New York à la Keiko: Project NYC feature #3: WeWOOD "You buy a watch, We plant a tree"

WeWOOD "One Watch ,One Tree, One Planet"

Hello!

Here's another company I got to meet at Project NYC which is WeWOOD. The concept is simple and that for every WeWOOD watch you buy, a tree is planted! Makes you feel good about buying a watch right? Same concept as Toms' 'One for One when you buy a shoe, a child in need receives a pair of shoes' but planting a tree is in my opinion, more grand...buy a watch and a darn tree is planted and it will grow forever and benefit all of humanity...and not just one kid-do (which I'm sure deserves those shoes). Also, it helps that the watches are not that expensive for something so unique looking and truly limited editions. Watches range around $120-$140 US and they are made entirely from reclaimed wood so there is no waste and total upcycling.

Ryan Alexander (PR, Lever Your Business) who oversees the marketing operations of WeWOOD helped answer a couple of questions I had about WeWOOD.

1. If every single person buys a WeWOOD watch and you're able to plant a tree per watch, then we would have more trees than humans on Earth. Ideally, how many trees do you guys want to plant by the end of 2013? What about in 20 years?

By the end of 2013 WeWOOD would like to plant an additional 100,000 trees. To date, we have planted over 120,000 with American Forests and Trees for the Future. Our goal is to plant one million trees by 2020 and hopefully even another million in the next 20 years.

2. Hypothetically, someone has a tree from their childhood that they have grown attached to for whatever reason (first tree house, first kiss under that tree, etc) but now, it was destroyed from a hurricane and they want to remove it. Can WeWOOD make a watch out of the wood so someone can keep their tree dear and near? (In other words, how custom can these watches be if someone is willing to spend the money?)

At this time, unfortunately we are not able to make custom watches from specific cuts of wood. Hopefully we can incorporate this into our business one day. Right now we use mostly reclaimed or recycled woods to make sure we are being as green as possible.

3. I can't make up my mind, which are your most popular girls or mens watch styles?

Our classic Date watch is a favorite between both men and women. Right now our new Voyage men's watch is also getting a lot of attention as well as the women's Odyssey watch that has a narrower wrist band and smaller watch face.

4. I saw some celebs rockin', tweetin' and instagramin' WeWood which spreads the message pretty quickly and effectively but which celebrity do you think really cares about the planet and if not already, you want to see proudly wearing a WeWood watch?

There are many eco-friendly celebrities that love WeWOOD watches. We recently spotted Daryl Hannah at Sundance festival sporting WeWOOD. Daryl is known mainly for her acting career but is also very committed to the environment and sustainable solutions, just like WeWOOD. We were glad to see her wearing WeWOOD and supporting our cause.

5. What are the future endeavors of the company? After you plant all the trees you can, what's the next world problem you'd like to conquer if any?

Right now our primary focus is to continue planting trees. We hope to have the opportunity in the future to continue to provide beautiful, all natural, eco-friendly products committed to giving back to the environment.

Thanks Ryan!
leveryourbusiness.com