November has been a season of giving for us at Libertine. We have worked with different organizations over the years and around this time of the year we have ramped up donations. Since the launch of our new bottles last year we have joined the 1% for the planet initiative meaning 1% of all revenue year round is now donated. This has been a significant increase in overall donations that we have done in years past so I wanted to use this time to talk about the initiative we have been donating to since joining 1% for the Planet.

EcoTrust Canada is the organization we have been supporting. Ecotrust funds and develops sustainable economic opportunities in remote, rural and indigenous communities across Canada to provide stable, sustainable energy, food, and housing. The projects they work on allow remote and indigenous communities to develop their grow their climate resilience and secure food and energy systems.

In the past year they have

• funded a regenerative ocean farm owned and operated by Metlakatla First Nation which sustainably grows kelp to be converted to fertilizer as well as growing scallops by first removing more than 52,641 Kg of abandoned fishing and harvesting gear from local waters and then growing and sharing grown scallops amongst Metlakatla community members and selling excess to local markets.
• Created a resource program for Canadian First Nations Exploring DIY Housing to allow First Nations communities to directly address their unique housing needs as housing costs across the country cause more and more economic instability for people.
• Created a program for retrofitting heat and energy systems in underserved northern homes, reducing greenhouse gasses in heating and cooling these communities while providing more resilient and safe housing during extreme weather related to climate change.

This is just a small bit of the projects Ecotrust Canada has been working on and I am such a fan of their approach to helping remote and indigenous communities; balancing current economic needs with long term sustainability and reconciliation goals.

This past year we were able to donate a little over $5000 dollars for their organization and this year we are on track to be able to give much more. I am excited to have made the switch to join 1 % for the Planet and I am glad this structure allows Libertine to give even more in a stable and ongoing way, year after year.