We couldn’t let this season pass without pausing to look at our accomplishments from 2021. The team at Boxed Water™ was blown away by how many people went ALL IN on sustainability as travel and gatherings resumed. People also re-evaluated what is truly important: family, health, and the future of our planet!
That’s not to say the year wasn’t without its challenges. Of course, we’re still navigating a global health crisis, and our company joined many others experiencing shipping and materials delays. Luckily, our customers are rockstars! They keep us on track with our goal of stopping single-use plastic bottles from polluting the planet. We’re stocked and stronger than ever going into 2022.
So what are the big accomplishments to celebrate? Let’s start with our most recent newsmaker: a huge win with Alaska Airlines…
Eliminating 1.8 million pounds of plastic
The impacts of the travel industry on our planet are broad, but key brands are shaking things up and leading the charge in sustainability. Alaska Airlines was the first airline to ban plastic straws in 2018. This year, we worked with them to achieve a big goal: removing single-use plastic from their inflight water service. Believe it or not, their water service is the biggest contributor to their in-flight waste. In May, we began a trial run in select cabins and flights to replace plastic bottle with our cartons. After positive reviews and a robust vetting process, Alaska Airlines announced they would be swapping out plastic water bottles and cups in favor of Boxed Water cartons and paper cups - eliminating 1.8 million pounds of plastic each year. That’s the equivalent of 18 Boeing 737s! A huge win for our planet and anyone traveling it.
Award-winning sustainability
As the world wakes up to the climate crisis, many publications are promoting ways to live more sustainably. Major outlets like The Washington Post are covering our sustainability news. You also may have seen us in lifestyle publications like the Skimm, Brit+Co, or Whalebone Magazine. And of course, we’re proud to be a travel newsmaker in publications like Travel+Leisure and The Points Guy. Another huge honor this year? To receive the Good Housekeeping Sustainable Innovation Award. We’re proud to lead the beverage industry forward while the Big Soda brands continue to destroy the Earth.
Of course, we continue to offer more than a product. We strive to be a responsible company that gives back to the planet: planting trees and cleaning beaches.
170,000 trees planted this year alone.
We continued our work with our friends at the National Forest Foundation, after announcing our accomplishment last year of planting over 1 million trees to-date. This year, we planted 170,000 more trees in U.S. National Forests in need, specifically the Sierra National Forest in CA and the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in OR. Our brand partners like the Kimpton Hotels, Bustle Media Group, TOMS, Free People, and more joined us on social media to spread the word on sustainability this Earth Month.
Beach cleanups from Coast to Coast.
Another ongoing partnership is with our friends at Ocean Blue Project to clean up beaches. Plastic waste is the number one found item and the prevalence of microplastics has grown. While we had to pause in-person cleanup events last year, this year we hosted events from coast to coast, in California and New York. We worked with our brand partners like Art of Tea, Necessaire, MIKOH, and more to clean beaches and together donate $15,000 to Ocean Blue Project to fund their purchase of a Microplastic Cleanup Machine - allowing them to clean 250,000 lbs of plastic each year.
We could go on, but after a busy year, we’re ready to recharge with our families this holiday season! There is also a lot planned for 2022, so stay tuned and be sure you’re signed up for our text updates or emails. There will be new items on our site and new partnerships in the coming year that you won’t want to miss.