Sustainability leaders believe restoration — or rewilding efforts — are to be part of the growing trend as fashion and beauty prioritize biodiversity, with the United Nations climate (COP26) and biodiversity (COP15) summits underway this month.
A personal care brand best known for its natural deodorant, Native, announced a new funding project with The Chyulu Hills REDD+ Project (CHRP) last week, as biodiversity climbs into greater relevance in both fashion and beauty.
Within the project, the P&G-owned brand is helping put tens of thousands of hectares of Kenya’s Chyulu Hills savannah rangeland under restoration by 2025. Made possible through its 1% for the Planet giveback scheme (funded by 1 percent of plastic-free deodorant sales), the brand donated $350,000 to CHRP.
“The project paves the way for ecosystem-scale conservation efforts to provide important resources and tangible impacts such as education, new infrastructure, health services, and more,” said Samson Parashina, Maasai leader in Kenyan society and chairman of the Chyulu Hills Conservation Trust. “These resources not only improve livelihoods, but also help us maintain our cultural link to the land while protecting our natural heritage for future generations to come.”
Native’s contributions will help restore the land while retiring thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, per project estimates. The brand’s funding to CHRP will go toward activities to enhance forest protection, reduce livestock impact, restore degraded land and ensure water protection and biodiversity conservation in the Chyulu Hills community.
“It is our duty as a consumer brand to use our profits and voice to take active action toward sustainability efforts in various ways,” Native’s chief executive officer Vineet Kumar, said in a statement. “Native has outlined specific sustainability goals that are reached through these multifaceted initiatives like our funding to CHRP and our partnership with 1% for the Planet. As a brand, we will only continue to work to exceed these goals and encourage our competitors to do the same. We can make a difference if we work together.”
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