Pulse April 2019 | Page 38

you get What you give (CONTiNUED FrOM PAGE 32) vegan and cruelty-free brand. contributions and partnerships like this allow us to meaningfully support our values, and show our customers that we walk the talk,” Valenty said. Serendipity put Valenty’s idea next to an actionable project. She had already wanted to plant trees, but was unsure of where to start: “Except for planting trees in my home backyard, i didn’t know how i could help in a global effort until i attended the Tenth congress of the Green Spa network in march of 2018. one presentation about the impact of planting trees to reverse global warming confirmed my thoughts that we need to plant more trees to slow down, or even reverse, the current global warming trend and restore the environment to a healthy condition. afterward, i asked the speaker, Tom Eddington, how i could help plant trees, and he told me to partner with Weforest. “Dazzle Dry’s program to plant one tree per retail order placed online started with the planting of 1,000 trees in the Kashi hills of india on Earth Day, april 22, 2018.” Valenty says that Dazzle Dry’s goal was to to plant 10,000 trees by Earth Day 2019, one year later; with just a few weeks until Earth Day, they have already exceeded that goal, says Valenty. Spa Director Paul nunez of J.W. marriott marco island says that his company participates in many chari- table giving efforts, with the main being a walk to raise funds to fight cancer. “We are also pushing to make oncology massage part of the menu in all marriott Spas,” he said, adding that the program is “vital because we are all affected.” nunez personally lost his mother to cancer. a few rare companies make chari- table giving part of their business plan from the very start. alaska Glacial mud co. is a certified B corp, and founder Lauren Padawer explained that this means they donate 10 percent of profits or 2 percent of revenue (whichever is greater) to an identified charitable organization of the company’s choice. in this case, the donation goes to educate, restore, protect and defend get SmArt ABout WASte reductIon for some companies, charitable giving even changes production in a significant way. for Jenefer Palmer, founder of the seaweed-based oSeA Skincare line, losing her malibu home and everything in it caused her to rethink the way her products are packaged. “Standing in the ruins of my burned down home, i was moved to find a way to eliminate any use of bubble wrap in our shipping. i had initially felt that secondary packaging/ boxes were wasteful, but after further research we discovered that they actually reduce shipping materials. So once again, mother nature won—as she always does,” she said. 36 PULSE ■ APriL 2019 dazzle dry's philanthropic efforts align with its values. wild salmon habitat, particularly in alaska’s copper river, which is one of the largest rivers in the united States. Padawer said she first experienced the “buttery and therapeutic qualities” of glacial mud after rafting the copper river. She then decided on the spot to start a business that would be philanthropic to “protect the watershed, and thus the regional culture and environment.” from wild salmon and the indigenous culture, to the alaskan lifestyle and the highly productive wildlife