The DiversiTree Project

About the Work Tree pollen is the leading cause of seasonal allergies in the US, impacting over 30% of Americans. Claritin identified one pollen-producing culprit that not many experts were talking about: Male trees. Turns out, male trees produce allergenic pollen, whereas female trees don't. They absorb it. Despite this, a 1949 USDA recommendation advised cities to plant male-only trees to avoid the cleanup that comes from fruit-bearing female trees. This has led to a botanical imbalance, resulting in an increase in pollen-levels, and record-high cases of allergies. Claritin, the leader in allergy-relief, decided to take a stand, and not just relieve allergies, but help prevent them. Our goal was to create allergy-fighting spaces by planting and delivering female trees across America, raise awareness about this problem for allergy-sufferers, and provide policymakers and city planners with data they didn’t have in the past, making them rethink the way they build cities in the future. With the simple act of planting female trees, Claritin showed that a pollen-free future is possible. In the first year of the program, over 200,000 female trees planted, reducing pollen levels by 25%. The brand saw a +255% lift in branded searches for “Claritin” and “Fighting Pollen”. And over+6.5 million sq. Ft allergy-fighting green spaces have been created.