1. Toilet Paper
Did you know that EVERY day 1 million trees are cut down to make toilet paper?
I won’t bore you with the details of why we should keep those trees, I’ll just point you to Who Gives A Crap as a better option.
They use recycled paper and bamboo (which is a grass not a tree) to create the TP and deliver it to your door with carbon-neutral shipping.
I admit, it’s not Charmin, but I use their “luxuriously soft” bamboo option and feel good about supporting a certified B Corp that gives 50% of their profits to help people around the world access clean water.
2. Imperfect Foods / Misfits Markets
If you like getting your groceries delivered to your door, consider trying out Imperfect Foods / Misfits Markets (the companies have recently merged).
You may know that food waste is a major problem (40% of all food is thrown away), and one of the problems is “ugly” produce – oddly shaped carrots, or squash that is considered too big to be pleasing. If you’re a regular shopper at a farmer’s market, you probably won’t even notice the difference.
These companies have rounded up the misfit produce and sell it alongside things like fair-trade coffee. They do also have meat and pantry items, so I do most of my grocery shopping through them, and a box lands on my door every Friday afternoon. Easy peasy.
This link should get your $20 off your first order.
3. Laundry Detergent
I won’t harp on the problems with all the plastic packing, I’ll just tell you I try to avoid it, so I get laundry detergent from Dropps. They are another certified B Corp that boasts:
If you want to give it a try, this link should get your 30% off your first order.
4. Hand Soap
While you can always switch to bars of soap, there’s no way I could convince my husband that was a good option. So instead I buy the concentrated formulas from either etee or Blueland. You just add water on voila! Hand soap!
You’ll also find concentrated formulates for things like body wash, toilet bowl cleaner, multi-surface spay and even shampoo bars.
5. Amazon Climate Pledge Friendly
While I’m a big fan of directly supporting small business, you don’t have to give up the ease of shopping on Amazon. They’ve recently introduced their Climate Pledge Friendly program as a means to offer sustainable shopping options.
So let’s say you just got a new phone and need a case for it. When you’re browsing options, keep an eye out for the badge and you can feel good about it being cheap, convenient AND eco-friendly.
6. Shop Thrift
I know there’s a big stigma associated with thrift stores, and I’m not going to try to convince you that you should do all your shopping there. But I’ll point out that we put 11.3 million tons of clothing into landfills every year, so every little bit helps.
For me I’ve started going to thrift stores for the t-shirts I wear around the house or doing messy things like gardening. You often find things with tags still on, but they only run you a couple bucks. Good for the environment, good for your wallet!
If thrift isn’t your thing, but you want to make a purchase from a company making sustainable choices, use the Good On You directory to check how brands stack up.
7. Hosting
It may not occur to you to think about sustainability when it comes to your website, but there are a number of hosts out there that make an effort to be carbon-neutral and be energy-efficient. One of those hosts is SiteGround, which a good number of our clients are on, so if you’re thinking of making a change, I can tell you that it’s solid choice in terms of performance.
Here’s a list of other climate-friendly web hosts:
- GreenGeeks
- Kualo Hosting
- HostPapa
- FatCow
*I have no experience with any of these outside of SiteGround, so I can’t vouch for their performance.
8. Marketing
Social Light is a proud member of 1% For the Planet, which means we’re part of a network of businesses that have committed at least 1% of our revenue toward environmental causes. You may not have thought of choosing your marketing vendor is a way to support Mother Earth, but with us it is!
Want to talk options? Give us a shout!
