Ten Tree apparel is a company that promises to plant ten trees per article of clothing sold in developing countries.

While at first glance this is a very reasonable and enticing marketing ploy, there is a question that my business fueled mind is bound to ask – what’s the catch?

Nobody feels their strong morale compass when they purchase clothes. In fact, most people can tell that they’re the victim of sophisticated advertisements and engineers of want. Ten Tree Apparel, at it’s core, is attempting to advertise by saying their products will remove this materialistic guilt by planting trees. Almost an oxymoron, there must be a loophole:

-Are the trees helpful? Are they weeds that will get swept away?

-If trees can be planted so easily, why isn’t everyone doing it?

-How much of their costs are actually allotted to the trees? Could they plant more?

If Ten Trees is really going to market themselves as the social entrepreneur they appear to be, they really need to focus on why they can plant the trees and you can’t. Emphasize wholesale powers that be that would enable such an efficient forestry operation, and discuss exactly how much the trees are part of the company’s goal compared to making money off their clothing. Profits are almost always the largest incentive – it’s up to us consumers to make sure we aren’t buying a good conscience.

In response to Logan Parker’s blog post:
https://blogs.ubc.ca/loganparkersblog/2012/11/17/ten-tree-apparel-saving-the-planet-ten-trees-at-a-time/