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For some entrepreneurs, the idea that eventually became the Next Big Thing first germinated as an unstructured desire to do good.
For Bombas, that was supplying the most-asked-for item— socks — to homeless shelters. For a couple of Canadian tree planters looking to reforest the Earth, that meant the clothing brand TenTree.
Founded in 2012 by Stephen and Derrick Emsley, TenTree makes lifestyle apparel that blurs the line between strictly indoor and outdoor gear. Die-hard hikers and city-dwellers can wear TenTree clothes interchangeably. The company also inherently reflects the sustainable, ethical mindset of its shoppers and founders: For every purchase made, the company plants 10 new trees.
Since its inception, TenTree has planted 25 million new trees on earth. By 2030, the company’s goal is 1 billion.
The brand’s clothes, while made from about 95% sustainable materials, mostly consist of comfy, unassuming sweatshirts, shirts, leggings, and other basic apparel sold at a reasonable price (reviews below). TenTree also removed virgin plastic from its offerings, converted all its cotton to organic, shifted all leather to cork, and swapped and rayon fibers for tencel to be more eco-friendly. While all these efforts make for great branding, TenTree shoppers would probably be just as likely to buy a $70 Juniper hoodie because it looks cool and goes with pretty much anything.
But beyond making comfortable, wear-anywhere clothes, TenTree has fostered a large community online built on an easygoing, frictionless love of nature. As of May 2019, the company’s Instagram account has 2.7 million followers, and when it posted a picture of a tiny tree with the promise of planting 500,000 trees for 5 million likes, it became the third most-liked Instagram post of all time — right after Kylie Jenner’s debut photo of her daughter.
In an online marketplace increasingly filled with greenwashing and ornamental give-back missions, TenTree’s uncomplicated transparency is refreshing. For TenTree founder Derrick Emsley, it all comes down to authenticity.
“Authenticity is important to us because it is who we are.” Emsley told Business Insider. “We started a tree-planting company that sells apparel, not the other way around.” And more than immaterial virtue signaling, it’s TenTree’s actions that win over shoppers.
Today, the company is a rare win-win-win. Shoppers love TenTree because its comfortable, wear-anywhere clothes are reasonably priced, look good, and happen to match their values. The Emsleys have effectively scaled their do-good mission into a successful international company.
Communities in Nepal, Madagascar, and Senegal are absorbing the benefits of a customized, sustainable business model. Tree-planting provides good paying jobs where once none existed, and allows communities to thrive off the yields (fruit trees in Senegal and mangrove trees in Madagascar) and rebuild dwindling fish hatcheries.
For Emsley, categorizing the company’s environmental work as follow-through would be to misunderstand the company: “We are true to our mission because our mission is why we exist.”
To see how TenTree’s gear translates in person, we tested a few of its best sellers. Our verdict is that the company has managed to create great gear alongside a great mission. TenTree claims to be built on authenticity, and with B-Corp status, 25 million trees in the ground, and comprehensive planting programs boosting local economies across Asia and Africa, its shoppers are inclined to agree.
We tried a few TenTree pieces in person. Here’s what we thought:
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