by Ami Taylor
Jesica and I have a long running friendship since well before the inception of Big Fun Beverages. Part of the friendship stems from a mutual concern for the world around us, this almost duality of personality one must have to function, work, and play in a society we can see slowly moving into a warming world, and all that that entails. When we talked about what we wanted this company to look like, we knew we wanted to make choices that reflected our love for the planet, and all the crazy wonderful people we love on it. Initially we thought that we would donate 100% of the profits to youth led social justice groups, housing and scarcity, and environmental NGOs that we thought were making an impact. After long hours in front of a business plan we realized it would be a LONG TIME before we would be able to do anything that would make a difference. So we scrapped that. We knew we would run our business through a lens of environmental responsibility, we would use organic ingredients, we would choose cans over glass, we would compost our spent tea, and we will continue searching for new ways to make our company as clean as possible. And now, we would also like to introduce the Big Fun list of NGOs we are donating to, and we hope if you have the ability, you will too!
1) This Earth Day (April 22, 2022) Big Fun Beverages donated $100 to Elakha Alliance! Why we like em: Elakha Alliance is working to bring local sea otter populations back.
"The Elakha Alliance was formed by tribal, nonprofit, and conservation leaders with a shared belief in a powerful vision: an Oregon coast 50 years from now where our children and grandchildren co-exist along with a thriving sea otter population and a robust and resilient marine ecosystem.
Our mission: To restore a healthy population of sea otters to the Oregon coast and to thereby make Oregon’s marine and coastal ecosystem more robust and resilient."
This is important because sea otters keep the sea urchin population in check by eating them, which is important because the sea urchins are creating ocean deserts out of the remaining kelp forest. The urchin cuts the kelp at the root level, taking away important habitat from an already stressed ecosystem. Kelp is extraordinary at capturing carbon from the atmosphere, it grows faster than the fastest bamboo.
That makes Elakha's mission multidimensional in its effects, and we are proud to support this important work.
Click here to check out their website and donate yourself :) let's keep this party going!
You can check back in with us here on the site to find out where else we think is a great place to put your money for a greener world.
