by NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Leading mattress manufacturer, Bedding Industries of America (BIA), has developed an exclusive partnership with Evertreen to plant 5,000 trees worldwide. BIA will remain the first and only company in the mattress industry to work with Evertreen, an organization that offers a global platform for companies to plant trees and track them via satellite.
BIA is including certain customers and retailers into the Evertreen program, including SAATVA, which has been responsible for purchasing a great number of all-natural products. BIA plans to involve some of its other customers that purchase from its portfolio of all-natural product brands and will contribute more trees to this project monthly for this year and many years going forward.
“This program provides so many great benefits to the earth and communities that are involved in the planting process,” said Stuart Carlitz, president and CEO of BIA. “Over the years, the areas where we plant trees will change deserts and flat waste lands into rich, beautiful, thriving forests. Together, we are reducing our carbon footprint and enriching the world we and our customers live in.”
By planting trees through Evertreen’s program, BIA creates jobs and contributes to deforestation in various countries in Africa, South America, and Asia. Those countries include Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nepal and Nicaragua – eight of which BIA has purchased and planted trees in to create a “company forest.”
After selecting the type – from papaya to pine – and number of trees, Evertreen works with the countries in which they are located to create jobs for the local farmers that plant and maintain the trees for five years. The trees can also be gifted, if participants wish.
As an added benefit, participants can track their trees through satellite monitoring, and obtain detailed information such as the growth status, possible diseases, photosynthetic activity, how effectively plants absorb and reflect solar radiation, and the presence of dry and infertile soil.
By purchasing eight species of trees in eight countries, BIA has already helped absorb 750,000 kilograms of CO2 in the atmosphere and helped create 626 working hours. This effort “helps alleviate the poverty-stricken countries, since the money made helps provide food, education and medical supplies to people in need in those communities,” according to Carlitz.
“As we strive to lessen the impact of our industry on the environment, this is certainly a step in the right direction,” Carlitz said. “There are countless benefits to what Evertreen is offering, which not only impacts people in the United States, but all over the world.”
