Be more eco-friendly this year
News
Want to be more eco-friendly in 2021? Here’s a rundown of some excellent brands for you to try.
More people than ever are making a conscious decision to buy from companies who are openly committed to using their position/profit/product in a way that gives something back and doesn’t further contribute to damage our environment, our planet or other people.
There are so many ways in which we can make these choices, in all areas of our lives. Granted, it may take a bit more conscious effort, but these small purchasing decisions make such a huge difference to the world that we live in. The cars we drive, the bank we use, the pension options we invest in, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the energy providers, the household products - even the loo roll. It all makes a difference.
Whilst choosing to buy your fruit and veg from Oddbox rather than your local supermarket might seem like a drop in the ocean, when this becomes thousands and perhaps even millions of similar decisions across the world, this amounts to an incredibly powerful message to organisations of all sizes and across all industries to be making cleaner, kinder and more ethical business decisions.
Since becoming a B Corp last year, it has raised our awareness of all the amazing brands out there, doing amazing things for the planet, and the people within it.
Hunting these brands down and sharing them across the team has even become a part of our culture.
If, like us, you want to seek our more eco-friendly companies, we’ve made it a little bit easier by putting together a list of some of our favourites. This is just the tip of the iceberg but we hope it inspires you to dig a little deeper and start demanding more from the companies you buy from, work with and endorse.
Food
Oddbox
As mentioned, Oddbox is a great alternative to buying your fruit and veg from the supermarket. The produce is either rescued, odd or surplus, directly from the farm to your plate!
Rubies in the Rubble
Rubies in the Rubble are a pioneering voice in food sustainability. Their delicious condiments are packed with ingredients that would otherwise go to waste.
Divine Chocolate
The decision to buy from a B Corp like Divine doesn’t just feel amazing, but it tastes amazing too. Driven by a social mission to empower producers and consumers, Divine is the only Fairtrade chocolate company co-owned by farmers.
https://ukshop.divinechocolate.com/uk/shop/
Proper
This popcorn and snack company believe in doing business the right way - for their team, the planet and the people within it. We love what they do…and we love their snacks!
Tony's Chocolonely
Another chocolate brand we love. As it stands, the chocolate supply chain is unequally divided - farmers are forced to live in poverty, leading to illegal child labour and modern slavery. This fellow B Corp’s mission is to make 100% slave free chocolate.
https://tonyschocolonely.com/uk/en
Drink
Good Things Brewery
As their name suggests, Good Things Brewery does good for the world, as the first fully sustainable brewery. They bore their own water, create their own power and turn their spent brewer’s grain into flour.
Small Beer
This brewery aims to never waste a single drop. From the start, they cut down the water needed to brew their beer and only rely on recovered energy.
https://theoriginalsmallbeer.com/
Horsham Coffee Roaster
Horsham Coffee Roaster focuses on ethical sourcing of speciality coffee combined with sustainable environmental practices. All of their coffee is roasted on a low emissions roaster and delivered in fully recyclable packaging.
https://www.horshamcoffeeroaster.co.uk/
Coaltown Coffee
As you can tell, the team love their coffee (and beer)! Based in the South of Wales in a former mining community, Coaltown was set up with the ambition to bring industry back to their hometown.
https://www.coaltowncoffee.co.uk/
Household Products, Sanitary Products & Cosmetics
Who Gives A Crap
As a result of roughly 40% of the global population not having access to a toilet, there are hundreds of thousands of deaths by diseases caused by poor water and sanitation each year. Launched in 2012 with a crowdfunding campaign, Who Gives a Crap sell plastic-free toilet roll, donating 50% of their profits to help build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world.
Arbonne
This purpose-driven health and beauty company is committed to being accountable for their actions to the planet, through greener packaging and responsible operations. All of their products are 100% vegan and cruelty-free.
Dame
Dame’s mission is to make sanitary products that are sustainable and accessible for all. They seek to change the conversation to bring periods into the 21st century for all people whatever their gender, creed or colour.
Huskee
Huskee’s reusable coffee cup is made from (otherwise wasted) coffee husks. The clever design has a number of benefits from hotter coffee for longer, to a more comfortable hold. It is also purpose-built to be recycled at the end of its life.
Method
Their household cleaning products are eco-friendly and non-toxic and are always tested by people, never on animals. From sourcing to manufacturing and distributing, Method is responsible.
Haeckels
Haeckels household and beauty products are all natural and made from sustainable ingredients. They also have a number of sustainable incentives, such as picking up litter from the beach and bringing in-store for free products. Oh, and we love their branding and packaging!
Agreena food wraps
We love these reusable food wraps from Agreena, an eco-friendly substitute for cling film, foil and baking paper.
Freecycle
Freecycle is a grassroots nonprofit global movement of people giving (and getting) stuff for free. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. From wardrobes to toilet roll holders to bikes, you can find some great items.
Clothing
Patagonia
Patagonia fight irresponsible, fast-fashion manufacturing. They believe in buying quality, used and multifunctional gear - to be worn and to be repaired, repeated.
https://eu.patagonia.com/gb/en/home/
Alpkit
Alpkit is a small and independent outdoor clothing and equipment company. They have 6 sustainability principles that guide everything they do and have recently joined the B Corp community!
Batoko
Batoko make swimwear out of recycled plastic - they have recycled the equivalent weight of 300,000 plastic water bottles! Their incredible prints use non-toxic inks and are created digitally (which saves water and energy and produces little waste).
Vivobarefoot
Their ethos is to create shoes with minimal bio-mechanical interference, so our feet can do its natural thing. They are serious about sustainability, as they research and invest in new, cleaner and greener materials to reduce their carbon and landfill footprint.
https://www.vivobarefoot.com/uk/
Finisterre
This outdoor clothing company, and fellow B Corp, design functional and sustainable products for those who love the sea. They use ‘leave no trace’ packaging, which are water soluble, recyclable and biodegradable.
People Tree
Every fashion product of theirs is made to the highest ethical and environmental standards, from start to finish. People Tree are an active member of many Fair Trade, social justice and environmental networks.
TOMS
This shoe and clothing company’s mission is to use business to improve lives and to take care of the place we all call home. They are committed to making choices that benefit customers, employees and the planet.
Raeburn Design
Raeburn Design is a responsible fashion designer company, guided by their ‘Remade, Reduced, Recycled’ principles. Christopher Raeburn, owner and designer, grew up in our hometime of Tunbridge Wells!
https://www.raeburndesign.co.uk/
Finance
Triodos
Triodos is one of the worlds most sustainable banks, making money work for positive social, environmental and cultural change. We love what this banks does; enabling individuals and organisations to use their money in ways that benefit people and the environment.
Travel
Asilia Africa
Asilia Africa is one of East Africa’s long-standing Safari companies. They believe that tourism should be used for good and, when practiced responsibly, can be a driving force in both the conversation and development of East Africa.
If you have any other suggestions for eco-friendly brands that we can add to our list, or want to know more about the ones we have listed, please get in touch
Read more...
View all work
News
Quality Assurance Shouldn’t be an Afterthought
In this article, we’ll explain how vital quality assurance (QA) is to our process and its importance to delivering Yoyo products.