Although this year has been a difficult one our ambitions remain the same: continue developing Skyeskyns into as green a business as it can be.
We want to keep building on our recent efforts, from changing our tanning method to using electric vehicles, installing charging points, to ensuring our packaging is biodegradable and recyclable by starting to plant trees!
When we changed our tanning method to the more sustainable and renewable mimosa bark, almost two years ago, it was our ambition that this should form part of a wider strategy to increase our long-term sustainability.
It was also our intention to minimise our carbon footprint and help in local and Scottish tree planting efforts, using the family croft to create a woodland.
This will help offset the emissions produced by visitors to our area as well as take us closer to a carbon-neutral position in the coming years.
As we use tree bark in tanning, a planting project is a natural evolution and will bring the whole process full circle, ensuring we're working and living harmoniously with our environment.
We plan to start using the land immediately next to the tannery building in Waternish as an initial plantation site. This will start in Spring 2021 and continue over several years, focusing on native species which are appreciated by local wildlife.
We hope to raise funds for the tree planting through our Black Weekend sales and Christmas sales, as well as ongoing sales of our mimosa fleeces and funding through national woodland projects.
We're not making this a one fleece bought, one tree planted type of offer because we are hoping to do more than this. The more we raise and the more saplings we buy, the lower the price of each tree so we can actually achieve a lot more than just one tree for one fleece.
This is also very much a home-grown scheme, with us doing the planting and the forestry so we will keep you updated as time goes on. This is a long-held dream and we can't wait to share it with you as it progresses!
Over the years, as the woodland grows and a more diverse natural habitat begins to flourish, visitors to Skyeskyns Waternish will be able to enjoy it too.
Thank you in advance for supporting our planting project and we look forward to welcoming you amongst more trees in Waternish in the future.
Jess Hartwell
