Jute and Jackfruit to donate to Massachusetts environmental organizations through One Percent for the Planet

During this past year, Jute and Jackfruit became a member of One Percent for the Planet. For those of you who are not familiar, 1% for the Planet exists to build and support an alliance of businesses financially committed to creating a healthy planet. It officially launched in 2002 by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies. The two decided that they wanted to formalize what they had been doing for years as responsible business owners: donating to environmental activism, preservation and conservation efforts. As a form of an ‘Earth Tax’, they decided to invite other corporations to do the same, to maximize impact.

Since that time, 1% has grown to an organization with more than 1,000 corporate members and more than 1,000 participating environmental non-profits, to whom companies can donate.

Jute and Jackfruit is very excited to be part of this organization and to donate one percent of our revenue from 2009 to the organizations of our choice.

Considering that we are based in Massachusetts, and considering that change sometimes happens most effectively on a local basis, we’ve decided to donate our annual contribution to either a Massachusetts based environmental organization, or a local chapter of a national organization.

One of our top choices right now is The Nature Conservancy, Boston Chapter, and so we’d like to spend a minute sharing with you a bit about this organization, what they are doing, especially in Massachusetts and look forward to your feedback and ideas!

The Nature Conservancy is a worldwide organization working to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. A few key accomplishments since their founding in 1951:
•    Protected more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide — and operating more than 100 marine conservation projects globally.
•    More than 1 million members.
•    Work in all 50 states and more than 30 countries — protecting habitats from grasslands to coral reefs, from Australia to Alaska to Zambia.
•    Address threats to conservation involving climate change, fire, fresh water, forests, invasive species, and marine ecosystems.

Nature Conservancy’s Approach
•    Science-based approach — aided by our more than 700 staff scientists.
•    Pursue non-confrontational, pragmatic solutions to conservation challenges.
•    Partner — with indigenous communities, businesses, governments, multilateral institutions, other non-profits…and people such as yourself.

Mass Chapter of Nature Conservancy
Key Areas of Work:

Fresh Water: Freshwater ecosystems nourish residents and give rise to diverse habitats and species. MA Conservancy is working to sustain these resources, and to conserve and restore freshwater habitat for people and nature.

Marine The planet’s marine lands are essential to the health of the entire North Atlantic. The Conservancy is working to find a balance that secures the health of MA’s oceans.

Forests Forests provide income for people, habitat for wildlife and protection for our waterways. MA Conservancy is working to preserve the state’s finest woodlands.

Education: The Consevancy also believes in environmental education as a key part of their mission. Check out their wesbite for a variety of videos they’ve created, including the on Carbon Calculator: http://www.nature.org/aboutus/?src=t5

Places the Nature Conservancy Protects in Massachusetts
Across the Commonwealth,  nearly one million acres are in need of conservation activity, and MA Conservancy has taken a leadership role in the protection of some of state’s most critical landscapes. These areas include the Berkshire Taconic Landscape, Cape Cod, the Massachusetts Islands, the Plymouth Pinelands, and the Westfield River Watershed.

Any comments? Other organizations that we are considering are the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), which works on preservation, use and education or the Appalachian Mountain Range, as well as MassBike. MassBike works on legislation and advocacy to make biking in MA more accessible, fun and safe, including for transportation.

Let us know what you think by submitting a comment or sending us an email!