Tomorrow is the Global Climate Strike and the Etsy community will join other companies and people of all ages, countries, backgrounds, and professions in the streets. On Friday, September 20th, Etsy employees will have the opportunity to take volunteer time off to join their local climate marches across the globe. By participating in this global event, we are calling on our world leaders to accelerate action on the urgent issue of climate change, leading up to the United Nations Climate Change Summit in New York City next week.
We prepared for the event in a very Etsy way — a little craftivism!
We gathered together at lunchtime or after work in our Brooklyn, Hudson, London, Dublin, and San Francisco offices to create posters to carry to our local marches. The creativity did not disappoint: paper penguins, crayon and paper flames, and multiple Nelly references.
Over paint markers, glue sticks and rulers, we discussed why we are passionate about climate change action and why it is important to attend this global event. Andres Calvache, Procurement Specialist had this to say: “The climate march is a message from the community to its leaders that action has to be taken at every level. It is spurring activism that meets the stale, tired trope of “whether this is an issue,” with the reality that the majority of the world already understands: It's an issue that needs to be addressed. Etsy has shown that it walks the walk when it comes to not only sustainability, but also in advocating for real change in this world by supporting its employees who wish to participate in the march.”
In our Brooklyn HQ, we invited some of our fellow climate march volunteers and employees of nearby companies to join us. We even had a contest for the best poster, with the winner being able to contribute to an environmental organization.
On Friday, we will advocate for the values we share and for more climate action across the globe. In the words of Greta Thunberg, “Activism works. See you on the streets.”
We're proud to support the Climate Strike, but we also recognize that taking a stand on one day is not enough. We feel a pressing responsibility to do our part every single day. That's why we offset 100% of our carbon emissions from shipping (we're the first major shopping destination to do this!). We also entered into a trailblazing power purchase agreement to reach our 100% renewable electricity goal, run zero waste operations in our offices globally, and are proud to call our Brooklyn headquarters one of the greenest corporate buildings in the world. Our teams are hard at work everyday to find long-term solutions to help us further eliminate our carbon impact.
Updates from the Global Climate Strike!
