Maggie Sottero’s Reforestation Efforts with One Tree Planted

One thing about us here at Maggie Sottero? We stand for LOVE and love for ALL – including Mother Earth. One way we’re doing that is by partnering with One Tree Planted to aid in their reforestation and biodiversity protection efforts. What does that mean for you brides? We’ve committed to planting a tree in honor of every Maggie Sottero bride through One Tree Planted. That means that by purchasing a Maggie Sottero wedding dress, you’re not just walking down the aisle in the gown of your dreams. You’re also helping create a more sustainable future for all of us! Read on to learn more about our partnership with One Tree Planted and visit our “Our Heart” page for more information on what else we’re doing to show our planet some love!

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. They believe that together, we can restore forests, create habitats for biodiversity, and make a positive social impact around the world.

Since 2014, One Tree Planted has more than doubled the number of trees planted each year in 80+ countries in North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. They have planted over 100,000,000 trees during that time!

Their global projects help to 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 get involved in reforesting our beautiful earth.

One Tree Planted focuses on trees because they 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.

PC: One Tree Planted

There are six pillars One Tree Planted lists 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: Countless job opportunities are provided by the forestry industry. Sustainable tree farming provides lumber to build homes and burn 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.

Our Partnership: Protecting Biodiversity

PC: Margarita Hanratty

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. It is an impactful way to support biodiversity protection. To date, we’ve planted over 50,000 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 conditions, monitor the project’s progress, and report on its impact.

Our Reforestation Work in Costa Rica

PC: Maggie Sottero | One Tree Planted

Our first project with One Tree Planted was called “Ridge to Reef” in Costa Rica. The country is a “crown jewel of biodiversity” where we helped to recover endangered tree species and create an elevational corridor for wildlife that has to adapt to a changing climate. 

We’ve also supported biodiversity in Costa Rica with a reforestation project in the Tropical Dry Forest, recovering populations of tree species in an area that has suffered from deforestation.

We’re reimagining our photoshoots to include a focus on protecting biodiversity, highlighting vital ecosystems, donating photography assets and volunteering with local groups. We shot our Spring 2024 campaign in Costa Rica to support our One Tree Planted initiative, and while there, we also volunteered with a local group, CIRENAS, planting trees to help regenerate biological corridors and beach ecosystems.

Why Protect Biodiversity in Costa Rica?

As part of our reforestation efforts, we are helping to conserve places that are home to high biodiversity, restoring some degraded areas and putting more of the planet under protection.

Costa Rica is home to over 10,000 species of flora and 500,000 fauna. Hundreds of these plants and animals are found nowhere else! Unfortunately, over the course of the 1950s, this beautiful country lost roughly 60% of its forest cover. Luckily, the Costa Rican people and government have contributed to aid in reforestation since 1987. Since then, more than 50% of its forests have been restored to their previous glory.

However, there’s still work to do! Here’s why we’re planting trees in Costa Rica:

• Ecosystem Connectivity: Planting in Costa Rica helps stop hunting and habitat degradation, which will restore ecosystem connectivity that is vital to the survival of at-risk biodiversity.
• Local Community Impact: Forest restoration provides training, educational resources, and jobs for local communities.
• Fund Elevation Corridors: Costa Rica aims to link two extremely diverse and biologically important regions, creating an elevational corridor to allow species to migrate and survive in future climates.

Our Commitment to Sustainability 

Here at Maggie Sottero, we stand for love and love for all – including Mother Earth. We are committed to creating a more sustainable future 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 planning a more sustainable wedding, our family and community, and 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.

Be a partner in change with us to ensure your love story, and our planet, endure. Let’s celebrate a more sustainable wedding space!

“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, brides can visit our Our Heart page and read more about our partnerships with organizations such as Rocky Mountain Power, SuperCircle, and International Bird Rescue.

Our Future With One Tree Planted

PC: Maggie Sottero | One Tree Planted

So far, our retailers and brides have helped us plant over 50,000 trees in partnership with One Tree Planted! From planting wildlife corridors in Costa Rica to conserving Koala habitat in Australia, we are supporting reforestation, wildlife survival, and recovery of endangered tree and plant species.

These tree plantings are a heartfelt gesture to our Maggie brides and retailers and an impactful biodiversity protection effort.

But we aren’t stopping there; after our efforts in Central America, our next planting locations will include Australia, the birthplace of Maggie Sottero!

Australia 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.”

PC: One Tree Planted

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.

We aren’t just planting trees; together, we’ve planted the equivalent of a forest on a global scale. 

Our new project: 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, this partnership is especially meaningful to Maggie Sottero. It has the potential to create a powerful combination of benefits, including supporting women in reforestation and fostering economic opportunities.

“The connection between women and nature has been present throughout history,” One Tree Planted says, “dating as far back as Ancient Greece with Gaia, a mythic personification of Mother Nature. Because of this, the connection between healthy forests and women is a deeply rooted one.”

Totally inspired by One Tree Planted? Us too! We’re so thrilled to partner with them and give brides the opportunity to get involved and plant a tree with their Maggie Sottero gown purchase as well! Looking for a wedding dress that not only looks good but has a reduced impact on Mother Earth? Explore our wedding gowns made from lower-impact materials to find a dress to make your dreams a reality! 

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Our Sustainability Partnership with SuperCircle to Recycle Wedding Dresses

Recycled Materials & Resource Consumption: Our Sustainability Initiatives

Positive Impacts: Maggie Sottero’s Sustainability, Diversity, and Community Initiatives