Trees Not Tees is excited to continue its growth with the support of a new and dedicated team. Jamie Berry will spearhead all partnerships and commercial activities, while Abbie McGrath joins on alongside her role with The Future Forest Company to focus on marketing and communications.
Trees Not Tees works with event organisers to replace often single-use or unnecessary merchandise with tree planting. This is done by providing event organisers with the opportunity to plant trees instead of giving out t-shirts, hats or other items that will likely end up in landfills. Trees Not Tees has partnered with a number of major events, including the London Marathon and BrightonSEO, and has planted over 87,000 trees so far.
Jamie stated, “One major growth opportunity for Trees Not Tees is to expand into the corporate event sector. This is an industry that I am familiar with, and seeing the waste within it was one of the main reasons I joined The Future Forest Company/Trees Not Trees in the first place. I am therefore very excited to be able to lead this initiative forward.”
Trees Not Tees was founded by trail running legend Jim Mann and was subsequently led by Barcelona-based podium contender Chris Zair until UNDO branched out from The Future Forest Company last April. Since then, Jamie’s role has been split between The Future Forest Company and Trees Not Tees.
Jamie added, “I have a great deal of ground to make up in terms of running, but I am very much looking forward to being able to focus full-time on Trees Not Tees and build on the great work that Jim and Chris have done.”
Abbie McGrath joined The Future Forest Company earlier this year after working for a marine conservation NGO in the Maldives. After completing her masters in International Development: Environment, Climate Change and Development, she has prioritised finding roles where she feels she can create a tangible difference.
Abbie states that the great thing about Trees Not Tees is this tangibility, but also that the good is already done before the tree is planted. By selecting Trees Not Tees in event registration, the emissions from the merchandise are removed, and the tree planting is then an added bonus. Abbie went on to add, “Entire forests are being planted from the choice of individuals, showing the power collective action can have in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss.”
