What We Accomplished in 2020

New Plumage was launched in early July of 2020. It was our ten-year wedding anniversary and we were ready take a risk, follow a dream, and try to do some good for the world.

Covid had cut off our previous income so our new venture had to launch on a shoestring.

We had two goals which, in retrospect, seem really crazy to attempt in the midst of a global economic crisis.

The first was to help steer the environmentally-devastating clothing industry toward a more sustainable future. We would only sell products that offered a more eco-friendly and socially responsible alternative to the current mass-market fast fashion, using fabrics made from recycled or organic fibers. We also vowed to only use packing and shipping materials that were recycled and recyclable, reusable, and home compostable.

This would be incredibly challenging in a country where, thanks to Walmart and Amazon, it seemed the only thing that people valued was low, low prices, with little concern for the environmental or the social impact of their choices.

But you proved that wrong.

Thanks to you and your support, we found that change is coming. It turned out there are a lot of conscientious people like you, willing to pay a little more to buy a well-made product that is far less harmful to the millions of species on our planet.

Our second goal was to raise money for wildlife conservation.

Considering we were already selling a higher-priced product, this seemed even more crazy. But we decided to see if we could make it work. We pledged to donate $1 from each item sold to bird conservation projects.

Within only five and a half months of business we went from a mere idea to selling 350 items, which by our donation model had raised $350.

But at the end of the year we decided to triple that amount, and donate $1,050.

$525 went to Paso Pacifico to protect the endangered Yellow-naped Amazon from poachers. Paso Pacifico is the ultimate example of a community-based conservation model. Please visit the Paso Pacifico website to support the many incredible projects they manage.

$525 went to VulPro toward their new intensive care unit where they rescue, rehabilitate, and release vultures in South Africa. Please visit the VulPro website to learn more about the many ways they help these magnificent and misunderstood birds.

Pictured here is VulPro founder Kerri Wolter caring for a critically endangered White-headed Vulture before its release back into the wild.

We're very proud of what we accomplished in the midst of a worldwide crisis, when conservation organizations struggled to survive. And we couldn't have done it without your support.

But we hope to do much more in 2021 so stay tuned...

Sincerely,

Hal and Cristina
at New Plumage