Celebrating 150,000 Trees This Earth Day: How Swapping T-Shirts for Trees Creates Lasting Impact

This Earth Day, we’re celebrating something special. Together with our event partners and participants, Trees Not Tees has now sponsored over 150,000 trees - and it’s all thanks to people choosing a tree instead of a t-shirt at events!

That might sound like a simple swap. But behind every one of those decisions is a meaningful environmental impact. Here’s why it matters.

The Hidden Cost of a T-Shirt

Mass-produced event t-shirts are often made from virgin polyester - a material derived from fossil fuels, with a significant carbon footprint, water consumption, and plastic waste problem.

To put it into perspective, producing just one 150g virgin polyester t-shirt uses:

• 3.35 kg of CO₂e
• 0.90 m³ of water
• The equivalent of 6-7.5 plastic bottles (20g each)

Now multiply that by hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands at every mass participation event, and the environmental cost quickly adds up. And to add insult to injury? Many of those t-shirts are unwanted, ending up shoved in the back of a wardrobe, in landfill, or even dumped on beaches in the Global South.

What We’ve Achieved Together

By offering a tree instead of a t-shirt, and working with events to provide a sustainable alternative, we’ve now collectively:

• Sponsored 150,000 trees
• Prevented the production of 150,000 unnecessary t-shirts
• Avoided 502,500 kg of CO₂e emissions
• Saved 135,000 m³ of water
• Spared the world over a million plastic bottles’ worth of waste
• Created 84 hectares of future woodland - that’s 120 football pitches worth of habitat

It’s not just about numbers, though. Supporting Trees Not Tees is a step towards restoring biodiversity, creating new habitats, capturing carbon, and growing lasting forests for future generations.

Every tree is planted in carefully selected woodland sites across the UK, in partnership with our parent company, The Future Forest Company. We plant a diverse mix of native and naturalised trees, chosen to support local wildlife, encourage biodiversity, and create healthy, resilient ecosystems that will thrive for decades to come. These trees aren’t part of short-term projects - they’re grown to form future forests, protected and nurtured for the long term.

It’s More Than a Swap - It’s a Movement

This Earth Day milestone is a powerful reminder that when people are given a meaningful alternative, they choose it. People want their actions - big or small - to have a positive impact.

We’re proud to be part of a growing movement of events, organisers, and participants choosing trees over waste, and putting climate action at the heart of their events.

Want to get involved?

If you’re an event organiser, join the growing number of events making a positive impact by offering Trees Not Tees as an option for your participants. Sign up with us today and be part of the movement growing future forests instead of waste.

If you’re an individual, you can make a difference too:
• If your event partners with us, choose Trees Not Tees instead of a t-shirt
• If it doesn’t, let your local organisers know about us - advocate for change
• Or, sponsor a tree directly today and make an immediate impact!