Maggie Sottero’s Reforestation Efforts with One Tree Planted

At Maggie Sottero, we stand for LOVE and love for ALL – including Mother Earth. That’s why we’re planting trees in honor of every Maggie Sottero bride with One Tree Planted! These tree donations are a heartfelt gesture to our brides and retailers and an impactful biodiversity protection effort: Each tree planted supports reforestation and wildlife habitat projects around the world. When you choose a Maggie Sottero wedding dress, you’re not just walking down the aisle in the gown of your dreams. You’re also helping to create a more sustainable future for all of us! Protecting biodiversity, reducing waste, and rethinking resource consumption are at the heart of Maggie Sottero.

What Is One Tree Planted

One Tree Planted is a non-profit organization focused on global reforestation. Their mission is to make it simple for individuals and organizations to help the environment by planting trees. One Tree Planted believes that “every tree we plant is an investment in the future—nurturing the planet, protecting life, and inspiring hope for generations to come.”

Since 2014, they’ve planted over 135.5 million trees with 378 partners across 82 countries. Through this work, One Tree Planted has restored over 118,518 hectares (292,864 acres) of forest around the world, made 106 cities greener by planting urban trees for environmental justice and tree equity, and more.

Their global projects, spread across six regions (North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania), help restore forests after fires and floods, create jobs, build communities, and protect wildlife habitats.

Through One Tree Planted, individuals, schools, and businesses like Maggie Sottero can help reforest our beautiful Earth.

Why Plant Trees?

“In the face of complex global challenges, we focus on one impactful, science-based solution: trees. Reforestation helps the environment by ensuring or accelerating the re-establishment of healthy forest structure in areas that have been degraded or deforested,” says One Tree Planted. Trees help clean the air we breathe, filter the water we drink, and provide habitats to over 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. Trees provide jobs, absorb harmful carbon, and are important ingredients in a quarter of all medicines.

One Tree Planted lists six pillars that explain why trees are vital:

• Air: They clean the air we breathe, absorb pollutant gases, offset carbon, and reduce the effects of climate change.
• Biodiversity: A single tree can be home to hundreds of species of insects, fungi, moss, mammals, and plants. Without trees, these creatures would have nowhere to call home.
• Climate: Trees help cool the planet, release oxygen into the atmosphere, and absorb harmful carbon.
• Health: Trees help reduce stress and anxiety, protect us from the sun, and allow us to reconnect with nature.
• Social Impact: The forestry industry provides countless job opportunities. Sustainable tree farming provides lumber for building homes and for burning for cooking and heating. Food-producing trees help support life for humans and animals.
• Water: Trees play a huge role in capturing rainwater and reducing flooding and landslides. A mature evergreen tree can intercept more than 15,000 liters of water each year.

PC: One Tree Planted

Our Partnership: Protecting Biodiversity

Here at Maggie, we understand that we all have an impact on our planet, as consumers and as brands. The question is what we’re going to do about it.

“Maggie is working as quickly as we can to reduce our impact…It is an all-hands-on-deck, company-wide effort. We want our retailers and brides to know that we’re rising to meet this moment that is so critical for all of us, and certainly for future generations. We’re committed to protecting biodiversity; it’s a key area of focus, and we’re very passionate about it,” says Patricia DeLaunay, Global Sustainability Director and Designer

Our partnership with One Tree Planted is an initiative honoring each of our brides with a tree planted for every gown purchased. It is not just a gesture of appreciation; it is an impactful way to support biodiversity protection. To date, we’ve planted over 140,000 trees in honor of our brides and retailers!

We partnered with One Tree Planted because we appreciate the thoroughness of their approach to each planting project. They plant ecologically appropriate seedlings in the right locations and under the right conditions, monitor the project’s progress with on-the-ground teams, and report regularly on project impact.

“Our work doesn’t begin and end with trees in the ground. Every project goes through several phases, including identifying a critical reforestation need, conducting site analyses, procuring and producing seedlings, planting, and a three-year monitoring period to assess tree survival. From beginning to end, we work with our planting partners to ensure the planted trees leave a lasting positive impact on biodiversity and human wellbeing,” One Tree Planted notes.

