And we're just getting started.
Since the beginning, we’ve planted a tree with every order. It’s at the core of what we do, what we stand for and is our way of helping protect the planet. Now this isn’t to say we’ve cracked it. We’re still learning, listening, and trying to do better.
It has never been a tick-box exercise, throwaway statement or breakable promise. We’re serious about trees - setting good, strong roots for the future and supporting those that help to protect them.
With that, we want to say a big thank you to everyone who’s purchased from us, supported us, and helped us to help others. It’s something we’ve always done, and always will. We’re pretty proud of this ONE.
Responsibility
Over the past few years, we’ve worked very closely with conservation partners, Trees for the Future (TREES), who have planted over 300 million trees in the ground since 1989. But there’s a lot more to it than that. They’re not just bunging saplings in the soil and calling it a day.
Instead, they pioneered the Forest Garden Approach, which gives farmers and their families a chance to reclaim their land for good. Freeing them from generational poverty and allowing them to rebuild food systems to provide for their communities.
"Trees for the Future is grateful for our partnership with Passenger, whose commitment is instrumental in realizing our overarching mission. Thanks to their dedication, we are poised to amplify our influence on both people and the planet. We look forward to growing toward a more equitable and integrated global landscape together."
Tim McLellan, CEO at Trees for the Future.
Where’s My Tree?
To date, we’ve planted 1,027,728 trees.
That’s a sh*tload of trees doing some good in the ground. When you zoom out and add it all up, that’s estimated to help capture roughly 37,155 metric tons of CO2 over the next 20 years.
These trees have been planted in 822 Forest Gardens throughout Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal and Mali, which have helped 6,576 local people on the pathway out of poverty and hunger.
So if you’ve ever thought: “I wonder where my tree is?”. Well, now you know.
Impact
Before working with Trees for the Future, Daudi planted just maize and beans on his Kenyan farm. He had just 12 trees, and during droughts or bad weather, his trees would suffer - impacting his ability to sell crops and make a living.
With our support, Daudi has converted half a hectare of his farm into a diverse Forest Garden, just three years on from joining TREES’ training program. With fresh knowledge of agroforestry techniques, Daudi now has rows of native Cajanus trees and thriving veg gardens that all contribute to better soil health.
A living fence now surrounds the farm and helps protect it from the elements, whilst providing tasty food for his animals too. From 12 trees to now almost 3,500, Daudi’s Forest Garden has successfully cultivated its own micro-climate, helping to protect crops and provide a better yield.
To learn a little more about the good work of TREES, we recommend sitting down with a cuppa and reading up on Plant & Protect: Tree Planting Since Day One.
Our Roots
As some may know, Passenger began as a pipe dream in the back of a beat-up T4 campervan aptly named Douglas Fir. Fast forward 12 years, our HQ is nestled amongst the New Forest here in the UK.
To say that we’re inspired by the outdoors is an understatement. It’s a part of who we are and what we do. Meaningful escape, leaving the smallest footprint possible, and spreading the good word of our founder and all-round legend: Rich Sutcliffe.
He’s got a few things to say on the matter of trees, their influence on the brand, and why we plant them. Here goes.
“Passenger exists to inspire and enable more people to spend more time connecting with nature, their passions, doing the things they love in the places they love. For me, this all began while travelling the remote wilds of British Columbia, Canada. As I sat on a driftwood trunk, stoking the fire and drying out salty skin everything felt right.
“Dense forest behind me, waves ahead, I had everything I needed. I’ve always felt a deep connection with nature, it gives me a great sense of well-being and trees have a huge part to play in that.
“The more time people spend outdoors, the more they will fall in love with it, the places they play. And in turn will want to protect those places, look after them and advocate for them. This is why our Plant & Protect programme is so important to us. We plant a tree for every order and protect acres and acres of rainforest every month. Always have, always will.
"One million trees planted and we’re really only just getting started.”
Rich Sutcliffe, Passenger Founder.
Community
We could talk your ear off about trees and their importance to Passenger for another thousand words, but we hope you’ve got the gist by now. If you would like to know more, however, head over to our Responsibility & Values page.
Instead, we thought we’d switch things up - branch out if you will - to times when trees, woodlands, forests, groves, and wild green spaces have inspired others. Writers, poets, musicians, filmmakers, printmakers, and fellow roamers.
Here’s a handful to play us out.
Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees
“In the woods, there is a strong sense of immersion in the dancing shadow play of the leafy depths, and the rise and fall of the sap that proclaims the seasons is nothing less than a tide, and no less influenced by the moon.” - Roger Deakin, Wildwood (2007).
Note: Wildwood is a much-loved classic of nature writing. It’s well worth adding to your bookshelf or keeping handy for road trips amongst the trees.
“They took all the trees, put 'em in a tree museum. And they charged the people a dollar an' a half just to see 'em” - Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi (1970).
Note: Big Yellow Taxi is an environmentalist anthem and much-loved track from Canadian singer-songwriter, Joni Mitchell.
“Cold, heat, fire, volcano. The tree could die, or the tree could live. But it’s always going to carry the scar of it. It just builds on itself with time, to become this. That’s a story. That’s a life well lived.” Trees and Other Entanglements, Irene Taylor (2023).
Note: An HBO Original Documentary, a deeply human tale of our relationship with the natural world and one another.
