Support the Gulf Coast cleanup with We Add Up

By Jill Palermo, Campaign Manager at We Add Up – Alex

I'm on vacation this week, walking along the shore of a beach my family has visited for twenty years. Every time we come down here, we see something different, whether a pod of dolphins playing close to shore, a hundred skates in the crest of a wave, or yesterday I found a baby shark swimming fifteen feet away from me. This week, my mind keeps drifting south to the Gulf, as I imagine how I would feel if MY beach was in peril. Robert J. Barham, head of Louisiana's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, described the pelicans he's seen in vain trying to get the oil off their wings, "They think this is water sticking to their wings, but it's not, and they can't get it off. It's heart-wrenching, when you grow up in Louisiana and you are in love with this part of the world&8230; It just is a blow in the pit of your stomach."

When we, my mother and I, first heard about the BP oil drilling disaster, we knew it was going to be huge. We didn't think it would compare to Exxon Valdez, an icon in the museum of environmental bellwethers. However, we now know this spill will eclipse Exxon Valdez, the impact and scope of the damage will only be known in the years and decades to come. Like many people, we said, "We HAVE to do something. This is too important not to be a part of in some way."

So, what do we do, how can we help? We decided to do what we do best – make taking action a part of our We Add Up line. We Add Up (http://www.weaddup.com) is an organic cotton t-shirt project, founded by my Mom and I, that invites you to choose an environmental action you are committing to and we custom hand-print your number on your shirt to count you in. As more people join, the number keeps growing, showing that together we have an impact.

We added "Clean It Up" and "Hair to the Rescue" to our line. The kind folks at 1Sky hooked us up with their ally, the Gulf Restoration Network, who since the first days of BP's oil drilling disaster has provided independent monitoring and advocacy focused on holding BP accountable and ensuring an effective and transparent response to the crisis. $10 from the sale of every "Clean It Up" shirt is donated to their organization.

We also were very inspired by the incredible movement of dog groomers, hairdressers, and everyday people donating hair and nylons to Matter of Trust to create natural fiber oil booms. Once stuffed, the nylons act as very effective booms because hair is a natural oil accumulator. They can be ringed out and used again and again. The "Hair to the Rescue" shirt celebrates this amazing movement of ordinary citizens getting involved and $10 from the sale of each shirt is donated to Matter of Trust.

We hope you will enjoy wearing these two new shirts and knowing that your purchase is helping fund the important work of groups who are on the front lines of this spill. Take a moment to imagine if your hometown or favorite vacation spot was covered in oil. Let's not waste this opportunity to turn tragedy into action.