If you care about the climate, Earth Day Network will fill you in on how you can become involved before April 22nd (and beyond). Learn more about how the non-profit Earth Day Network engages a global environmental initiative through their Spreadshop.
We’re very excited to feature Earth Day as our Shop of the Month. The timing is spot-on as April 22nd (Earth Day) is quickly approaching. Can you tell us a bit about the history of Earth Day and your organization?
Earth Day Network’s mission is to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Growing out of the first Earth Day in 1970, Earth Day Network is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 75,000 partners in over 190 countries to drive positive action for our planet. You can find out more at www.earthday.org, and sign-up to get involved locally.
On April 22nd, we say we believe in science. We say that everyone can make a difference. We say that protecting our planet and the people who live upon it is the top priority.
On #EarthDay2020, we #EARTHRISE. Are you in?https://t.co/SQDJaO0qtP pic.twitter.com/5gYmfrEz6t— Earth Day Network (@EarthDayNetwork) March 23, 2020
On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in coast-to-coast rallies, this is now recognized as the first Earth Day. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. The event achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, urban dwellers and farmers, business and labor leaders. By the end of 1970, the first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts.
Today, Earth Day is widely recognized as the largest secular observance in the world, marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behavior and provoke policy changes. Now, the fight for a clean environment continues with increasing urgency, as the ravages of climate change become more and more apparent every day.
? ANNOUNCEMENT “Whether #coronavirus or our global #climatecrisis, we cannot shut down. Instead, we shift our energies…
Posted by Earth Day Network on Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Wow, it’s really incredible reflecting on the origins of Earth Day and the global phenomenon it has become. I love the slogan, “it’s not a day—it’s a movement,” what does it mean to you for people to wear T-shirts with this design?
Earth Day Network is one of the largest recruiters into the environmental movement. It is valuable for us to have our supporters wearing gear that represents the daily nature of protecting our environment. From picking up trash, reducing resource and energy use, and civic organizing. Earth Day supporters practice the ethos of the environmental movement around the clock, and can now wear their support while doing it!
The Earth Day Network sounds like a really great group of people. Obviously, climate change is a deeply political subject in the United States and not an accepted fact by some politicians. What tips do you have for developing constructive conversations about climate change with nonbelievers?
Earth Day commits to believing the science. Our world’s response to the climate crisis is more critical now than ever before, as we see the rise of half or untruths from the governments and international figures, and are grappling with an environment on the brink of catastrophe. Today, the need for a similar transformation is dire. The 50th anniversary of Earth Day—#EarthRise—will mobilize an online grassroots movement against a threat to the planet as great as that posed by any war or natural disaster. Humans face many urgent issues today, but only the climate crisis poses an irreversible threat to the habitability of the planet.
Do you believe that individual action can have a positive impact? What advice do you have for those who want to learn how to take individual action to protect our planet?
An individual yields real power and influence as a consumer, a voter, and a member of a community that can unite for change. We ask our supporters to not underestimate their power. When their voices and actions are united with millions of others around the world, we create a movement that is inclusive, impactful, and impossible to ignore.
Environmental issues affect all of us differently; but they do affect all of us. Individuals need to both make attainable changes in their personal lives – such as volunteering in their community, reducing their energy use, or switching to plant-based diets – while contributing their voice to collective action. Earth Day recommends individuals become informed environmentalists and act based on science and conservation.
Speaking of “collective action” often those living in low-income communities are disproportionately affected by climate change—how can someone who is unable to afford a sustainable lifestyle become involved in the Earth Day movement?
The environmental movement would be incomplete without environmental justice. Earth Day strives to offer on-ramps into the environmental movement regardless of income or circumstance. Our programs provide accessible actions that anyone can participate in, including:
- The Great Global Cleanup: Volunteer opportunities on a global scale available for anyone near where they live or work. By visiting cleanup.earthday.org, anyone can join a volunteer event, or get help to organize their own.
- The Canopy Project: Every one dollar donated plants one tree in communities at-risk of negative impacts from climate change. Reforestation projects and tree planting are one of the most concrete ways that an individual can impact climate change solutions.
- Global Teach-ins: Toolkits that allow educators to create environmental education lesson plans customizable to local environmental issues and the interests of the community. Earth Day provides guidance and support for K-12 institutions, higher education through the MobilizeU campaign, and community centers through our constituent network.
- Billion Acts of Green: Earth Day’s call for individuals to perform actions that improve the environment, not matter how small. 2.7 Billion Acts of Green submitted since the start of the program.
- More ideas? Here are 47 ways to go green.
#EarthDay is everybody's movement and this is a critical moment. Our #EarthDayFilm premieres on April 15. Sign up here to see it first: https://t.co/KpWeZMsqKs
— Outrider Foundation (@OutriderFdn) March 30, 2020
Thank you for sharing those resources! On the same topic, what advice do you have for someone who wants to be an ally to the planet and to climate refugees?
Every action you take matters. Inform your friends and family, take individual action, or organize in your community. An individual can be part of the environmental movement as a voter, consumer, or activist, and it’s a necessity that everyone understands that without individual actions, there can be no collective achievements. We all need to lend our voice, our time, and our energy to ensure the health and safety of this planet for current and future generations.
Can you tell us a bit about why you chose our platform (Spreadshop) to open an online shop?
Beyond offering merchandise to Earth Day supporters, we felt that Spreadshop’s sustainable achievements in energy and resource use reductions were most aligned with our environmental goals and message. Sustainability in operations and supply chains is a major area where businesses can do their part to better the environment, and Spreadshop has demonstrated such sustainable leadership in the space.
We’re so glad you chose us to share your mission with the world! How did you go about choosing which products you wanted to offer in your Shop?
We’ve created two initial designs that allow users to offer their support for Earth Day with both clothing and a collection of everyday reusable items such as mugs and tote bags. We’re excited to offer supporters of Earth Day a variety of ways to continue sharing the message that Earth Day is every day.
Thank you so much for sharing your mission with us. We’re very excited to have Earth Day Network as a part of our Spreadshop community!
To keep up with Earth Day Network’s initiatives, be sure to follow them on Twitter, Facebook, or Linkedin.
