October Impact | Supporting Hurricane Maria Relief in Puerto Rico

Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on Wednesday, September 20, as a Category 4 storm. The powerful storm left approximately 3.4 million people without power, and the island’s energy grid all but destroyed. Without electricity, there is no power to pump water into homes, leaving almost half the population without potable water. Many roads remain scattered with debris, and bridges need to be assessed for safety. This has caused access to the hardest hit areas more difficult. In just a few hours, Maria wiped out approximately 80 percent of the crop value in Puerto Rico – making it one of the costliest storms to hit the island – an estimated loss of $780 million in agriculture yields. Governor Ricardo A. Rosselló of Puerto Rico said the island was on the brink of a “humanitarian crisis”, and predicts a long road to recovery.

UNICEF USA is deeply concerned about the needs of all children affected by this natural disaster, especially the most vulnerable – which includes displaced and unaccompanied children, in addition to their families who have been devastated by Hurricane Maria. UNICEF USA is committed to putting children first, and will leverage its resources to support the most vulnerable children. UNICEF USA will provide family dignity and hygiene kits for the children and families affected by Hurricane Maria. The kit will provide a family with basic, yet much needed essential supplies such as a water bucket with lid, water containers, soap, toothpaste, water purification tablets, detergent and sanitary pads. This will help children and their families keep clean and healthy, protecting them from disease which can occur after such a disaster like this, where there is a disruption of a safe water supply and loss of equipment and infrastructure.

How It Works

Portland Razor Co. will donateº $10 from each Straight Razor Honing Service sold during the month of October 2017, in support of UNICEF's relief efforts in Puerto Rico. These donations will continue through the end of October. We hope to aid those in need as much as we can and thank you for your support.

If you would like to make a donation on your own accord, you can donate directly to UNICEF USA here.

ºIncludes sales to Portland Razor Co. retail and web customers, and authorized retailers. No portion of the purchase price is tax deductible. UNICEF does not endorse any brand, company or service.

September Impact | Supporting Hurricane Harvey Relief

In light of the massive flooding and destruction in Houston, Portland Razor Co. will be donating proceeds from all honing services to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund administered by the Greater Houston Community Foundation starting immediately.

Houston Needs Our Help

As waters continue to rise "with no end in sight" we encourage everyone to help in any way they can to aid the tens of thousands of people who have a long road to rebuild their homes and communities. If you are interested in donating directly to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, there are many ways to do so including texting HARVEY2017 to 91999. Other ways to donate to the Greater Houston Community Foundation are listed here. If you decide to donate to another organization supporting disaster relief, we advise you to do your homework; research the organization and avoid any scams.

How It Works

For every honing service we perform, we will pay out $10 to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. These donations will begin immediately and continue through the end of September. We intend to continue to donate proceeds from honing services to other charities as well, and we will be posting updates to this giveback program on our blog and social media outlets as we are able to secure partnerships.

We hope to aid those in need as much as we can and thank you for your support.

Happy Earth Day! | Out on the sandy river delta with friends of trees

Yesterday Portland Razor Co. had the great pleasure of getting the heck outside by volunteering with Friends of Trees! It has rained almost every day in Portland since OCTOBER (except for the days when it snowed or rained ice[???]), so the time spent outside in the sunshine was long overdue. As an aside to all friends in Chicago: sincerest apologies, but this winter was the worst and every arm chair therapist in Portland knows it! When the weather forecast said 70 F and sunny when I checked my weather app this morning, I’m pretty sure a single tear squeaked out.

Scott and Robin scoop mulch into buckets

In choosing to make straight razors it is we at Portland Razor Co.’s sincerest hope that shavers will elect to switch from disposable razors to the straight razor at least in part to reduce their own waste. Disposable razors, especially those attached to plastic handles, are thrown into landfills by the billions each year in the United States. Knowing that our straight razors will never be thrown away with proper care makes us warm and fuzzy and we hope you feel the same! With this commitment to the environment, we often seek other opportunities to leave the world better than we found it. To put our best foot forward in observance of Earth Day, yesterday morning the Portland Razor Co. team headed out to the Sandy River Delta to help Friends of Trees and the Sandy River Basin Watershed council care for native trees and plants that had been planted last winter.

Showing up without any information besides the address and that the work had something to do with mulch, I didn’t really know what to expect. The event organizers informed the group that the Sandy River Delta had been used as cow pastures starting in the 1930s when a small dam was built to limit the East Channel of the Sandy River and increase flow to the West Channel. The entire delta was eventually unusable for agriculture and the habitat of the native plants and wildlife had been destroyed. The dam was removed 10 years ago and the area has been undergoing native wildlife restoration with quite a bit of success! Native salmon, birds, and shallow-water creatures have returned to the area with the work of many many organizations coming together to make it happen. After we learned more about the project, the organizers taught us how to mulch and other things we could do to care for the plants to ensure they have a productive spring and summer. All told, we mulched and performed basic maintenance on hundreds of native trees and plants and left with smiles on our faces.

I cannot say enough about how approachable and fun the whole event was. If you are interested in getting outdoors in the Portland Area, Friends of Trees should be at the top of your list. Here is a link to their event calendar so you can find an event in your area (they also have events in Eugene and Salem). If your group is small enough you don’t even have to sign-up beforehand, you just show up! Whether it's switching lights off when you're not using them, riding your bike to work next week, or buying yourself a reusable water vessel to cut your plastic bottle habit, I hope you find your own way to care for our earth today.

Happy Earth Day from all of us at Portland Razor Co.

Movember | Grow, Give, Move

Our Fundraising Team: http://moteam.co/portland-razor-co-and-friends