Our Partnership with Trees Not Tees

Going forward all Great Owl Running events when applicable will be partnered with Trees Not Tees

Trees Not Tees offers the option of getting a tree planted instead of receiving a race T-shirt. Planting a tree is one of the very best things you can do for the environment - they suck excess carbon dioxide out of the air, they provide a home for a huge number of species and they give us clean air to breathe. Choosing to plant a tree not only contributes to the planting of a whole new forest in Scotland, it also means that one less T-shirt is produced. Fast fashion is one of the worst polluters and contributors to climate change, and Trees Not Tees enables you to make a greener choice instead. 

About Trees Not Tees

  • Jim Mann, one of the founders of Trees not Tees, is a top ultra-runner and was concerned about the amount of T-shirts he was being given that were piling up in his cupboards and never being worn. He started talking to other runners about this and it seemed like lots of people felt the same way. Trees Not Tees was started to do something about it. 

  • Press: Runners World, Triathlete Magazine, Outdoor Magic, Fast Running

  • Our land and trees:

    • We own a 430 acre piece of land (Brodoclea, Dalry, Ayrshire, KA24 5HR.) 

    • We have a planting plan approved by Scottish Natural Heritage to plant a mixed broadleaf woodland.

    • We plant only native trees that are site-appropriate, so for example we don’t plant on peat or wildflower meadows, and we don’t plant trees used in commercial forestry. 

    • We get our saplings from Alba tree nursery. They give us a certificate of provenance with every order, so we know that we are planting the correct type of tree for each area. 

Stats

  • Millions of event T-shirts are produced and given away each year that are never worn

  • This has a huge environmental impact:

  • The carbon footprint of a cotton T-shirt is 2.1kg of CO2E, and a polyester one is 5.5kg. (LINK)

  • It takes the same amount of water to make a single cotton T-shirt as a person drinks in 2.5 years

  • Cotton is one of the biggest users of pesticides and herbicides out of any industry in the world. The run-off from these chemicals pollute the water supply and can be toxic to insects and animals. 

  • Fashion as a whole accounts for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and is growing.

  • The fashion industry consumes more energy than aviation and shipping combined.

  • If these T-shirts are never/rarely worn then this is all done for nothing, and they go straight to landfill. 

  • Conversely, planting trees has a massively positive environmental impact:

  • Climate change is happening because we have released too many greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the main culprit being carbon dioxide (CO2). These extra gases trap more of the sun’s heat in our atmosphere - “the greenhouse effect” - and have lead to global warming. 

  • Planting trees is one of the most effective and cheapest ways of taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to tackle the climate crisis. Trees absorb CO2 as they grow, and they then store this as carbon in their bark and leaves, removing it from the atmosphere. 

  • New research estimates that a worldwide planting programme could remove two-thirds of all the emissions from human activities that remain in the atmosphere today. (LINK)

  • Trees also:

    • Provide a home to a diverse range of mammals, birds, reptiles and insects. About a quarter of all UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species are associated with trees and different types of woodland.

    • Create natural flood protection by slowing rain

    • Create clean air for us to breath

    • Help prevent soil erosion by holding soil in place with their roots

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