Saving the World, One Room at a Time

The following post was sent to us from Maxwell Ryan, the CEO and Founder of Apartment Therapy, who has been a longtime member of 1% for the Planet. We would like to thank Maxwell for sharing his story with us, and for ‘saving the world, one room at a time’!

As soon as I finished Yvon’s book “Let My People Go Surfing” six years ago, I signed my company, Apartment Therapy Media, up for 1% right away. At the time, our revenues were pretty small, giving 1% was easy and we asked our readers to suggest who we should donate to. I saw it as a great was to publicly involve our audience in our participation with this very good cause.

Each year our revenues grew steadily and two years in I was at a fund raiser near my house for the Peconic Land Trust and they were looking to raise a big sum from the event, $10,000. I realized then that if I directed all of our 1% giving to the Peconic Land Trust, we could do some really significant help and the results of it would be immediately visible. I was also really drawn to the opportunity of having an ongoing, personal relationship with the organization my company was helping.

As of this past year, we are giving about $25,000 annually to the Peconic Land Trust and have become the biggest source of funding for their CSA Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett, NY, which also acts as their marketing arm in the Hamptons. They are the largest source of land preservation on Long Island and one of the leading land preservation trusts in the United States.

The farm and the Trust are now deeply thankful for the support my company provides, and have invited me to talk about 1% at a number of their fund raising gatherings because company support is not something that people think about, and 1% is not a widely known vehicle for doing it.

I love it because my personal and company mission are now totally aligned in an ongoing relationship that enlarges our circle and allows us to say that we really put our money where our mouth is.

Tags: Apartment Therapy, Let My People Go Surfing, Long Island, Maxwell Ryan, New York, Peconic Land Trust, support
Posted in Members, Non-Profit Recipients

Gas and Water Don’t Mix: Smock and Earthworks Change the World

1% for the Planet member Smock (and parent company Boxcar Press) make beautiful letterpress products using sustainable printing and business practices in Syracuse, New York. Printers have historically played a role in negatively impacting the environment through deforestation, which is why Smock wholeheartedly believes in making the planet a better place.

Earlier this year, Smock introduced the “Change the World” card series, with 100% of profits donated to nonprofit organizations focusing on critical environmental issues affecting our planet. For the series’ second card, Smock teamed with Earthworks to raise awareness of the impacts of hydraulic fracturing (or fracking).

All profits from these cards are donated to Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project, which reforms the oil and gas industry and supports affected communities. The card comes with a temporary tattoo that reads “Gas and Water Don’t Mix.”  Both Smock and Earthworks are encouraging citizens to don the temporary tattoos in solidarity with the people living in 34 states where drilling and fracking is underway. You can join the dozens of people who have already shared their photos and personal stories by uploading yours to Tumblr.  Here is a picture of the 1% staff with the tattoos on… 

Why the focus on fracking? Smock is located in upstate New York, close to the Marcellus Shale, so the environmental threat that fracking presents hits close to home. Each month, around 2,000 new oil and gas wells are drilled in the U.S., and about 90% of these new wells are fracked. To get the natural gas out of the ground, each well requires anywhere from 3 to 15 million gallons of water and lots chemicals to extract the gas. A large percentage of this chemical laced water remains in the earth, threatening our clean water supply. Rarely do we know what these chemicals are: the oil and gas industry is exempt from the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Superfund law. This is a serious problem that puts the environment — and our drinking water — at risk.  Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project is leading the way to protect public health, the environment and our climate from these dangers.

We’re excited about this partnership and hope you join their movement by submitting pictures for their Tumblr, or buying some cards!

Tags: Boxcar Press, Change the World, Earthworks, fracking, Gas and Water Don't Mix, New York, Smock, Syracuse, Tumblr
Posted in Members, Non-Profit Recipients