What is the bracelet made out of?
Our OMA bracelets are made out of coconut shell beads from sustainably sourced coconuts from Peru, a recycled nylon cord and a stainless steel charm. The lockets are made from a recycled brass base with either a silver or bronze plating, and finished with a thin lacquer to prevent tarnishing. Inside the locket is a green pearl, made from Tagua, an amazing nut known as "eco-ivory" that grows on palm trees in the Amazon Rainforest.
Are there any leather or animal products in your products?
No. All materials are sustainably sourced Earth-based materials and are animal and cruelty-free.
Who makes the bracelets? Are they paid a fair wage?
The lockets are manufactured in the Dominican Republic, and all other materials are sourced and manufactured in Ecuador. As a company rooted in social good, using fair-trade labor is of the UTMOST importance to us, however, we are taking the additional step of partnering with the World Fair Trade Organization to verify that all of our workers are paid fair wages and will soon have the verifications in place to confirm our fair-trade working relationships as well.
GIVINGHow are you able to protect an entire acre of rainforest for every item you sell?
This is the foundation for why we started this brand. Most people don't realize that the cost to purchase land in many of the threatened areas that we are trying to protect can be as low as $1-$3/acre. It really depends on the specific project we're funding at the time, but typically our donations will preserve anywhere from 1 to 3 acres each (yes, sometimes your purchase will actually help protect MORE than an acre of rainforest.) A little goes a long way and your purchase will TRULY make a difference, regardless of the scope of the project we're raising funds for at the time.
There are a lot of organizations out there that help protect rainforests. Why did you choose Rainforest Trust?
We were called to work with Rainforest Trust, one of the leaders in the protection of ecosystems and wildlife worldwide, due to the way their business model is structured, as well as their charity rating. They have consistently been given a 4-star rating, the highest rating possible, by Charity Navigator, a third party organization that rates charities based on their transparency and efficiency. Thanks to the support of their board members who cover the majority of the operating expenses, Rainforest Trust is able to allocate 100% of the project donations directly to conservation action. This is one of the fundamental reason we chose to work with them, to insure the maximum impact from our donations.
So are you actually planting trees?
This is one of the questions we get asked a lot. We do not focus on reforestation of land that has already been destroyed, our mission is specifically in CONSERVATION. Every day we lose THOUSANDS of acres of extremely biodiverse tropical rainforest, and our mission is to fund the protection of as much of the land that we have left before it's too late. So our focus is to help charity organizations raise the funds necessary to purchase and protect the threatened land BEFORE it's destroyed.
Which rainforest will my purchase help protect?
The current initiative that we're supporting is for a reserve in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest. As we grow, our goal is to create various products that help fund projects in rainforests all over the world!
How many acres have you protected so far?
So far we have protected over 4200 acres in the Peruvian Amazon, ALL through the collective support of people just like you!
There are so many companies running scams online these days. How do I know that you're legit?
Great question, and one we feel like you should be asking of ALL the companies that you're supporting who claim to be utilizing their platform to do good in the world. We are one of the APPROVED corporate partners of Rainforest Trust, so you can rest assured that your purchases are truly going towards supporting their work. You can find us on the Corporate Partners page by clicking the link below and scrolling down to the Patron Level Sponsor section:
https://www.rainforesttrust.org/get-involved/corporate-sponsors/
PACKAGINGWhat packaging is used to ship my order?
We currently use Eco-Enclose recycled bubble mailers, which are made from 32.6% post-consumer recycled materials, have a reusable lining for sending back returns, and are 100% recyclable. We are working on something REALLY cool and will be gradually phasing these out as we launch our amazing new Zero-Waste packaging so STAY TUNED!
CHECKOUTI put my payment info in but I keep getting an error. Why?
Check to make sure the zip code attached to your credit card matches what you are putting in for the payment field. Shopify wants to make sure it has fraud protection for you and our store so this is just a precaution to help with that.