2022 Impact Report
Posted by Kaitlyn Evans on
One of our founding principles has been to plant a tree for every mat we sell. As Jade mats come from trees, we decided to give back to the earth. And since 2006, through our partnership with Trees for the Future, we have done just that, planting over 2,500,000 trees.
For every cork yoga block sold, we preserve 2,000 square feet of rainforest through our partnership with the Rainforest Trust. The Rainforest Trust ensures the protection of these vital rainforest ecosystems through partnerships with local communities and trusted in-country partner NGOs.
Through our partnership with Clean the World, Jade provides a bar of soap to a person in need with the sale of each bottle of mat wash. Clean the World Foundation is a global health organization committed to improving the quality of life for vulnerable communities around the world. They provide sustainable resources, programming, and education focused on water, sanitation, and hygiene for all those affected by poverty, homelessness, and humanitarian or natural crises.
Through our partnership with Terrapass, Jade offsets 25 lbs of carbon emissions with the purchase of each strap. Terrapass is an organization dedicated to the fight against climate change. Their mission is to provide the resources necessary for companies and individuals to understand and take responsibility for their climate impact. The projects that Terrapass supports include:
- Farm Power: Through the use of anaerobic digesters, methane is captured as the manure breaks down and is then destroyed when it is burned as a fuel to produce electricity
- Landfill Gas Capture: Through the installation of gas collection and control systems in landfills, the methane that is produced is burned in a generator to create renewable electricity
- Clean energy from wind power: Wind energy displaces electricity that is generated by fossil fuels like gas and coal
- Abandoned coal mine methane capture: Coal mines are a major source of methane emissions in the US, and the methane is destroyed and used to generate electricity
Through our partnership with Akshaya Patra, we provide one week of meals to a child in India with the sale of each Mysore yoga rug. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an NGO in India headquartered in Bengaluru, India. Their organization strives to eliminate classroom hunger by implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in the government schools and government-aided schools. Akshaya Patra also aims at countering malnutrition and supporting the right to education of socio-economically disadvantaged children.
Through our partnership with The Bulindi Chimpanzee & Community Project Jade protects chimpanzee habitat in Western Uganda with every yoga bag sold. The Bulindi Chimpanzee & Community Project helps local households in Western Uganda conserve the forest, which is so critical to the survival of the chimpanzees, by supporting them in key areas. Since the project's inception in 2015, local households in Bulindi committed to stop clearing forest, which is starting to regenerate, and the chimpanzees had a baby boom with four new infants born in 2016! In 2017 the project began expanding to nearby areas to conserve other imperiled families of chimpanzees and support additional village households.
Through our partnership with The Water Project, we provide one person with one day of clean drinking water for every yoga towel sold. The Water Project, Inc. has the lofty goal of unlocking human potential by providing sustainable water projects to communities in sub-Saharan Africa who suffer needlessly from a lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation. For over seven years, The Water Project has been helping communities gain access to clean, safe water by providing training, expertise, and financial support for water project construction through their staff and implementing partners.
Through our partnership with Plastic Bank, Jade will prevent one pound of plastic, or 25 water bottles, from entering the ocean with each bolster sold. The Plastic Bank was founded in 2013 with the goal of addressing two problems: poverty and plastic waste in the ocean. They took a unique approach to this issue by monetizing plastic waste. The Plastic Bank sets up recycling ecosystems in countries that lack sufficient disposal infrastructure and have high rates of pollution and poverty. They set up collection locations and employ citizens of those regions to manage these ecosystems. Residents in those regions can collect plastic from their environment and bring it to their local Plastic Bank branch in exchange for money, fresh food, clean water, cellular service, cooking oil, or even school tuition for their children.
Through our partnership with the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, Jade will support the Akashinga Rangers, a plant-based, all women anti-poaching unit dedicated to protecting elephants and other African wildlife from poaching. Akashinga means “brave ones”, these women have already overcome abuse, marginalization, and trauma. Now they are empowered to protect themselves and the majestic African animals under constant threat. Akashinga is more than animal conservation and protection, life for many of the Akashinga women now means the ability to buy property, build a house, send their children to school, get a driver’s license, finish high school, enroll in college, and thoroughly provide for their families.
Through our color cause program, we donate $5 from the sale of each Teal, Pink and Saffron mat to ovarian cancer, breast cancer and autism related causes. Some of the main organizations we work with are Ashrams for Autism, NY Metro Chapter National Autism Association, Invictus Enterprises Foundation, Monell Center, Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation, and Living Beyond Breast Cancer.