People are responsible for climate change and more people would equal faster climate change. And having kids means more people. The problem is compounded because your kids are going to have kids too, and they will also have kids. A never-ending cycle of more people and more emissions. Right? 

Yes, and also, No.

We're not going to lie. There are studies claiming that having kids leads to massive amounts of carbon emissions, much more than, say, eating meat or flying transcontinental. These studies imply that having fewer or no children is the best thing you can do for the environment. You'll find graphs like these in those studies:

Having fewer kids would clearly be the best thing you could do for the environment.

Fortunately, that's not completely true, according to a report by Founders Pledge. The problem with most studies, they say, is that they don't take into account future government policies (and lifestyle choices of your kids). They calculate the emissions of your children as if they are going to live the same lifestyle as you do. But it's almost certain that government policies and behaviors will improve dramatically in the future. Your kids won't drive gasoline-fueled cars, their energy will be renewable and the countries they live in are most likely required to have net-zero emissions by 2050. If you take into account countries' climate targets and future policies to estimate the emissions of your kids, the graph looks very different:

Having fewer children is still a great way to reduce carbon emissions, but it's definitely not as effective as people have you believe. Other options such as flying within your continent or taking the train, switching to green energy and not having a car amount to similar or higher reductions in emissions. We hope that helps you sleep a bit better at night. And we haven't even gotten to the best news yet. 

It turns out that there's one way to help avert emissions that has an enormous impact, one that's much larger than not having another child.

“Donations are by far the biggest lever that individuals have on the climate, and should be a top priority for climate-conscious individuals.”

First and foremost, we aren't saying we can donate our way out of the climate crisis. We should all make better choices like the ones you see in the graph, but donations are the best addition to those choices. If you buy sustainable (or better, not buy anything at all!) and you donate to effective charities, you're doing a lot to mitigate the effects you and your child have on the climate.

There's another hope that we have, although we can't back it by science. We hope and believe one of our children, maybe yours, will help invent the next technology to fight climate change or drive policy that will make sure our world continues to be a beautiful place for your children.

So if you're looking to have a(nother) kid, don't feel guilt-tripped by everything you hear out there. If you make the right lifestyle choices and you donate to effective charities, you're on the right track to make sure your children have a great future ahead of them.

BOAS always strives to do what's best for the planet, and that's why 100% of our products are sustainable, but even more important, we donate all profits (at least 10% of sales if we don't make a profit) to effective charities that save lives and the climate.