Giving back 1% for the planet
As members of 1% for the Planet, we give 1% of everything we sell to environmental and social causes.
It’s part of our own campaign for positive change. Just by buying our incredible organic tea and wellbeing supplements, you are helping to care for this beautiful earth. You buy, we give back. So thank you to every Pukka customer – together we are doing something really special.
Why do we support 1% for the Planet?
We do this because our precious planet really needs our help. The scale of environmental challenges we face is vast, from climate change to micro-plastic pollution.
The need for more funding and for advocates working for solutions is real and pressing, but there is a problem. Globally, giving to environmental causes constitutes only 3% of total charitable giving - and only 3% of this comes from businesses. That’s where 1% for the Planet comes in. It connects businesses, consumers and non-profits, empowering all of us to drive big, positive change.
Since 2016 Pukka have donated over £2,000,000 to environmental and social causes (as of Dec 2019). Here’s a summary of the impact that some of that funding has had:
Inspiring visitors at the Eden Project
We have worked with the Eden Project since 2015, sharing a passion for connecting people, plants and the planet. Together, we have developed exhibits and activities where people can immerse themselves in the wonderful world of herbs. We invite visitors to taste our herbal teas and learn more about the amazing plants that we blend at the giant tea box installation and the Pukka Herb trail inspires visitors to explore a herb-inspired route around Eden’s outdoor gardens.
Helping to protect the Great Pied Hornbill and bibhitaki trees
Triphala is a traditional digestive tonic used in some of our teas and supplements. It’s made using bibhitaki and haritaki fruit grown in the Western Ghats in India through our supply partner, Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF). The trees on which these fruits grow are part of the rich ecosystem in one of the world’s most biodiverse areas and are home to rare animals and birds, including the great pied hornbill.
But these trees are under threat. Their timber is valuable and tempting to local landowners who are struggling to make ends meet. We realised that if people could make a livelihood by collecting the fruits from the trees, they wouldn’t have to cut them down. That’s how we came to work with AERF to create India’s first international FairWild certification for bibhitaki and haritaki. Our project provides jobs for many locals, who work to collect, process and sort the fruits for a fair wage.
The introduction of fourteen new collection areas in 2017 has resulted in many benefits including the scaling up of conservation activities and offering sustainable livelihoods for more collectors.
Women as a force of nature, on behalf of nature
TreeSisters is a movement towards global responsibility for environmental restoration, with a focus on women and tropical reforestation. We donated the money we would have spent on Christmas cards to TreeSisters who planted over 4,500 trees using our donation. The trees were planted in a number of locations with ecological and social benefits including soil restoration, the liberation of communities from extreme poverty and the protection of critically endangered animals through habitat restoration.
Celebrating bees, the worlds greatest pollinators
In July we joined our friends at the Soil Association to celebrate bees, who through pollination play a huge part in helping us to create many of our organic herbal teas and supplements. We help our growers ensure that their farming practices encourage biodiversity and during the campaign helped customers learn about bee-friendly herbs they can grow in their gardens.
Shouting loud for FairWild
Each year Pukka supports FairWild Week to make people aware of the threats to wild plants and the need to source them plants responsibly. We also strive to encourage other brands to join the FairWild initiative.
So look for the 1% logo when you shop and even consider becoming a 1% member yourself. Together we can achieve so much more than we can alone.