Earth Day | I thought about where our daily choices lead.

Hello!

April 22nd is Earth Day. It's the world's largest environmental action day, where approximately 1 billion people worldwide are said to participate in thinking about and acting on global environmental issues.

Therefore, LOVST TOKYO is launching a donation campaign in conjunction with Earth Day to the organization "TiME (This Is My Earth)"!

We chose this campaign because

"Many people probably feel like, 'I want to do something for the environment, but I don't know where to start, right?'"

This was prompted by a conversation within our team.

Even if you want to do something, the first step can feel very daunting, making it hard to take action.

However, in reality, each "small choice" we make every day is an action for the environment.

In this staff blog, along with our Earth Day initiatives, we would like to consider "where our choices lead"!

 

Where do those choices lead?

We usually live by choosing various things.

Food, bags, clothes, daily necessities.

Each of these is loosely connected to distant nature and the environment.

For example, farms that grow soybeans and coffee beans, pastures for livestock, and wood for paper products.

Behind the scenes of people consuming these, forests are cleared due to the expansion of farmland, and the habitats of animals living there can be lost.

According to one study^*1, due to the expansion of farmland, more than 300 species of animals may lose more than half of their habitat by 2050.

^*1 “Proactive conservation to prevent habitat losses to agricultural expansion”, Williams et al., Nature Sustainability(2021)

(Source: Rainforest Foundation Japan, Tropical forests being cleared for soybean cultivation and livestock)

Just paying a little attention to the impact of our choices, which we usually don't think about.

That might be a big step towards thinking about the environment.

 

"TiME": Participating in nature conservation through choice

The organization chosen as the recipient of donations this time, "TiME (This Is My Earth)", is a New York-based NPO that purchases land with funds raised through crowdfunding to engage in nature and biodiversity conservation activities.

"We know where to protect, but we're not protecting it."

The organization's activities began with this discomfort felt by its founder, who is also an ecologist.

In response to this discomfort, "TiME" has adopted a very simple and direct mechanism: "secure conservation by purchasing land."

Another distinctive feature is the process for selecting areas to be conserved.

Multiple candidate sites are presented by experts from a biodiversity perspective, and donors are involved in the decision-making process by voting on which sites to conserve.

We resonated with the fact that this allows individuals to participate in environmental protection as their own choice, rather than entrusting it to someone else.

Another characteristic of this initiative is that it makes it easy to see how donations contribute to nature conservation.

It allows us to reframe environmental problems, which often feel like something happening in a distant land, as "something that is an extension of our own choices."

That is the main reason why we chose this organization as the donation recipient this time.

 

Nature protected by "TiME" activities

Through the activities of "TiME," much nature and many creatures inhabiting it have actually been protected.

Chocó Forest / Ecuador (Source: This is My Earth (TiME))
This forest area is home to dozens of endangered species, including the great green macaw. Area purchased: 650,000 square meters

Turneffe Atoll / Belize (Source: This is My Earth (TiME))
A marine area facing numerous threats such as unsustainable fishing practices, development, and harvesting of non-timber products. Area purchased: 20,234 square meters

In this way, nature that might otherwise have been lost remains as it is.

Each individual effort may not be huge.

Nevertheless, "protected areas" are steadily created and continue to increase through people's choices.

What we can do

That your choices will remain as distant landscapes and as blessings that support our lives.

Thinking about it that way might make your daily choices look a little different.

You don't have to feel like you need to do something big; just take a moment to consider the environmental impact behind your everyday shopping.

I believe that the accumulation of such small actions will create the future of our planet.

 

May your shopping at LOVST TOKYO be one such choice.

In this donation campaign, to encourage more people to experience LOVST TOKYO items, all items are offered at a 5% discount.

Furthermore, 3% of sales will be used as a donation to "TiME."

The donation project will be selected after the campaign ends, so you cannot choose it individually, but we will select initiatives that protect the natural environment connected to our daily lives.

We hope that through this campaign, you will feel a little closer to the idea of "choosing for the environment," not just as a donation!

 

【Earth Day】Campaign Details here