlines recently, sustainability seems to be on the back-burner. Or is it? As we approach Earth Day this coming Sunday, we find more than just outdoor companies jumping on the sustainability trend. Here are a few companies capturing this year’s theme “A World Without Plastic Pollution,” in a unique way for Earth Day.
Adidas, Major League Soccer, and Parley for The Oceans
Adidas is scoring goals with environmental activists and soccer fans alike this Earth Day. Continuing their partnership with Parley for the Oceans, a creative force dedicated to protecting the oceans, Adidas plans to “upcycle” plastic reclaimed from ocean waste into limited-edition Major League Soccer uniforms that will be worn by all 23 MLS teams over the Earth Day weekend, Friday, April 20, through Sunday, April 22. “We are proud to continue to build upon our collaborative efforts with MLS and Parley for the Oceans to inspire creative solutions for protecting the world’s oceans,” said Ernesto Bruce, Sr. Director of Adidas Soccer. “We believe in the innovative partnership we have forged and hope that these kits made using Parley Ocean Plastic inspire the soccer community to join us in preserving our precious environment.”
T-Mobile and The Nature Conservancy
This Earth Day T-Mobile actually got ahead of the global day of celebration by pledging a donation triggered through Twitter on the Tuesday prior to Earth Day. With a promise to “make it easier to make a difference,” anyone who tweeted #TreeMobile on T-Mobile Tuesday turned that tweet into a planted tree. T-Mobile pledged to donate up to 50,000 trees to help The Nature Conservancy reach their goal of planting one billion trees by 2025.
On top of that, they also created a brilliant employee engagement strategy by allowing consumers to vote on which project the company’s $250,000 donation will go to at the Nature Conservancy. Through the T-Mobile Tuesday App they were able to choose from four projects:
Clean Energy: Build research into innovative clean energy solutions across the U.S.,
Plant a Billion Trees: Restore forests around the globe – they sustain life on earth, and they’re disappearing,
Restore our Coral Reefs: Strengthen and protect the largest and most threatened marine living structures on the planet, or
Save the Panther: Protect the beautiful Florida Panther, one of earth’s most endangered animals – only 180 remain.
Madewell and the Surfrider Foundation
Madewell has a long-standing program of recycling jeans by turning them into housing insulation, but this Earth Day they rev up their sustainability commitment with a partnership with the Surfrider Foundation (talk about a CSR match made in heaven!). In their Earth Day announcement, the Surfrider team suggested ways to get involved, such as: reducing the use of plastic straws, using chemical-free sunscreen, supporting young people calling for change, and making ocean water quality information more accessible to beach-goers. Also, Madewell is selling a special t-shirt designed for Earth Day, with 25% of the sales supporting the Surfrider Foundation. On top of that, they are encouraging people to get involved by rolling up their sleeves and signing up for a local beach cleanup.
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