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What is Greenwashing?

It is making an unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company’s products are environmentally friendly or have a greater positive environmental impact than they actually do.

Tree Planting is NOT greenwashing

Making false claims about tree planting is.  Labeling tree planting as Greenwashing risks the canceling of beneficial reforestation projects globally. It is easier to cancel than to understand in todays society and that directly hurts the environment and the people working to restore it..

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First Understand

Greenwashing is making an unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company’s products are environmentally friendly or have a greater positive environmental impact than they actually do. *More details from the UN: https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/greenwashing 

Most greenwashing claims have not involved trees, but are about recycling and false advertising. https://thesustainableagency.com/blog/greenwashing-examples/

For trees there are two primary types of greenwashing claims:

  • Preservation based Carbon Offsetting - counting the carbon from existing forests that are preserved from destruction. It is tough to condem a practice that may actually preserve a forest by steering corporate money to the cause, but it is not a practice that OneSeed is involved in for oversight and risk reasons.

  • Carbon Offsets from aforestation/reforestation Projects - counting of carbon offsets from new tree planting projects. These claims, while infrequent, are focused on overstating the carbon captured from new forests. This happens when project viability is overestimated(due to poor planning and planting practices) or the science for carbon calculation is not accurate (one formula for all species).

    • How does OneSeed work to address Greenwashing risks?

    Transparency

    with our Tree Verify app and vetted planted partners, we ensure maximum viability of every tree planted. Proof of healthy planting at vetted planting sites available for every tree

    Beneficial

    we only plant beneficial species in the right areas of need and do not support commercial planting for logging or monoculture harvesting

    Conservative

    not every tree will survive, it's nature. So while we use science based modeling for every species planted, we factor in very conservatively survival rates for any CO2 projections

    Certified Carbon

    for when certified voluntary carbon credits are needed, we only offer projects that we are confident in and are through trusted registries(Verra, Gold Standard)

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    More than just Carbon

    Every tree planted through our regenerative reforestation projects provides layers of benefits beyond carbon sequestration, all visible through our digital tree & forest experience.

    Habitat restoration
    Jobs and infrastructure
    Community livelihoods
    Soil restoration
    Water purification
    Biodiversity restoration
    Food security , and more