Saving the Planet with Sustainable Products

Sustainability has been a buzzword for a long time, but recently it’s become a higher priority for companies and consumers. This has led to the broader availability of sustainable products as well as a wider range of options. At Custom Ink, we’ve worked to expand our offering in this category so that our customers can customize sustainable products for all of their groups and fundraisers. One customer who values sustainability is botanist and host of the Among the Jungle Podcast Shii Kaina. She ran a successful fundraising campaign to raise money to plant trees by selling custom sustainable t-shirts and sweatshirts.

 

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Shii’s passion for sustainability began when she was young and grew into a successful career as a botanist and master gardener. She’s provided her plant expertise to HGTV’s headquarters, botanical gardens, greenhouses, florists, landscapers, bonsai artists, and more, all the while learning more herself.

“I was amazed at what I was learning about this tiny little niche of the plant world. I began wondering what else was out there, still largely misunderstood by the general public?” says Shii. “I decided I wanted to find out, and I wanted to share the journey and the magic with everyone so I created the idea Among the Jungle Podcast.”

She officially launched her podcast in September 2019 with a mission to create a positive impact on the earth. “It’s been the greatest work of my life so far. It’s allowed me to build community all over the world and see nature from new perspectives while nurturing a sustainable relationship with our planet. Little did I know, that was just the beginning! Word of the podcast and community is spreading, and it’s my mission to exponentially grow our impact, as our community grows.”

Shii among her plants. (Photo courtesy Shii Kaina)

Once she had a following, Shii knew she could get them to help her make a bigger impact. She decided to run a t-shirt fundraiser to raise money to plant trees. “The mission behind Among the Jungle and the Happy Planting Campaign is to connect us more deeply with our natural world. To harness the plant communities’ love for plants and reflect that out into the natural world to help heal the planet,” she says. “We accomplish this by planting trees with each purchase/donation, but also by becoming more mindful of our choices as consumers. Each shirt is selected to fight ‘fast fashion’, which is one of the top three largest polluting industries on the planet, by using recycled material and plastic bottles whenever possible. Next is to ensure any cotton used is organic (pesticide free) as well as sustainably sourced, and that pigments used are natural. Eco-conscious material was make-or-break for me when looking to begin this campaign, and I was so impressed that Custom Ink not only had options but that they had LOTS of options.”

Shii and her custom shirts. (Photo courtesy Shii Kaina)

Shii was able to make her campaign sustainable by choosing environmentally-friendly products like the Hanes EcoSmart 50/50 T-shirt and the Hanes EcoSmart 50/50 Crewneck Sweatshirt both made from recycled bottles and plastics and Threadfast Tri-Blend T-shirt, and Threadfast Tri-Blend Pullover Hoodie made from sustainably sourced cotton.

The fundraiser was a success! “I am so proud of the incredible tree planting campaign I ran with Custom Ink. They have an incredibly collaborative and communicative team, and allowed me to run the most sustainable campaign possible which is so important to me and my community. I love the cozy eco-friendly materials, and will continue to use Custom Ink for all future tree planting campaigns.”

If you’re looking to run your own environmentally-friendly fundraiser or just to get eco-friendly gear for your group you can check out our catalog of sustainable products. Not only do we have clothing made from recycled materials, but we have products made from sustainably sourced and organic USA-grown cottons, reusable totes and water bottles, and more.