Oh yep we hear you honey, we had the EXACT same questions when we first heard the term. 

Okay to begin, let’s break down Carbon Dioxide. We know it’s bad coz everyone says so, but what even is it and why is it the Cruella De Vil of our time?!

Some thingies you should know:

• Carbon Dioxide is a greenhouse gas – bleugh 
• It contributes to global warming – double bleugh
• It’s released in the air when we do stuff like drive our cars and cook our food.
• In order to keep global warming under control, most governments have set a target for a zero emissions economy by 2050

The last point here is really queen. To simplify a very complicated concept, zero emissions is a fancy way of saying carbon neutral, so the future = carbon neutral.

So one day a bunch of peeps got together, definitely scientists but in our minds it was Jane Fonda and Greta Thunberg, and they were like yo, if we do things that put carbon into the world, surely there are other things that take carbon out of it. 

And by god, Jane and Greta were right, there are a bunch of magical things in nature, like trees and soil, that actually absorb our carbon.

So people have taken this idea, and started offering companies the option to off-set their carbon, planting trees and creating wind farms at the same rate as they emit carbon to ultimately bring them back to neutral.

Pretty cool, right?!

Well yes, it is in theory, but only if everyone in the equation is committed to being kinder.

Take Ramona Singer, from the Real Housewives of New York for example. She’ll say something mean, and then apologise for it – all the time - she’s been doing it since season 1 in 2008. While her apologies are always appreciated, one might wish that eventually she learns, and actually stops saying the mean things in the first place.

Just like us with Ramona, Mamma Earth certainly appreciates our off-setting, but we’re sure she also wishes we would just learn the damn lesson and ultimately stop killing her vibe with our gross carbon.

So as you see, in order to rid the world of carbon in the quickest way possible, a large piece of the ginormous puzzle needs to be minimising carbon before off-setting it, so this season we’ve ensured over 90% of our suppliers are within a really small range, like smaller than the size of Darwin. You’re welcome Mamma, we love you!

So should we want everyone to go Carbon Neutral? Yes.

Is it a short-term solution? Also yes.

Is it green washing? We’d say it’s always better than doing nothing at all, but evaluating the motive is a case by case basis, and hopefully now that you’re a little more informed you’ll be able to assess and make that call for yourself.

Jess & Stef, TWOOBS Founders