Who We Are

Local or organic? Hybrid or electric? Paper or plastic or neither? Nearly all decisions today affect the environment, and figuring out which choices matter most often feels impossible. 

That’s why we made Treehugger, the only modern sustainability site that offers advice, clarity, and inspiration for both the eco-savvy and the green-living novice. With 2.6 million monthly users, Treehugger is one of the world’s largest information sites dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream.

Staying informed and making smart choices is critical during this time of environmental change and opportunity. But our nearly 20-year-strong library of sustainability content is here to help. Our articles can give you the confidence to purchase a better dishwasher, build a green beauty routine, or simply learn more about the world around you.

We don’t care if you’re just starting to BYO bags or have been composting for decades, welcome to Treehugger. Sustainability for all.

Our History

Treehugger was founded by entrepreneur and eco-advocate Graham Hill in 2004. With a background in architecture and design, Hill’s vision was for the site to serve as a vehicle for driving sustainability mainstream – and to do so with a modern twist.

In 2007, TIME included Treehugger in their selection of “Top 25 Blogs” and Nielsen Online ranked Treehugger as the number one sustainability blog. The small staff grew into an international team of experts, and more accolades followed.

The site was acquired by Discovery Communications in 2007, and in 2012 Mother Nature Network (part of the Narrative Content Group) took over. In 2020, both Mother Nature Network and Treehugger were acquired by Dotdash Meredith, where they are now one big happy family.

In a 2004 post about the criteria Treehugger would use in deciding what to cover, the team explained that the primary goal of the site was to make it easy for consumers to research and purchase environmental yet compelling products and services, as well as to inspire corporate responsibility. “TreeHugger’s criterion will evolve over time,” they wrote. “Our initial approach will be loose as we get our sea-legs.” 

We’ve grown a lot since then, and we’re steady on our feet. But the Treehugger mission remains true to those original values, and we will continue driving sustainability mainstream until the job is done. 

Recent Awards

Our Team

Our Promise

It’s not always easy to discern reliable sustainability content from articles that are agenda-driven or salesy. We strive to cut through the noise, providing trustworthy content that’s both authoritative and accessible. Everything we publish on Treehugger is created with these core promises in mind: 

• Report with integrity. When it comes to our content, we’re committed to full transparency. Sponsored content is clearly marked as such, and we disclose all potential conflicts of interest. We never accept payment in exchange for editorial coverage.
• Never preach. Just because we are experts doesn’t mean we are self-righteous. We may be peachy, but never preachy.
• Trust science. We’ll never be swayed by the latest hot takes or political spin. The foundation of our writing, editing, and fact-checking processes is rigorous scientific research—and we always cite our sources.
• Refuse greenwashing. Companies spend billions of dollars a year on marketing and know the power of an eco-friendly spin, even when it’s deceptive. We approach corporate environmental claims with a healthy dose of skepticism and refuse to play into misleading narratives.
• Welcome everyone. Saving the planet isn’t a special club. At Treehugger, there are no secret codewords or handshakes. This is a place where everyone should feel comfortable; where everyone can ask, learn, share, and be a part of a global globe-loving community.

Additionally, we are aligned with the Dotdash Meredith Content Integrity Promise.

Editorial Guidelines

Our in-house editorial staff oversees every article on our site. We have extensive best practice guidelines including individual documents for content integrity, sourcing, fact-checking, anti-bias review, the Treehugger mission, and more.

Expertise

Our editors and writers are experts in their topics, with years of knowledge gleaned from the academic world, the professional world, and the real world too. We have advanced degrees, teach at universities, and have written for the world’s most respected publishers; we’ve designed buildings, studied science, lived zero waste, gone plant-based, and have even tried life without shampoo. We are passionate about the planet—we talk the talk and walk the walk. 

Sourcing and Citations

Not all sources of information are created equal, and we place the utmost importance on evaluating the sources we use to ensure that the information we publish is reliable. Our writers and editors adhere to strict standards for article sourcing. We rely on current and reputable primary sources, such as expert interviews, government organizations, and professional and academic institutions—and all data points, facts, and claims are backed up by at least one reputable source. A cornerstone of our reporting and sourcing is to consider often overlooked perspectives from BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and women.  

Solid sourcing is a pivotal factor in Treehugger’s success as an authoritative and helpful resource. Sources will be noted in the text and/or included in citation format to provide the reader with full context.

Originality Policy

Our goal at Treehugger is to provide original, useful, and unbiased content. All information must be verified, properly attributed, and may not infringe the copyright or anyone’s intellectual property rights. Any suggestion of plagiarism is investigated fully and is grounds for dismissal. We expect all contributors on the network to abide by all applicable laws, standards, and accepted journalistic practices including:

Artificial Intelligence

At Treehugger we aspire to provide the highest quality content produced by humans, for humans. It is against our guidelines to publish automatically generated content using AI (artificial intelligence) writing tools such as ChatGPT.

Fact Checking

Our writers investigate claims and confirm all information and data gathered for all articles. Articles are rigorously evaluated for accuracy, relevance, and timeliness—and thoroughly reviewed by a staff editor. Additionally, articles are fact-checked by a member of our experienced fact-checking team. 

Integrity

We are committed to the quality and trustworthiness of our content and editorial processes. Our writers, editors, fact-checkers, illustrators, and photographers rigorously research and review all content on an ongoing basis to ensure it is up to date, accurate, and puts the needs of our readers first. Each article features a byline that includes the name, a brief description, and a link to more information for each person who contributed to that piece. 

