Black Forest — in the third year of its partnership with the National Forest Foundation (NFF) to replant forests across America — has set a new long-range target to plant 10 million trees by 2030.
This year, the gummy and fruit snack brand is working with Kelly Rowland to spread the word of this effort and the importance of restoring forests.
"I've always enjoyed the tranquility of being able to escape into nature and the great outdoors," Rowland said. "That's one of the reasons I'm such a big supporter of Black Forest's ambition to plant 10 million trees by 2030."
The National Forest Foundation partnership began with a commitment to plant 1.5 million trees by the end of 2022 in areas that have been ravaged by wildfires. So far, nearly 600,000 trees have been planted in areas like Fremont-Winema National Forest in Oregon, Sierra National Forest in California, and Boise National Forest in Idaho.
"Each tree we plant is another step toward a healthier and more vibrant environment for bears, humans and the rest of planet earth," said Kate Adams, senior brand marketing director of Black Forest at Ferrara. "We have set bold goals for Black Forest, and we're committed to achieving them."
This new aspiration of 10 million trees planted by 2030 reflects Black Forest's long-term, purpose-led commitments. The brand has committed to becoming more sustainable across packaging, partnerships and production.
Other elements of Black Forest's purpose-led pledge include:
- By 2022, all products in the Black Forest portfolio will use colors and flavors from real sources, including turmeric, black carrot juice, black currant juice, carrot juice, purple sweet potato juice, cherry juice and radish juice.
- A commitment to move to fully sustainable packaging by 2025. The packaging will be recyclable, reusable, or compostable, while still maintaining the freshness and quality consumers have come to expect.
- Reducing environmental impact by working to lower carbon emissions, water use and waste.
In celebration of Love a Tree Day, Black Forest is also inviting fans to continue supporting the cause by dedicating an additional 10,000 trees to fans who support the tree-planting crusade.
Between May 16 and May 26, the brand is encouraging people everywhere to photograph any tree and post it on Instagram with the hashtags # ❤ #sweepstakes and tagging @blackforestusa in the caption of the post. Each day during the 10-day timeframe, Black Forest will select 10 people who have used the hashtag and celebrate their support by planting 100 trees in their name in a National Forest.
"Black Forest understands the value of public lands and shares the important belief that our National Forests are key to the well-being of our communities," said Mary Mitsos, National Forest Foundation president and CEO. "Through our partnership and the Love a Tree. Plant a Tree. social campaign, we're able to engage Americans in our mission to protect our forests and inspire real change."
