One Tree Planted: Cultivating a Greener Future

At Goodsole, we believe in more than just selling sneakers – we're committed to making a difference in the world. That's why we created Treadlightly™, our way of restoring the balance between people and the planet. With every purchase of Goodsole sneakers, we automatically plant a tree in your nominated region via One Tree Planted. To date, One Tree Planted has planted 135.5 million trees in 82 countries across the globe since 2014, contributing to a greener, healthier planet.

We recently had the opportunity to sit down with the amazing team at One Tree Planted for an exclusive interview. We wanted to dive deep into their inspiring work, understand what drives their passion for reforestation, and learn about the incredible impact they're making worldwide.

One Tree Planted was founded on a clear vision: to provide individuals and businesses with a simple way to make a real impact. Planting trees is one of the best ways to restore ecosystems that have been degraded or deforested, and it’s something that’s easy to understand and connect to.

Communities are at the heart of our reforestation work. A successful project will bring a multitude of benefits to the local community, who will in turn protect the trees and their local environment. Benefits can include fruit and other “non-timber forest products” such as tree nuts, coffee, cacao, cinnamon, rubber, and even maple syrup! These products can provide both nutrition and a sustainable income for local communities.  Other benefits include shade – for livestock and crops, and to reduce heat & improve wellbeing in urban areas – and increased biodiversity. For example, bringing back Koalas and Platypus into the local environment is a key goal of several community-led projects in Australia. 

A more unexpected benefit we have observed is the power of reforestation in community healing, especially after natural disasters. Whether it’s coming together for a community planting day at a fire-ravaged site in Colorado, or getting local volunteers together to grow trees in community nurseries in bushfire-ravaged areas of Australia – there is a sense of healing through coming together to care for nature that can’t be underestimated.

Broadly across our global projects, the biggest challenge is weather and climatic events that are beyond our control. With climate change causing extreme weather events to occur more frequently – like fires, floods, cyclones and drought – this is an ongoing challenge for our projects. While difficult to predict, there are ways to mitigate the impacts of these events, including maintaining firebreaks and regularly patrolling for fires, paying close attention to rainfall and weather forecasts when going out to plant, and selecting species that are more tolerant of challenging conditions.

Another typical challenge is grazing pressure from both native animals & livestock, which we can mitigate with fencing, tree guards, and topical applications – as well as through thoughtful tree species selection and planting design. At the local level, depending on the type of project, other challenges might also include native seed shortages, secure access to land, competition from weeds, or competition from agriculture (for example, palm oil). 

Our projects team works hard to build strong relationships with our local planting partners, who implement our reforestation projects on the ground.  Together, we ensure that critical topics are being addressed before, during, and after planting, which helps to maximise the chance of success. For example: how the local community is being engaged in the project, which species are being selected, how the soil is prepared for planting, what the main risks are and how they will be mitigated, what maintenance activities will be undertaken, how tree survival will be monitored, and what the long-term plan is for the site. We are working with Mother Nature, which means that there are always climatic factors beyond our control, but good planning and ongoing adaptive management help us to make sure projects are set up to succeed.

Making an impact isn’t always about one person taking a big action; it can be achieved through “small” but consistent actions taken over time. A great place to start is by taking stock of your lifestyle and consumption habits. Are there areas where you could improve, or sustainable swaps you could make? From there, you can grow your impact in ways that are meaningful to you — whether that’s planting trees, volunteering in your local community, advocating with your local, state, or national government, etc. There is no one size fits all solution when it comes to environmental impact: find what works for you, and get out there!

For every Goodsole pair purchased, a tree is planted through One Tree Planted, helping to restore forests, support biodiversity, and empower communities worldwide. By choosing Goodsole sneakers, you’re not just investing in a quality product—you’re making a meaningful difference.

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Together, we can make every step count.

All images provided by One Tree Planted.