On April 22nd, 1970, approximately 20 million people marched and rallied to support environmental protection, and Earth Day was born. The holiday is now an international celebration of the planet, as well as a call to action to continue environmental conservation efforts.
At Top Tree, we take our environmental impact seriously, and are continually working to reduce our footprint and increase industry-wide kratom sustainability. Today, we’re sharing our suggestions for the best ways to celebrate Earth Day—with kratom, of course—and how to reduce your kratom-related environmental footprint.
Here are some of the best ways to celebrate Earth Day with kratom:
- Advocate for legislation that supports people & the planet
- Go on a cleanup hike
- Brew kratom tea with local ingredients
- Donate to a sustainability-focused organization
BONUS: Scroll down for suggestions on how you can reduce the environmental impact of buying kratom.
1. Advocate for Legislation that Supports People & Planet
Advocating for better kratom legislation is hugely beneficial for people & the planet. How is kratom activism related to Earth Day?
Kratom isn’t just some powder or liquid made in a chemistry lab, it’s a tree that grows in tropical climates. No matter where you live – in a place where kratom grows naturally or in a megacity on the other side of the world – your actions can impact the whole planet.
The choices you make every day can even have an impact on the health of kratom trees, as well as the other plants and animals in the ecosystems where they grow and the people who work with kratom trees.
Even if you aren’t a self-proclaimed tree-hugger, if you care about kratom, then there are great reasons for you to care about the planet. To protect kratom trees, we can advocate for planet-forward policies at a local, federal, and international level. We can fight to prevent pollution of water bodies and farmland. Additionally, we can advocate to end subsidies given to unsustainable industries (and then subsidize sustainable ones).
We can also advocate for better kratom legislation to reduce the environmental impact of the kratom industry.
Protecting Research to Increase Kratom Sustainability
Researchers are studying how kratom plants grow. For instance, a few researchers at the University of Florida recently delved into research on how alkaloid profiles and other aspects of kratom plant chemistry are impacted by environmental factors. Such research may contribute to our understanding of how to properly grow kratom in the United States. Being able to domestically grow kratom would hugely reduce the industry’s footprint, as most kratom is currently shipped to the US by sea from Southeast Asian countries.
However, if kratom becomes banned in the states where this research is being done, these advancements in our understanding of kratom plant growth could be lost. Improving kratom sustainability would thus be set back many years. Speaking out against bans and supporting good legislation is a great way to ensure the long-term sustainability of the kratom industry.
Activism takes up a lot of time and resources. If you want to contribute to activism but feel as though political action isn’t an option for you, there are other ways to help.
Importantly, you can always vote with your dollar. For instance, buy your kratom from sustainable companies (more on this below); buy food from companies that source ingredients locally; use items made from recyclable or compostable materials; or limit unnecessary travel.
2. Brew Kratom Tea with Local Ingredients
Using local ingredients in your recipes – and reducing your waste – is a great way to celebrate Earth Day!
On average, a person in the United States consumes about 2000 pounds of food each year. Food production is responsible for about 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Americans also waste about 30-40% of food at various levels of the supply chain and at home. The estimated emissions from food waste in the United States are equal to the emissions of 42 coal-fired power plants.
Your food and drink choices really add up, so Earth Day is a great day to set some Earth-forward food resolutions (like New Years resolutions, but for the whole planet). Sourcing your food – and other items you use – locally or regionally is a great way to celebrate the planet going forward. Some of our favorite kratom recipes that can be made with local ingredients are:
- Green kratom smoothie made with local fruits & vegetables
- Orange & mint iced kratom tea with mint grown in your garden
- Kratom apple cider with local apples
Not all of the ingredients for these kratom recipes will be available locally in mid-April. Since every day is unofficially Earth Day, you can save the recipe and make it later in the year. We made our kratom apple cider (fondly dubbed krapple cider) with local apples last year. Meeting our farmer and picking our apples made the experience of preparing and brewing the kratom apple cider so much more fun.
Hopefully one day soon, we’ll have locally grown kratom, too!
3. Donate to an International Sustainability Organization
By supporting an organization that provides food relief with the planet in mind, we can feed two birds with one scone: we can provide food to hungry people across the globe without negatively impacting the planet.
