Your customers care about sustainability. That is not a hunch or a marketing talking point. Research shows that 72% of online shoppers now factor sustainability into their purchase decisions, and one in three have abandoned a cart over environmental concerns. For BigCommerce merchants, the question is not whether to act on this, but how.
The good news: adding real environmental impact to your BigCommerce store takes about five minutes. No custom code, no developer needed, no ongoing maintenance. In this guide, we will walk through how to set up tree planting and ocean plastic removal on your BigCommerce store using GoodAPI, and why it matters for your brand and your bottom line.
Why BigCommerce Merchants Should Offer Tree Planting
BigCommerce powers a growing share of mid-market and enterprise online stores. Its open API architecture and flexible app ecosystem make it one of the best platforms for merchants who want to customize their stack. But when it comes to sustainability integrations, most BigCommerce stores are still leaving value on the table.
Here is what the data says. The sustainable e-commerce market was valued at over $17 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $54 billion by 2033. That growth is not abstract. It represents real shifts in how consumers choose where to spend their money. Among Gen Z shoppers, nearly half have abandoned a purchase because a brand did not meet their sustainability expectations.
Adding tree planting to your store is one of the simplest ways to meet that expectation. Every order (or every product sold) can automatically trigger a verified tree planting, giving your customers tangible proof that their purchase made a difference.
How BigCommerce Tree Planting Works With GoodAPI
GoodAPI is a sustainability integration built for e-commerce platforms, including BigCommerce. When a customer places an order on your store, GoodAPI automatically records the transaction and triggers an environmental action: planting a tree, removing ocean-bound plastic, or both.
Every tree planted through GoodAPI is verified through Veritree, a trusted reforestation organization with projects across multiple continents. Trees are tracked, geolocated, and supported through their critical first years of growth. This is not a vague carbon credit or an unverifiable offset. Your customers can see exactly where their impact lands.
What You Can Offer
GoodAPI gives BigCommerce merchants two types of environmental impact:
Tree Planting at $0.43 USD per tree. Each tree is planted through Veritree’s verified reforestation projects in regions like Kenya, Madagascar, and Brazil. These are real trees in real soil, monitored with GPS coordinates and verified through third-party audits.
Ocean Plastic Removal at $0.05 USD per bottle. This funds the removal of ocean-bound plastic before it reaches the water. It is a unique offering that most competitors simply do not provide.
You can offer one or both. Many merchants choose the combination because it lets them tell a broader sustainability story: “Your order planted a tree and pulled plastic from the ocean.”
Setting Up BigCommerce Tree Planting: Step by Step
Getting started takes just a few minutes. Here is the full process.
Step 1: Install the App
Log into your BigCommerce admin dashboard. Navigate to Apps > My Apps and search for “GoodAPI: Plant Trees, Clean Seas.” Install the app and authorize the connection to your store.
Step 2: Choose Your Impact Categories
Once the app is active, open the Environmental Impact & Billing section. You will see two options: Tree Planting and Plastic Bottle Removal. Select one or both, then click “Update Billing” to save your preferences.
Step 3: Configure Your Trigger
In the Impact Settings section, decide how you want impact to be tracked:
Per Order is the default. Every completed order triggers one tree planted (or one bottle removed, or both). This is the simplest setup and works well for most stores.
Per Product Sold triggers impact for every item quantity in an order. If a customer buys three items, three trees get planted. This option is great for stores that want to scale impact proportionally with order size.
You can also set a Minimum Order Value threshold, so impact only triggers on orders above a certain amount. And if you ever need to pause, there is a toggle for that too.
Step 4: Add the Storefront Badge
Head to the Storytelling your Impact section and click “Install Badge.” This places a visible sustainability badge on your storefront so customers can see your commitment before they buy. The badge is a small but powerful trust signal. It tells shoppers that your store is actively planting trees and cleaning oceans with every sale.
Click “Refresh” after installation to confirm the badge is live on your store.
Step 5: Start Selling
That is it. Once configured, GoodAPI runs in the background. Every qualifying order automatically contributes to reforestation and plastic removal. You can track your total impact in the GoodAPI dashboard at any time.
The Business Case for BigCommerce Tree Planting
Let us talk numbers. Sustainability is not just good ethics. It is good business.
Greenspark, a competitor in this space, has publicly cited a 12% increase in checkout conversion for stores that display sustainability commitments during the purchase flow. That aligns with broader research: 43% of consumers are willing to pay more for products with sustainable practices, and 74% of retailers now list sustainability as a primary or secondary business priority.
At $0.43 per tree, the math works in your favor. If you sell 1,000 orders per month, you are spending $430 to plant 1,000 trees. If that investment drives even a 5% lift in conversion rate or repeat purchases, the revenue gain far exceeds the cost.
And unlike paid ads or discounts, sustainability spending does not erode your margins or train customers to wait for deals. It builds brand equity that compounds over time.
What Makes GoodAPI Different for BigCommerce
BigCommerce merchants have options when it comes to sustainability tools, so here is why GoodAPI stands out.
Price. At $0.43 per tree, GoodAPI is significantly more affordable than alternatives like One Tree Planted ($1.00 per tree) or Ecologi ($0.80 per tree). That price difference adds up fast at scale.
Dual impact. Most tree planting services offer just that: trees. GoodAPI also provides ocean plastic removal, giving your brand a broader environmental story.
Verification. Every tree is planted through Veritree with GPS tracking and third-party verification. This is not a promise on paper. It is a verifiable, auditable impact trail that protects your brand from greenwashing accusations.
Simplicity. The BigCommerce integration takes minutes to set up and runs automatically. No webhooks to configure, no code to write, no ongoing maintenance.
Flexibility. Choose per-order or per-product triggers, set minimum order thresholds, and pause or resume at any time. If you need custom configurations targeting specific products or regions, the GoodAPI team offers direct support.
Beyond the Badge: Telling Your Sustainability Story
Installing the integration is step one. Telling the story is where the real value lives.
Here are a few ways BigCommerce merchants can amplify their impact:
Share your running total on social media. “We just planted our 10,000th tree” is the kind of milestone that earns organic engagement. Include your sustainability commitment in email marketing. Post-purchase emails that say “Your order just planted a tree in Madagascar” turn a transaction into a moment of connection. Add your impact data to your About page. Customers who are researching your brand will look for proof that your values are real, not performative.
GoodAPI tracks your cumulative impact in real time, so you always have fresh numbers to share.
Getting Started Today
BigCommerce gives you the platform. GoodAPI gives you the impact. Together, they let you turn every sale into something your customers and your team can feel good about.
The setup takes five minutes. The cost starts at $0.43 per tree. And the first impression you make on a sustainability-conscious shopper could be the one that earns their loyalty for years.
Ready to add tree planting to your BigCommerce store? Visit thegoodapi.com to get started, or search for “GoodAPI: Plant Trees, Clean Seas” in your BigCommerce app marketplace. The full platform also includes API access for developers who want to build custom integrations.
If you have questions about BigCommerce-specific configuration, reach out to the GoodAPI team through the in-app chat or at the GoodAPI help center.