ProMark Oversees Regenerative Forestry Project with “Play. Plant. Preserve.” Initiative
NAMM Member and drumstick manufacturer, ProMark, is committed to restoring the lush landscapes of Tennessee by planting trees through the company’s “Play. Plant. Preserve.” initiative, a reforestation project that is part of a pledge to operate sustainability.
As a part of the D'Addario family of brands, ProMark was founded in 1957 by percussion Herb Brochstein in Houston, Texas. According to an article from Total Drummer, Brochstein purchased several pairs of drumsticks after a chance meeting with a Japanese salesman. Brochstein and an early ProMark endorsee, Billy Gladstone, were impressed with the clarity of tone, so Brochstein employed the manufacturer to create his designs utilizing their consistent and high-skilled handcrafting techniques. The drumsticks, made of Japanese Shira-Kashi white oak, were introduced to the American marketplace, and ProMark became the only company to successfully market a stick of this material type in the US. In 2011, ProMark was acquired by D’Addario and still operates as a family-run business in Houston. Today, ProMark drumsticks are exported to 110 countries and are endorsed by some of the industry’s top drummers, including Eloy Casagrande (Sepultura), the late Neil Peart (Rush), and Todd Sucherman (Styx).
As a company, ProMark remains dedicated to sustainable business practices, and “Play. Plant. Preserve.” is an Earth-forward manufacturing initiative to ensure the longevity of our planet’s forests. Since its launch in 2014, the manufacturer has planted over 600,000 trees in Tennessee, intending to implement a net neutral solution by 2043, meaning that for every tree ProMark harvests to create its products, it plants a tree in its place. “Play. Plant. Preserve.” has embarked on a revolutionary partnership with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture to plant 85,000 seedlings every year to restore forests.
“Our goal is a net-zero impact on the environment,” says Eric Ricciardi, Vice President of Percussion at D’Addario. “We want to ensure that not only will future generations of drummers have access to the best drumsticks available, but that they'll be playing them in a greener, more sustainable world. Our ‘Play. Plant. Preserve.’ reforestation program has already replaced 100% of the trees we've used in stick making since our founding in 1957. We're now excited to announce our goal to plant one million trees by 2024, and every ProMark stick purchased helps us accelerate to that goal.”
To learn more about the “Play. Plant. Preserve” initiative, visit https://www.daddario.com/play-plant-preserve/ and follow the conversation by using #playplantpreserve on social media.
For more information from ProMark and D’Addario, please visit https://www.daddario.com/products/percussion/promark/ and https://www.daddario.com/.