As people who care about the world, our best way for voting is with our money. What we buy and what we consume defines what brands, stores,and companies have to offer. It’s important that we hold companies that do wrong to our planet and society accountable for what they do and it’s just as important to support the ones that are doing things right. In the past few years, the rise for brands that are eco-friendly and/or ethical, has gone up and seems to keep heading that way. Many stores (especially online-shops) have started to change the components in both product and packaging, for a better option. People have started boycotting sweatshops and fast fashion companies; as well as brands that are not cruelty free. This has gotten to the point where now many companies have decided to highlight in their packaging that they are ethical and cruelty free, using this as a selling point for many people. However,sometimes we do not pay enough attention on what sort of companies we are giving our money to; this can result in a person unintentionally supporting causes they don’t necessary agree with and leaving behind the ones that they do support. Here is a list with a variety of brands, shops and companies that could use your support in making the world a better place with a variety of causes you may like:
- Sand Cloud
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Sand Cloud is an online shop that sells a mission-driven beach apparel and accessories. Their towels are made from handwoven Turkish cotton allows the towels to be comfortable lightweight, durable, absorbent, and sand resistant. Sand Cloud also sells apparel made from recycled materials, reef-safe sunscreen, reusable water bottles, and metal straws. Both their packaging and products are designed with sustainability in mind. Their brand stands out with their hashtag #SaveTheFishies, which summarizes their mission. With every purchase, Sand Cloud donates a portion of each sale to non-profit marine conservation organizations including the Marine Conservation Institute, the San Diego Surf rider Foundation, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, San Diego Coast keeper, the Hawaii Wildlife Fund, and Ocean Connectors.
- 4Ocean
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4ocean is a United States for profit company that has become very popular recently due to their work all around the world. This company sells bracelets made from recycled materials, as well as apparel and water bottles; and that money is used to remove one pound of trash from the ocean and coastlines in an effort to clean up plastic pollution. 4Ocean has so far helped clean the coastlines in twenty-seven countries, having removed more than five million pounds of waste from the ocean and coastlines since its inception in 2017; now counting with more than two hundred employees.
- TenTree
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TenTree is a Canadian lifestyle apparel company, with the twist of being an environmental advocate. The company was founded on 2012 and their mission is: For every item of apparel sold, 10 trees are planted. TenTree has planted 30 million new trees on earth so far, their goal is having 1 billion by 2030. The brand’s clothes, are made from about 95% sustainable materials, mostly consist of comfy, unassuming sweatshirts, shirts, leggings, and other basic apparel. Tentree decided to remove virgin plastic, converted all its cotton to organic, and shifted all leather to cork, giving an ecofriendly option for packaging. They also count with creative and beautiful designs that represent their cause.
- Ecosia
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Ecosia is a search engine for the internet, created in Berlin, Germany. They are known due to how they plant trees by donating 80% or more of its profits to nonprofit organizations that focus on Reforestation. This search engine first launched on 7 December 2009 and now they are responsible for the planting of more than 66 million trees so far, offering complete transparency to their clients.
- ThredUP
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ThredUP is a fashion resale website for consumers to buy and sell secondhand clothing online; essentially, it is an online and convenient thrift shop. This shop is part a larger Collaborative Consumption movement where they look for a stop on fast fashion, fashion pollution and textile waste. Nowadays, thredUP is the world’s largest fashion resale marketplace with over 35k brands at up to 90% off retail prices. They only support Sustainable Fashion and have a Circular Fashion Fund, to help the cause with partnerships such as Reformation and the UpCycle Program.
- Brandless
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Brandless is an e-commerce company that manufactures and sells an assortment of products under its own Brandless label with quality materials and clean ingredients. This company launched in 2017 with a selection of 115 items and now offers hundreds of products, always being them health and environmentally conscious. They sell products in the areas of non-GMO and organic food; clean and cruelty-free beauty and personal care; non-toxic cleaners; household, kitchen and stationery; baby and pets. All of their foods are GMO-free, health and beauty items are cruelty-free, and paper products adhere to sustainable forestry practices. Brandless owns, creates and sells all of these goods directly to the consumer. Through a partnership with Feeding America, for every order placed, Brandless provides a meal for people in need; donating two extra meals to someone facing hunger in partnership with Feeding America. All products are at reasonable prices for the consumer while making a livable wage for employees as well.
All of these and so many other companies are out there making the world a better place. We can help them reach that goal, while helping ourselves as well. Take your time to do some research on other eco-friendly and ethical brands out there and share this knowledge with your friends and family. We have a chance to do things right, and we should take it.