Launching February 11th 2014 on kickstarter.com is a project that can have a massive effect on how we think about packaging and how we deal with it after we're done. I need everyone who reads this to help us spread the word, make a pledge if you can but tell everyone you know about this so we can make it a reality.
We created Treeson Spring Water as a solution to a pressing problem, specifically the amount of waste plastic ending up in the ocean. We spend the better part of five years to develop a brand and a bottle that would serve two purposes. First and formost was to be the greenest bottled water on the planet so we created something that is plant based (with no GMO ingredients), biodegradable, free of petrochemicals and safe for the environment.
Prototype bottle shot on location in La Paz, Costa Rica during kickstarter video shoot.
Next, we wanted to come up with a system that gave the people who buy our bottles a way to guarantee that they would not end up in landfills. The sad reality is that less than 30% of plastic bottles that can be recycled actually do get recycled. The rest get dumped.
We decided to do something about that and have come up with a simple way to make sure your bottles don't end up as pollution. When you're done, you simply drop it in a mailbox and send it back to us!
When we get the bottles back, we use them to make clean energy on-site at our production facility. We use the energy generated to make and fill new bottles so we can do it all over again.
Digital render of bottle showing peel-off back label.
Every bottle has a postage paid return label so you just drop it into a mailbox and we'll get it back.
Returning the bottles to us so we can create clean power is only part of the answer though. Although we are using the United States Postal Service, the cleanest fleet in the world, we need to offset the carbon emitted in transportation. We do this by planting one tree for every bottle that we sell. These trees will continue to grow and remove carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from our atmosphere for hundreds of years, each one ultimately absorbing vast amounts more than was generated by the single bottle it was planted for.
Tree saplings waiting to be planted in Costa Rica.
More importantly though, these trees are being planted to replace areas of rainforest that have been lost to clearcutting. Over time, these trees will restore habitats that where lost and bring balance to land areas that have been abused. Our program will rebuild these forests and you will be able to see the positive impact you have had by using our mobile app. You will literally be able to see the trees that your bottles are responsible for getting planted.
One tree planted for EVERY bottle sold.
All of our packaging is fully compostable. The bottles are plant-based. Our adhesives and inks are not derived from petrochemicals. On top of that, our shippers and outer packaging, boxes etc. all have seeds embedded into the cardboard.
Bottled water is here to stay. Its convenience and omni-presence make that inevitable for now. Plus, for many people in the world it is the only safe drinking water available. What we are doing with Treeson is taking something that presents a problem - waste plastic pollution - and offering a solution. We take responsibility for our packaging and we want to use it to start a conversation. If we can get the bottled water industry to think differently then we'll have done our job.
Please support us in any way you can. With your help we will make this happen!
