It’s shocking: one and a half acres of rainforests are lost every second of every day, an astonishing statistic.  But celebrity rocker Sting and his wife Trudie Styler are doing something about it, and they want the world to know that it doesn’t have to be this way.

They founded the Rainforest Foundation International in 1989 after they saw first-hand the destruction of the Amazon rainforests and the devastating impact it had on the people who lived there. Deforestation leaves locals homeless, drives animals and plants to extinction and releases carbon dioxide emissions (which cause climate change).

For more than two decades, the duo has worked tirelessly to be a voice for the rainforests and theirfoundation has grown into a network of four independent organizations that work in 20 rainforest countries around the globe. They work in partnership with indigenous groups and local organizations to secure rights to their lands, influence laws and policies, and support strong community leadership. Sting and Trudie’s foundation was one of the first organizations to focus on the vital link between protection of the rainforest and securing the rights of indigenous peoples.

For their decades of work, and the 28 million acres of forest land they’ve helped protect, Sting and Trudie were (last week) among a small class of distinguished individuals to be awarded the Citizen Award at the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative in New York City. The celebrity couple was recognized for their decades-long commitment to preserving the world’s rainforests and defending human rights.Ecover shares a similar ethos and support, as it’s our belief too that everyone deserves a secure, healthy and ecologically sound lifestyle!

Image via Treehugger