Is 8 Billion Trees Legitimate? Reviewing Their Impact
Looking for a review of 8 Billion Trees and want to know if they are legitimate? If so, good on you! Doing your homework and making sure that organizations are legit is important.
8 Billion Trees team carrying plants through the Amazon to a nearby planting site along a riverbed.
Started in 2018, they have planted over 908,000 trees so far and have conserved over 166,000 acres of virgin rainforest in the Amazon. To achieve this, they use a multi-pronged approach:
- Planting through verified and legit partners like Plant-It 2020 that have a strong track record of results and transparency
- Planting and conserving trees through direct government contracts where they form contractual agreements to gain authorization to restore and protect endangered areas
- Planting and conserving trees through initiating grassroots movements supported by research institutes where impoverished peoples are given the resources and instructions needed to combat deforestation at its source
- Conserving virgin forests through direct partnerships with indigenous governmental bodies
Any large-scale planting initiative requires a diverse approach; 8 Billion Trees utilizes every method in its toolbelt to achieve their goal of planting and conserving eight billion trees.
To support and fund their mission, 8 Billion Trees utilizes a social enterprise model—all revenue from the sustainable clothing and goods sold is re-invested back into tree planting, tree conservation, or the generation of more awareness.
This means that 8 Billion Trees is not a charity and thus cannot be listed or rated on charity navigator despite the founder, Jon Chambers, submitting transparency information.
About Jon Chambers, The Founder of 8 Billion Trees
8 Billion Trees founder Jon Chambers noticeably sunburned after a long few weeks of tree planting with his team.
Jon Chambers founded the tree-planting social enterprise to not just reforest devastated areas of the planet but also to encourage and ultimately bring about a cultural shift where corporations prioritize their social and environmental impact instead of just focusing on profit. And that by doing so, these corporations can actually be more successful by acting with integrity as more and more people begin to demand responsibility from the large companies they rely on for their day-to-day purchases.
But Jon doesn’t just talk the talk; after forming partnerships with multiple tree charities like Plant-It 2020 and realizing there is literally no time to waste, he set off to the Amazon himself where he formed a team to begin restoring devastated areas.
While their organization has accomplished a lot in less than 2 years, they have to plan of slowing down anytime soon and hope to turn their bold mission into a global movement focused on saving the planet and animals.
8 Billion Trees Legit? Review says yes!