Hunger relief is desperately needed in the US and internationally. As the climate changes, plants that used to thrive in a particular region may no longer be able to grow there. That results in huge obstacles to maintaining functional food systems.
Furthermore, our global food systems are harming the planet by using resources unsustainably and producing vast amounts of waste. If we support the production of environmentally-harmful foods, we may see impacts far downstream of the food industry. Kratom trees, just like many other plants, animals, and fungi, could be seriously harmed by environmental contamination and a changing climate.
This Earth Day, we’re donating all of our profits to Food for Life Global, a food relief organization that goes far beyond just providing meals to people in need. They lead programs to teach sustainable farming methods and meal preparation for long-term sustainability. FFLG provides meals and programming in over 60 countries – including Indonesia and Malaysia, where kratom trees grow.
4. Go on a Cleanup Hike
If you like to hike, this one’s a doozy! Earth Day is the perfect day to enjoy the great outdoors and remind yourself how fascinating and weird and beautiful our planet is. Bring a bag with you (preferably a compostable or recyclable bag that you’ve already used once – even the empty bag from a loaf of bread will do) and collect any trash you find on your hike.
Don’t forget to pack your thermos full of tea. White vein kratom teas can support your energy, which means you can hike longer and have extra motivation to continue your cleanup. You can also drink kratom tea for recovery from your Earth Day exercise. If you get home from a hike feeling sore and uncomfortable, you can drink Unwind, a red vein kratom tea, to support relaxation and physical relief.
If you don’t have any good hiking spots near you, or you aren’t physically able to hike, there are still ways to enjoy the outdoors on Earth Day. Watch a planet-focused documentary like Our Great National Parks or Seaspiracy, or grab a bestselling book about the environment like Richard Powers’ The Overstory.
You can appreciate nature anywhere, even if you’re just staring at a blade of grass that’s sticking out through a crack in the sidewalk.
Bonus: How to Reduce Your Environmental Impact When Buying Kratom
Choosing to purchase sustainable kratom helps protect the planet. In return, protecting the planet helps kratom trees thrive. Here are a few suggestions for how to reduce your environmental impact from kratom purchases:
1. Buy from Sustainable Kratom Companies
Not all companies hold themselves to the same standards for sustainability. To increase kratom sustainability, you can vote with your dollar by buying your kratom from vendors that put planet over profit. To find a sustainable kratom company, look for:
- Ethical treatment and payment of farmers
- Recyclable or compostable product packaging & shipping materials
- Pesticide-free kratom products
- Products made for home-brewing, instead of ready-to-drink kratom seltzers and teas
If the kratom brand you typically use doesn’t consider these aspects of kratom sustainability, you can reach out to them to discuss their environmental impact and explain what changes you hope they make in the future. Customer feedback is always appreciated, no matter the topic.
2. Reuse, Compost, & Recycle Kratom Packaging
Even if your kratom product packaging is recyclable, it doesn’t make a difference if you don’t actually recycle it. If recycling instructions aren’t obvious on your kratom’s packaging, don’t fret. You can always email the company to find out what materials they use and how to properly dispose of them.
All Top Tree kratom tea bags are compostable. The outer pouches are made from recyclable #2 HDPE plastic.
3. Buy Kratom in Bulk, but Don’t Buy too Much Kratom at Once
If you buy kratom online, you can get it in one large shipment instead of multiple smaller shipments. This can help reduce the environmental impact of transporting kratom. However, be careful not to buy so much that it will go bad before you can use it.
4. Brew Your Own Kratom Drinks Instead of Buying Ready-to-Drink Kratom Products
Kratom tea bags weigh about a tenth of the amount that premade kratom seltzers and kratom iced teas weigh. By making kratom tea at home with tea bags (BYO water!), you can reduce the environmental impact of shipping heavy drinks.
Every Day Is Earth Day
Sustainability isn’t something we consider just on April 22nd. Kratom sustainability is on our minds 24/7, 365 days a year. We are always working to provide you with the best kratom tea while reducing kratom’s environmental impact – both from our company and the kratom industry as a whole.
We hope you have a wonderful Earth Day. Cheers to better brewing.