PC: One Tree Planted

Our Reforestation Work in Costa Rica

Our first project with One Tree Planted was “Ridge to Reef” in Costa Rica’s OSA Peninsula. The OSA peninsula is one of the most densely populated biodiversity hotspots on the planet: It contains roughly 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity and over 50% of Costa Rica’s species! The Ridge Restoration project is planting trees to connect wildlife corridors, because connectivity is key to giving biodiversity a chance to adapt to climate change. Trees and other flora are crucial for establishing connectivity and preserving wildlife (such as jaguars, sloths, spider monkeys, macaws, and frogs) as they adapt to a changing climate. Explore Costa Rica’s OSA Peninsula and witness some incredible tree growth here: 

We’ve also supported biodiversity in Costa Rica through a reforestation project in the Tropical Dry Forest, helping recover populations of tree species in an area that has suffered from deforestation. And during our Spring 2024 campaign shoot, the Maggie Sottero team volunteered with a local group, CIRENAS, planting trees to help regenerate biological corridors and beach ecosystems.

Our Commitment to Sustainability 

Just as a wedding is a promise of long, happy lives ahead, we are working to create a more sustainable world in which to celebrate—for the next generation and beyond. We are on a mission to learn best practices, reduce our environmental impact, and restore vital ecosystems.

“The viability of our future is predicated on us re-imagining all that we do. As a leader in bridal fashion, we have a responsibility to be the change agent for you, our brides, in planning a more sustainable wedding, for our family and community, and for our planet. Systemic changes have and will continue to be made within Maggie, but we all must work together!” says Kelly Midgley, CEO and Creative Director.

Our commitment to Mother Earth is integrated into our business practices – from reducing our environmental impact to helping restore vital ecosystems. 

“We’re implementing systems change throughout our organization, embedding sustainability as a core value for every team in support of a more sustainable wedding industry. We are working as quickly as we can to reduce our environmental impact, taking ambitious action in three key areas: Waste reduction, resource consumption, and protecting biodiversity,” says DeLaunay.

To learn more about our sustainability efforts, visit our Sustainability page and read more about our BlueSky renewable power support for Rocky Mountain Power, our textile recycling program with SuperCircle, and our gown upcycling project with the design students at Otis Fashion.

PC: Otis Fashion | SuperCircle

Our Progress with One Tree Planted

As of Spring 2026, our retailers and brides have helped us donate over 140,000 trees for planting in partnership with One Tree Planted! From establishing wildlife corridors in Costa Rica to conserving Koala habitat in Australia and supporting women-led planting projects in Rwanda, we are backing reforestation, wildlife survival, and the recovery of endangered tree and plant species.

Restoring Habitat for the Iconic Koala

Australia is the birthplace of Maggie Sottero, and it is another of the world’s high-biodiversity treasures.  In its 2021 State of the Environment report, the Australian government states, “Our continent and surrounding seas support 600,000–700,000 native species, and a very high proportion of these are found nowhere else in the world. For example, about 85% of Australia’s plant species are endemic to the continent, and Australia is home to half of the world’s marsupial species.”

Maggie Sottero donated trees for planting to provide habitat for the iconic Australian Koala.  A vulnerable, threatened species in general, the koalas in New South Wales are especially vulnerable after recent devastating fires and drought.

This project, located in New South Wales, offers koalas a safer path away from roads, domestic animals, and residential areas, and reconnects them with thriving habitats across the landscape.  And camera traps are capturing evidence that koalas are now using this corridor! See this restoration in action!

Empowering and Uplifting Women in Reforestation

“In an effort to promote gender equity in restoration, we are proud to announce the establishment of our Women’s Empowerment Fund for Reforestation. This fund is dedicated to supporting reforestation projects worldwide that are led by and/or benefit women,” says One Tree Planted.

As a company committed to women, Maggie Sottero finds this planting fund especially meaningful. It has the potential to create a powerful combination of benefits, including supporting women in reforestation and fostering economic opportunities.

The Kula Coffee and Shade Tree project is supporting biodiversity and transforming the lives of women in Rwanda’s coffee-growing communities.⁠
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“Through the KULA Fellowship, women farmers receive 15 months of intensive training in coffee agronomy, business development, and leadership. They learn how to care for their trees, improve their harvests, and increase their income—not just for themselves, but for their families and entire communities. These trees provide more than coffee; they provide education for children, healthcare for families, and economic stability for generations,” One Tree Planted notes. Totally inspired by One Tree Planted? Us too! We’re so proud to support them and give brides the opportunity to help us plant a tree with their Maggie Sottero gown purchase! Together, we aren’t just planting trees; we’re planting the equivalent of a forest on a global scale. (Source: One Tree Planted/U.N. SDG Indicators)

Looking for a dream wedding dress that not only looks amazing but has a reduced impact on Mother Earth? Explore our wedding gowns made from innovative, lower-impact materials!

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