WE ADD UP Custom-Numbered T-Shirts to Stop Climate Change
It began with a tearful conversation with my Mom, Judy Pezdir, over dinner last July. The climate crisis is so big and we are only two people, we said. Given the enormity of the task in front of us, how will we ever reach the goal of reducing our carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050, as scientists say we must do to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of global warming? And, will we have enough encouragement to take all the little steps required when it’s so easy to feel overwhelmed and inconsequential? Our answer was to create WE ADD UP.
WE ADD UP, in Mentor, Ohio, was launched out of a mission to share a message of hope that we can make a positive difference in the climate crisis. WE ADD UP empowers people to become educators in a non-confrontational way because the T-shirts inspire conversations wherever they are worn. WE ADD UP counts you in the fight to stop climate change. First, you pick an action you are committing to do which appears on the back of your t-shirt. Choices range from Recycle, Buy Local, Drink Tap, Bike, Shower Together and 23 more. Then, on the front of your tee, we custom hand-print your number. Your number represents your position in the global count of people adding up to make change.
We believe the greatest way to make an impact is to talk to people. Conversations lead to more educated citizens. And, a meaningful conversation often inspires a person to take action. Our motto is: "No one can do everything. Everyone can do something." Wearing a WE ADD UP T-shirt makes you an ambassador of this message. People will ask you in the line at the grocery store, "What does that number mean?" Or, "What does Unplug mean on the back of your shirt?" And, a conversation begins.
Our newest T-shirt is "Plant Trees." When you purchase this shirt, 10 trees will be planted for you in the rain forests of Central America by our partner, Sustainable Harvest International. Trees in the equatorial latitude are much more efficient at absorbing and sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere than trees in northern latitudes, making reforestation in Central America imperative to ending global warming.
WE ADD UP is also a fundraising program for schools and non-profits. Schools and groups earn more than $4 per shirt sold to help fund their organizations. And, the best part is, they are promoting a positive message in their communities.
The T-shirts are made of 100 percent certified organic cotton, made in the USA, and sweatshop-free. WE ADD UP is a certified carbon neutral business by Carbon Fund.
For more information or to buy your T-shirt, visit www.weaddup.com.