Accuracy and Corrections

The accuracy of our verified information and news articles is core to Treehugger. So too is our commitment to accountability to our readers and transparency about our accuracy and corrections practices.

Our rich library of “evergreen” educational content is routinely updated and fact-checked to ensure ongoing publication of accurate, complete, relevant, and up-to-date, useful information. Following our rigorous and systematic updating and verification process, articles in our content library are date-stamped to indicate to readers that the information is complete and accurate. News articles often cover a distinct event in time and are not part of our routine update process.

At  Treehugger we are committed to telling readers when an error has appeared, and to correcting it. When we discover a significant error of fact we will correct the article as quickly as possible and append a correction note. All corrections will be clearly labeled, dated, and include information about what was corrected.

We welcome our readers’ participation in our ongoing commitment to accuracy and fact-checking. If you believe we have published a factual error in any of our content, please let us know and we will investigate and take appropriate corrective and/or updating measures. You can report a possible error by emailing us at [email protected] with “correction” in the subject line.

Independence and Impartiality Policy

Treehugger is committed to independent, impartial, fair journalism. Our editorial content is not influenced by our advertisers. Every Dotdash Meredith staff member and contributor is held accountable to a high standard of honesty and transparency.

We maintain a strict separation between advertising and editorial content. Our “Sponsored Content” is labeled to make clear that such content is provided by or on behalf of an advertiser or sponsor.

In line with our mission to provide useful information that helps people find answers, solve problems, and get inspired, we are dedicated to publishing unbiased, comprehensive reviews of products and services. Our product and service reviews are wholly independent and based on robust research and product testing. When readers visit “affiliate links” within our content, Dotdash Meredith may receive commissions from purchases, but we never receive any compensation or consideration for the content of our recommendations.

Dotdash Meredith writers and editors are prohibited from giving preferential treatment to any outside resource (company, publication, video, affiliate, website) based on their relationship with the person or company who authors or owns that resource.

All of our writers and editors are responsible for disclosing any potential conflicts of interest—any relationship, financial, or personal, with any source or resource that may compromise their ability to provide fair and impartial information. As with many publishers, our writers and editors are sometimes provided with complimentary products or services for review purposes. We are transparent and disclose when any valuable products or services are provided to our editorial teams. Our editorial staff and editorial contributors must not solicit gifts or services for personal purposes.

Product Reviews

In an effort to help readers make the best purchase decisions for themselves and the environment, we research and test a broad range of products to create curated lists of recommendations from writers with subject-matter expertise in every product category we cover. We evaluate products based on their environmental impact, effectiveness, ease of use, design, and function. We also look for trustworthy third-party sustainability certifications. We do receive an affiliate commission on some, but not all, of the products that we recommend if you decide to click through to the retailer site and make a purchase. Items that we receive commission on will be clearly marked as such. For more information, see our full Product Review Editorial Guidelines & Mission.

News Archive

The Treehugger news archive is a collection of our significant news stories that are more than one year old. Archived news articles offer background and context for vital sustainability issues and provide insight into the history of our coverage. These articles are identified by the news archive label, which is located directly below the article byline and states, “This story is part of Treehugger’s news archive.”

Each year, our editorial team determines which stories published during the previous year will become part of our archive. The current archive contains news stories published between August 2005 and June 2020. 

All archived news stories can be found in the News Archive section.

About Dotdash Meredith

Treehugger is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.

Dotdash Meredith is the largest digital and print publisher in America. From mobile to magazines, nearly 200 million people trust us to help them make decisions, take action, and find inspiration. Dotdash Meredith’s over 50 iconic brands include PEOPLE, Better Homes & Gardens, Verywell, FOOD & WINE, The Spruce, Allrecipes, Byrdie, REAL SIMPLE, Investopedia, Southern Living and more.

Source: Comscore, October 2020 US

Senior Management Team

Learn more about the team behind Dotdash Meredith.

Contact Us

Do you have something you’d like to let us know? Whether you have a comment or an idea to share, we look forward to hearing from you: [email protected].

For press inquiries, email us at [email protected].

For corrections, please email us at [email protected] with “correction” in the subject line.

If you would rather call us or send us a letter, you can reach us at 28 Liberty Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10005 | 212-204-4000.

You can also engage with us on our social media platforms:

Work With Us

Join our crew of top-notch editors, designers, programmers, and others as we continue to help readers live a more sustainable life every day. View job openings.

Advertise With Us

Treehugger offers the highest value to advertisers through a combination of scale, credibility, and intent. Interested in advertising with us? Email us at [email protected]. 

Terms of Service

Treehugger and its affiliated sites (the “Site”) are Dotdash Meredith brands, owned and operated by Dotdash Media Inc. and its affiliates. Access to and use of the Site is subject to our terms of service (“Terms of Service”). 

Read our Terms of Service. 

Privacy Policy

We take online privacy seriously and we respect the concerns of our community of users. We may collect information, including personal information, directly from you if you choose to provide that information. In addition, when you access the Site, we and our third-party partners may automatically collect certain information about you and your visit, including personal information, using tools such as cookies, web beacons and other similar technologies. We may use the information gathered on the Site for various purposes, including responding to inquiries and to serve content and offers to you based on your interests and online activities.

Read our complete Privacy Policy.