My name is Alexander Tsao.
I am a High School student from Seattle, Washington.
Living in the Pacific Northwest, I was raised to be passionate about the environment and conserving our home.
We all have our own definition of home.
I consider my home to be the dense forest that surrounds our region, the important people in my life, and my best friend, Jinger.
Jinger is my nine-year-old rescue who my family treats like a royalty.
Seeing the amazing life that we can give to Jinger makes me want to give every dog the opportunity to be treated with love and care.
This was what inspired me to help dogs and protect the environm
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Five years ago, I began rock climbing and currently do competitive climbing.
Each time I would ascend a wall, the same question would arise in my head:
what happens to the ropes after they become too old to use?
With a quick google search, I discovered that due to safety regulations that require climbing gyms to regularly replace their ropes, thousands of ropes make it to the landfill each year.
I knew that I needed to come up with an idea that would reduce the number of ropes that are simply thrown away.
A lightbulb came on in my head: I would upcycle used ropes into dog leashes.
My leashes are sold in local markets and online.
100% of the profit made goes to no-kill animal shelters and animal charities.
I also donate leashes local no-kill shelters with the intent to promote adoption