Zorali & the Eden Reforestation Project
A young Aussie company pledges to have a positive impact.
(This story originally featured in Wild #178, Summer 2020)
One product sold, ten trees planted. That’s the pledge Zorali—a fledgling Aussie adventure wear and hardgoods company founded in 2019—has made. “A lot of people think it’s ten trees for every purchase,” says director Cam Greenwood. “But it’s actually every product.” That’s right: Buy a spork; ten trees are planted.
It’s actually part of the Eden Reforestation Project, an international NPO that focuses on ecological restoration in poorer countries like Indonesia, Nepal, Kenya, Haiti, Mozambique and others. And it’s not just about tree planting, says Greenwood. “They take a strategic approach to the communities they’re working in, looking at local employment.”
This spork = 10 trees planted
Although the main inspiration for starting Zorali was to create an Aussie brand that, in Greenwood’s words, “could really stand for the Australian way of life, of camping down the coast with your mates and going on road trips”—their gear is low-key but youthful, with an emphasis not so much on high-end technical demands but instead on enjoying the journey—from the very beginning, there was another agenda, one reflected in the partnership with the Eden Reforestation Project.
“Starting up, it was really important for us to build into the actual product some sort of way that we could give back to the planet. We didn’t want it to be this thing that came as an afterthought, or after seeing how much money is in the account at the end.”
The young, independent company—which although skewing towards the clothing side of adventure goods also produces day packs, tents, sleeping bags, camp goods, and yes, sporks—had only just launched when the pandemic hit. It was, perhaps, not ideal timing. But despite the challenges, Greenwood says in some ways it was a blessing in that it really made them decide to double down on sustainability. “The reality of the pandemic caused everyone to properly evaluate what they were doing.” For Zorali, that means having a positive impact on the planet.
To learn more, go to: zorali.com