Sustainability

India is about thirteen times the size of the UK, and it is a land of extreme ecological contrasts. Here, you can find everything from subtropical forests that are lush, hot and humid, to high alpine meadows where the treeline tapers into scarce vegetation and the temperature plummets. That's why it’s known as one of the planet’s 17 “megadiverse” countries and unsurprisingly, many different types of flora and fauna call it home. Bengal tigers and Indian elephants roam dense forest reserves of undulating hills and plains, while hardy Bharal sheep and elusive snow leopards skitter and stalk across the rocky terrain of the Himalayas. Not only do our donations here help to protect and preserve native wildlife, but they also support the livelihoods of countless communities in a country where 229 million people live in poverty.

Our organisation of choice, One Tree Planted, uses donations to plant fruit trees across twelve Indian states where hunger, poverty and air pollution are a serious problem. In doing so, they are creating a source of food, air purification and oxygen that will support local communities and provide work for those who need it. In their own words, One Tree Planted has calculated that “each fruit tree we plant will equate to at least $10 USD in food and nutrition each year, with a cumulative value of 5 million dollars garnered over the next 50-60 years.” Now you can feel even better about your lovely furniture purchase.

• Apricot
• Banana
• Guava
• Jackfruit
• Lemon
• Mango 
• Moringa
• Papaya
• Peach
• Pear
• Pomegranate

Made up of over 17,500 islands, Indonesia is a place of rich natural beauty & immense ecological importance. Interestingly, the diversity of animal and plant species here differs in the Eastern and Western provinces, with Asian animals such as tigers and orangutans inhabiting the West, and Australasian species such as marsupials and cockatoos living in the East on either side of what is known as the ‘Wallace Line.’ Indonesia is also recognised globally for its sprawling mangrove forests, expansive peatlands which store carbon and of course, the lush green rainforests that make up the lungs of our planet. Devastatingly, the plant and animal species mentioned above are all under threat from logging, land development, illegal trade, climate change, forest fires and rapid population growth which we hope our donations will help.

The priority in Indonesia is to restore the habitats of important species and promote reforestation. One Tree Planted is directly facilitating various projects across the islands that are planting thousands of native trees and therefore creating vital habitats, restoring the forests that sequester carbon and enhancing the overall ecosystem of this important archipelago. Young, healthy forests can also help suppress any potential future wildfires and control the spread of catastrophic rural fires, highlighting the importance of this initiative.

Due to the extreme variation in the biodiversity across Indonesia’s 17,500 islands, it would take us a long time to list all of the different species that One Tree Planted are busy planting. Their experts on the ground are there to determine exactly which species will make the biggest difference in a particular area. However, many of the native trees being restored include durian, dipterocarps, ironwoods, teak and other tropical hardwoods.