Social enterprise PrintTree aims to improve environment with eco-friendly investment

Littleborough social enterprise PrintTree is aiming to help the environment by planting trees in the style of a ‘mini Woodland Trust.’

After more than 20 years of working in the print industry, Stuart Bowmer wanted to make a difference. Passionate about the environment, he decided to found PrintTree on his 40th birthday earlier this year, providing office printer supplies with the aim of investing a percentage of profits into environmentally-friendly projects.

He hopes to help tackle the urban sprawl, ultimately with an aim to invest in projects across the nation, such as where a sponsor may be based.

 

 

Stuart, who is in the process of registering PrintTree as as Community Interest Company, said: “The environment needs help. There’s a lot of talk of green-washing [misleading information about how a product is more environmentally friendly] and I wanted to do something that would help with a sizeable impact.”

“I’d decided to do this before the pandemic after parting ways with my previous employer, and went for it on my 40th.”

Stuart has began growing around 1,000 saplings on family land in Littleborough, creating his own nursery ready for forthcoming projects, which could include working alongside groups like Save Our Villages and environmental groups, and hosting planting days with schools.

 

 

With ambitious plans for the future, Stuart is also trying to raise the money to buy a patch of local land which he would like to transform into the area’s first sustainable copse.

He added: “It’s right that the one of the first projects should be local.”

PrintTree is family-run by Stuart, his wife and three business partners.