This Brand Set A Goal To Help Protect 1.7 Million Trees — Here's Why It's Important

There is no question that trees are critical to our survival, but most people don't understand just how critical. They do so much more than create oxygen for us to breathe. They are imperative to our functioning as humans and as a planet—and yet, we're cutting them down at a rapid rate. For instance, 430 square miles of rain forest were chopped down in the Brazilian Amazon in January 2022 alone. That's a 400% rise from January of last year. 

Deforestation has devastating consequences, and soon it will be too late to reverse the damage. That's why it's more important than ever that we all join in the fight to save our trees. At the forefront of this effort is Columbia Sportswear, which has partnered with Conservation International and set a goal of helping to protect 1.7 million trees by 2027. But let us explain exactly why they decided to take action (and why you should too).

At the current rate of deforestation, we're losing about 30 soccer fields' worth of forest a minute—that's 15 billion1 trees cut annually. Since the beginning of civilization, 46% of the world's trees1 have disappeared, which is a huge problem for a variety of reasons. Here are 6 of the top ways trees are critical to our livelihood:

Without trees, we literally wouldn't be able to breathe. They are responsible for converting carbon dioxide (CO₂) into oxygen through the process of photosynthesis2. It has been proposed that one large tree can produce a day's supply of oxygen3 for up to four people.

In addition to converting CO₂ into oxygen, trees also absorb and store some of the CO3₂3 within their fibers to prevent it from entering the atmosphere and accelerating climate change. In one year, an acre of mature trees will absorb the amount of CO₂ produced by a car driven 26,000 miles. Basically, trees help us clean up our mess.

The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to 10 room-sized air conditioners operating for 20 hours a day. It turns out that planting trees around your house to shade the sunlight can actually save you 25% on cooling costs. Landscaping isn't just for aesthetics! 

In addition to giving us fresh air to breathe, trees remove fine particulate matter—aka harmful air pollutants—from the environment. Trees save more than 850 human lives per year and prevent 670,000 incidences of acute respiratory symptoms. Not only that but a large portion of our medications, including cancer-fighting drugs, are derived from the rain forest.

In a 2014 study4, researchers revealed that students with trees outside school windows were found to have higher test scores and graduation rates. The same applies to work environments. In another study5, employees who had forest views through their office windows were shown to experience higher job satisfaction and less work stress.

By partnering with Conservation International, Columbia is pledging to help secure irreplaceable forest ecosystems, restore degraded forests, and protect critical wildlife habitats for the long-term benefit of people and all life on Earth. But they can't do it alone—they need our help! Here are 3 ways you can do your part:

For as long as we've walked this Earth, trees have been supporting humans. But after hundreds of years, it's time we give back. We're living a real live version of The Giving Tree, and soon enough there will be nothing left for us to live off of. In our case, it's crucial we change the ending of the story—and today is a great day to start!