TRI Upcycle Information

TRI Handkerchiefs, an initiative inspired by a Balinese philosophy, Tri Hita Karana. Which means: To live in harmony with spiritual, social and natural environments. Ben Fijal, a 9th grade student of Green School Bali initiated this social enterprise with a dream of world reforestation. TRI’s mission is to act on the climate change and mass extinction crises by protecting forests. TRI raises funds for grassroots organizations working on the ground in Borneo and Sumatra to stop deforestation, and the initiative is also focused on raising people’s awareness around the serious issue of deforestation. Initially when the project got started in June 2016, Ben thought handkerchiefs could just be a cool way to get his school community to reduce wasteful paper tissue consumption. Wasting tissues means trees being unnecessarily cut down, right? But as the project advanced, he and the team realized that the handkerchiefs had even more potential. TRI ‘chiefs have become a powerful vehicle to communicate widely in an engaging way about an urgent issue that affects all living things on Earth: deforestation. TRI raises awareness, but we also raise funds. Using the profits from the sale of the handkerchiefs and sponsorships from businesses listed on the tourist maps, TRI supports grassroots organizations in Borneo and Sumatra who are working to protect our Earth’s precious trees and peatlands.