Artists from around the world have come out in support of teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, who is set to deliver a speech at the UN 2019 Climate Action Summit on Monday. Leading artist marketplace Redbubble Group announced it will donate $1 from every sale (up to $50k) through its marketplaces on September 23 in support of the movement to stop climate change and end the use of fossil fuels.
“We are so inspired by the leadership and passion of all these kids around the world who are taking it upon themselves to call for real action that addresses this climate emergency,” says Redbubble CEO Barry Newstead.
Newstead said donating funds from sales was the startup’s way of speaking up on the issue.
“This is our way of acknowledging that we as global citizens cannot afford to be silent now– not when we can still reverse the course of destruction and prevent the worst outcomes. We know many of the artists in our community have raised their voices and created art in support of climate action. We want to follow their lead and inspire more action that can make a difference right now.”
Employees from Redbubble group’s four offices located in New York, Sam Francisco, Berlin and Melbourne will also be participating in today’s Global Climate Strike. The student led initiative is expected to see millions of teens and tweens around the world marching for a fossil free future.
Redbubble has further shown the support for the cause by joining the Not Business as Usual alliance of Australian and global companies pledging and urging businesses to support their employees who wish to join the strike and stand in solidarity with the young activists.
Sustainability has been part of the Redbubble business model and corporate culture since the company’s inception.
Goods purchased on Redbubble’s marketplace for print-on-demand products are produced one at a time and sourced locally in order to use less energy to reach consumers. 95 per cent of packages originate from third party fulfillment facilities located within the region from which they are ordered. The company works with renewable energy specialists 3Degrees to measure the amount and impact of the carbon emissions associated with the business, reduce that impact, and offset what can’t be reduced with programs that help the environment.
Redbubble is currently funding reforestation in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and a cookstove replacement program in India that generates offsets equal to growing 41,667 trees for 10 years, or not using 5,788 barrels of oil.
“The eCommerce industry is not often considered environmentally friendly and we want to lead the way in changing that,” says Redbubble Chief Supply Chain Officer Arnaud Deshais,
“Redbubble has historically supported numerous important causes, but we are a global company and climate change affects the entire world. Each day we work to see where we can reduce our and our community’s carbon footprint, in small ways and significant ones. Today, 95 percent of the packaging used to ship products purchased on the Redbubble marketplace is recyclable. By 2020, 95 per cent of the packaging will be both recyclable and made from recycled materials.”
In addition to efforts to offset emissions, Redbubble is also committed to transparency and ethics in the supply chain. As a condition of participating in the marketplace, Redbubble requires all third party printing facilities adhere to the Fair Labor Association Code of Conduct and its benchmark standards. Redbubble also has processes in place to verify safe working conditions, minimized environmental impact, and the ethical treatment of employees at all third party printing facilities participating in the marketplace.
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