As a California-sober THC connoisseur, I have some pretty strong feelings about my favorite cannabis brands. Typically, the way most define what makes a cannabis brand “good” is directly related to the end product. Markers of quality are taste, dosage, packaging, and how quickly it hits. But there’s another qualifier worth paying attention to: whether your cannabis brand is doing anything to protect the wild places that we love so much. Wyld has made my gummies of choice for years—shout-out to all those who love half a Wyld Marionberry Gummy by a campfire—but I was happy to find that the brand itself ticks the environmental responsibility box as well.
Founded by Aaron Morris in 2016, Wyld didn’t start out with a 10-point climate action plan. In the early days, the company was running lean and scrappy, with just enough bandwidth to show up to community tree plantings and try to make something that felt reflective of the outdoor spaces it came from. The brand's ambitions grew along with the company as it blossomed into one of the best-known cannabis names on the West Coast. That original DIY ethos has since evolved into Wyld Works, a standalone environmental and social impact initiative that tackles everything from river restoration to preserving roadless open spaces.
Wyld is the first cannabis brand ever to become a Pinnacle Member with The Conservation Alliance, a level of support normally reserved for companies with names like Patagonia, REI, and The North Face. That membership helps fund projects like Indigenous-led conservation areas and local ecosystem restorations. “For us, Pinnacle support isn’t just a title—it’s access, responsibility, and the chance to help move real dollars to the communities protecting the wild places we care about,” says the Wyld team.
Courtesy Wyld
Since the program began in 2021, Wyld has sponsored beach cleanups that have removed over 350,000 pounds of trash from waterways via the Ocean Blue Project (the number should top 450,000 by the end of 2026), planted more than 100,000 trees, and partnered with The Freshwater Trust on data-driven salmon habitat restoration in Oregon's Sandy River Basin. They’ve also committed to renewable energy across all facilities and offset their emissions through vetted carbon credit programs.
Some of this work is tied to specific Wyld sub-brands like Good Tide, a tropical-themed gummy line with an ocean-cleanup mission baked in, but the goal is much broader. Wyld Works is a living impact platform designed to share real stories, build transparency, and help the company stay accountable for what it puts into the world.
For anyone watching the cannabis space struggle through its awkward teenage years, this kind of impact-led maturity is refreshing. Wyld is making a case that conservation doesn’t have to wait until a brand is “big enough.” In their words: “It’s not about chasing a finish line. It’s about showing up every day for people and the planet.”
Courtesy Wyld
In this aging outdoor writer-slash-stoner’s opinion, every brand, especially ones closely connected to agriculture, should strive to leave a legacy of conservation and good deeds. The cannabis industry as a whole has had a rowdy and at times pretty dark past. It's really refreshing to see Wyld recognizing the challenges facing our natural world and doing something to build that legacy in an industry where it is not particularly common or, it seems, expected. And while Wyld will always hold a spot in my heart as the maker of perfectly dosed THC gummies, I'm proud to buy those campfire-enhancers knowing that the legacy goes well beyond the quality high.
In the long run, the legacy of a cannabis company shouldn’t just be how many gummies it sold or even how good it made their customers feel. It should be what it gave back to the earth the product was grown from.
