Accessories brand Cacto becomes carbon-negative

Cacto, a Mexican-American accessories brand that claims to be the first carbon-negative apparel company in the Americas, believes that carbon neutrality is no longer enough.

Cacto makes organic accessories out of cactus leather and has teamed up with On A Mission, a Swiss nonprofit organization that has tracked and reduced 150% of the company’s CO2 emissions through sustainable reforestation around the world.

According to Cacto, the assessment and offsetting phase will take place every six months for the next 10 years and is only the beginning, as the company aims to offset at least 1,000 percent of its emissions by the end of 2021 by additional collaborations.

The founder of Cacto, Jesus Chavez said that they must all work together in whatever way they can if they are to achieve net-zero carbon emissions long before 2050 to prevent the worst effects of climate change. Collaboration and ambition are the main words here.

He added that climate neutrality is no longer sufficient; everyone must all do something. To become carbon negative, industries around the board must take advantage of existing technologies and offset schemes, as well as engage in new research and engineering to get there quicker. The decisions they make this decade will have a long-term impact on humanity’s destiny. They are the ones for which they have been waiting. Now it’s up to us.

The sustainable accessory brand Cacto was founded in California by a Latinx developer and climate activist, which sells premium cactus leather that it claims is free of toxic contaminants, organic, vegan, and partly biodegradable. Furthermore, there is no waste when using cactus leather, since the residual organic material not used in the processing process is exported and sold to the food industry.

Cactuses, according to Cacto, are the most common plants in Mexico and are excellent carbon sinks, capturing CO2 from the environment and storing it underground as calcium carbonate. The leather-making method, according to the accessories brand, is regenerative, and the plant is never harmed because only mature leaves are removed, which grow again in 6-8 months.

Cacto sells its chic, modern, and functional accessories in 190 countries, all of which are handcrafted by artisans in the Mexican state of Jalisco.