Planting trees per product sold is now a standard feature of consumer brand marketing. Tentree, Ecosia, Too Good To Go, and dozens of others built tree planting into their business models as a commercial differentiator. But the mechanic is not limited to D2C consumer brands. Any business selling products (software subscriptions, hardware units, promotional items, managed services) can plant trees per product sold and generate a specific, reportable environmental programme from it.
This guide covers which companies plant trees per product sold, how the mechanic works for B2B and B2C businesses, and what to look for in a programme that generates genuine environmental outcomes rather than a marketing claim. [1]
Key Takeaways
- Trees per product sold is a commercial mechanic where one or more trees are planted for every unit sold, scaling environmental impact directly with sales volume.
- Companies using ForestNation’s trees-per-product model include Philips Monitors (tree per monitor sold, 60,000+ trees), Image Source (tree per order, named forests for Microsoft and Mercedes-Benz), and Happily (trees per event produced, 100,000+ trees).
- The mechanic works for any product or service type. No software integration or API is required. Activation is a single email.
- Under EU, UK, and US green claims regulations, trees-per-product claims must be specific and evidenced. GreenClaim.ai helps companies review their environmental claims for compliance.
- Start a trees-per-product-sold programme at forestnation.com/companies.
Companies That Plant Trees Per Product Sold: Consumer and B2B Examples
The range is broader than most people expect. The most visible examples are consumer-facing:
- Tentree: Plants ten trees for every item of clothing purchased. Built the programme into its brand name. Uses a mix of planting partners globally.
- Ecosia: Plants trees from advertising revenue generated by search queries, not directly per product, but a volume-linked model with similar mechanics.
- Too Good To Go: Plants trees through food waste reduction partnerships as a secondary environmental action alongside its core food-rescue mission.
Less visible but commercially significant are the B2B examples using ForestNation:
- Philips Monitors: Plants one tree for every monitor sold. The Philips Monitors Forest is now over 60,000 trees in Tanzania. Featured in sustainability reports, press releases, and distributor communications. Distributor Galtec sends Gift Stories with each monitor to corporate customers as a closing gift.
- Image Source: Plants one tree for every promotional product order placed, regardless of order value or product type. Created named forests for Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz, and other corporate clients within the Image Source Forest. No software integration: activated with a single email.
- Solution Group (Italy): Plants 100 trees for every €5,000 of client spend. Over 134,000 trees. Clients include L’Oréal Italia, LVMH, and Henkel. The programme differentiates Solution Group in a competitive B2B promotional market.
How Does Trees Per Product Sold Work in Practice?
The mechanic is simpler than most companies expect. You define the trigger (one tree per unit, ten trees per subscription, 100 trees per contract) and ForestNation handles everything else. Companies can add trees to existing order flows, invoices, or checkout processes without engineering work. Trees are planted in verified Tanzania reforestation sites. A branded Forest Profile tracks all trees in real time. The WePlant Badge goes on the product page or website. QR codes link packaging or invoices to the Forest Profile.
For Philips Monitors, the trigger is a unit sale. For Image Source, it is an order. For Solution Group, it is a revenue threshold. All three activated with a contact to ForestNation rather than a platform integration or API connection. The simplicity is the point: a trees-per-product programme should not require engineering resources to run.
Impact data updates continuously in the Forest Profile: trees planted, CO2 sequestered (0.025 tonnes per tree per year, from the Working Trees field study across five Tanzania sites), oxygen produced, and community work hours generated. This is the data companies use in sustainability reports, ESG disclosures, and client communications.
What Trees Per Product Sold Achieves for a Business: Beyond Every Sale
Three outcomes are consistent across companies running these programmes:
Commercial differentiation. In markets where competitors are making vague sustainability claims, a trees-per-product programme with a named forest and published impact data is evidence, not a claim. Philips Monitors can show clients 60,000 trees. Solution Group can show 134,000 trees and name the client forests within them. Image Source can show the named forests for Microsoft and Mercedes-Benz. None of that is replicable without running the programme.
Client and customer engagement. Purchases become part of an ongoing story. Clients can visit the Forest Profile. Customers receive updates as their tree grows. The transaction creates a relationship asset that continues after the sale closes.
ESG reporting data. For companies with sustainability disclosure requirements, a trees-per-product programme generates specific, auditable data per reporting period. That is a different proposition from a one-time donation or a carbon credit purchase. It is a growing, trackable forest tied to commercial activity.
Are Trees Per Product Sold and Every Sale Claims Compliant Under Green Claims Law?
This is the critical question. Under EU ECGT (2024/825), UK Green Claims Code, and US FTC Green Guides, any environmental claim tied to a product or company must be specific, substantiated, and not misleading by omission.
“We plant one tree for every product sold in a named Tanzania forest, independently field-measured at 0.025 tonnes CO2 per tree per year by the Working Trees field study” is a specific, evidenced claim. It is compliant.
“Every purchase helps the planet” is not compliant. “We offset your purchase” is not compliant under any of the three frameworks. “We are a green company because we plant trees” is not compliant without the specific evidence behind it.
ForestNation’s Working Trees methodology provides the specific, field-measured evidence base. GreenClaim.ai helps companies check that the marketing language around their trees-per-product programme is compliant under EU, UK, and US regulations, before it goes live rather than after a regulator finds it.
Research and References
- ForestNation case study: Philips Monitors. Tree per monitor sold programme, 60,000+ trees in Philips Monitors Forest. forestnation.com/case-studies/philips-monitors
- PPAI, 2024 Distributor Sales Volume Report. Sustainable promotional products: $3.69 billion US sales, 20% YoY increase. ppai.org
Frequently Asked Questions
What companies plant trees for every product sold?
Consumer brands include Tentree (ten trees per clothing item), Ecosia (volume-linked from ad revenue), and Too Good To Go. B2B examples using ForestNation include Philips Monitors (tree per monitor, 60,000+ trees), Image Source (tree per order, named forests for Microsoft and Mercedes-Benz), and Solution Group (100 trees per €5,000 client spend, 134,000+ trees).
How does a tree per sale programme work?
You define the trigger (one tree per unit, per order, per revenue threshold). ForestNation plants in verified Tanzania sites and updates a branded Forest Profile in real time. No software integration or API needed. Activation is a single email. The Forest Profile tracks trees planted, CO2 sequestered, oxygen produced, and community work hours for ESG reporting.
What is the 3 30 300 rule for trees?
The 3-30-300 rule is an urban forestry guideline suggesting every person should be able to see three trees from their home, live in a neighbourhood with 30% tree canopy cover, and be within 300 metres of a park. It is a planning principle for urban tree coverage, not a corporate planting mechanic. A trees-per-product-sold programme is a separate commercial model.
Are trees-per-product claims compliant under green claims law?
Specific, evidenced claims are compliant. “We plant one verified tree per product sold in Tanzania, field-measured at 0.025 tonnes CO2 per tree per year” is compliant. “Every purchase helps the planet” is not. GreenClaim.ai scans trees-per-product marketing claims for compliance risk under EU ECGT, UK Green Claims Code, and US FTC Green Guides.
