There’s something pretty special about stepping away from our desks, getting outside, and doing a little work that has absolutely nothing to do with emails, order deadlines, or deciding which shade of green looks best on a water bottle.
Recently, the Buzztag team traded our usual workday for gloves, tools, fresh air, and a whole lot of millbrush as we spent our community service day volunteering with Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA) on popular mountain bike trails near Tumalo Falls.
And yes, cutting brush is considerably more satisfying when you can actually see your progress at the end of the day.
A Day Outside With a Purpose
Living and working in Central Oregon means we're pretty spoiled when it comes to access to the outdoors. Trails, rivers, mountains, forests... they're part of what makes this place home.
But those spaces don't maintain themselves.
COTA plays an important role in building, maintaining, and protecting the trails that so many people in our community use for mountain biking and outdoor recreation. For our volunteer day, we helped clear millbrush along popular trails near Tumalo Falls, improving trail access and visibility while giving a little time back to an area we get so much from.
Getting out together as a team is always special, but there's something different about working side-by-side toward a goal that has nothing to do with our day-to-day jobs.
It gives us time to talk, laugh, get dirty, and remember that being a good team isn't only about how well we work together inside the office. It's also about how we show up outside of it.
Why Community Service Is Part of the Bigger Picture
Days like this connect directly to something that's really important to us at Buzztag: our partnership with 1% for the Planet.
1% for the Planet is a global network that helps businesses support environmental organizations working to protect our planet. Member businesses commit to giving at least 1% of annual sales to approved environmental partners.
That distinction matters.
It's not 1% of profits or whatever happens to be left over at the end of the year. The commitment is tied to sales, making environmental giving a consistent part of doing business rather than an occasional initiative when it's convenient.
For us, being part of 1% for the Planet is about recognizing that businesses have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to make decisions that reach beyond the bottom line.
Sometimes that looks like financial support. Sometimes it looks like volunteering with organizations doing important work locally. And sometimes it means taking a harder look at the products, materials, packaging, and suppliers we recommend every day.
What Does Trail Work Have to Do With Branded Merchandise?
More than you might think.
We work in an industry built around physical products. That means we're constantly thinking about what gets made, how it's made, how far it travels, how long someone will actually use it, and what happens to it eventually.
We don't think the answer is to stop creating branded merchandise. We think the answer is to create it more intentionally.
A product someone keeps and uses for years has a very different impact than something ordered simply because it was inexpensive enough to hand out by the hundreds. A thoughtfully sourced employee gift can mean more than a box full of random items. Choosing recycled materials, responsible suppliers, useful products, better packaging, or even ordering fewer pieces can make a difference.
That's why we spend so much time helping our clients think beyond simply putting a logo on something.
We ask questions like:
Because sustainability isn't about finding one magically "perfect" product. Humanity has yet to invent many perfect things, and branded merchandise is certainly not where we're going to start.
It's about making better choices wherever we can.
Small Actions Create Bigger Ripples
Our day with COTA wasn't going to clear every trail in Central Oregon.
That wasn't the point.
We cleared our section. Another group clears another. Volunteers donate a few hours. Organizations coordinate the work. Businesses provide funding and resources. And over time, all of those smaller contributions add up to something much bigger.
We think about our work at Buzztag in a similar way.
Every project is an opportunity to make a slightly more thoughtful choice. Maybe that's selecting a product made from recycled materials. Maybe it's choosing something people will keep for years. Maybe it's consolidating shipments, reducing unnecessary packaging, supporting a mission-driven supplier, or simply ordering the right quantity instead of the biggest quantity.
None of those decisions will save the planet on their own.
Together, though? They matter.
Back to the Trails
We're incredibly grateful for organizations like COTA that put in the work to care for the places our community loves, and we're grateful we got to spend a day contributing to that work.
We came back with tired arms, dirty clothes, and an even greater appreciation for the people who maintain these trails throughout the year.
And, perhaps most importantly, we got to spend a day together doing something that reflects what we want Buzztag to stand for: showing up, being thoughtful about our impact, and leaving things a little better than we found them.
Whether that's a mountain bike trail near Tumalo Falls or the next branded merchandise project that lands on our desks, that's a pretty good standard to work toward.
