The 15 Social & Eco brands that are changing the world and their impact data (part 1)
This is the first of our guest blog series, where I’m inviting bloggers and social entrepreneurs to share their opinions, knowledge and expertise on the world of social impact measurement and communications in the social enterprise sector.
This weeks guest blog is from Maxime Ducker of Our Good Brands, and is the first of two blogs (the second of which will be released next week).
Passionate of social enterprises as I am, today I am excited to share with you some of the most incredible brands that are changing the world. What I like the most of these particular businesses is that they keep reporting on the positive impact they are making.
Why is this important?
Well, since I am running a media platform of positive news about ethical and impact brands, one thing that we realised quite quickly is that many of us feel disempowered. And the reason behind that is because it is hard to realise how much our small daily choices matter.
For instance, if we are purchasing toilet paper - not just are we unaware that we are flushing trees down the toilet, but also we would not even think that it could possibly have an environmental (and much less a social!) impact.
Then, when brands make the effort to accumulate data, what they are really saying is how the impact of the small is contributing to a larger picture. This is when we truly realise that we can actually shake the “change for good” with our daily consumption habits. On a bigger scale, learning about the impact data of the businesses is what can help us to create long-lasting habits. It’s as simple as that!
So without further ado, I am going to present some of the most interesting social and eco brands that I have researched. Most importantly I will share with you their data of impact through visuals that will get you inspired (and hopefully will trigger some action the next time you go shopping!).
This is how you are contributing to change the world with your purchase decisions
The impact of the brand Boomerang Bags
Boomerang Bags is a grassroots, community-driven movement tackling plastic pollution.
This brand is quite particular because volunteers are the ones making the tote bags. How it works is that people in different local communities get together to produce reusable shopping bags just by using recycled materials (so yes, a boomerang type of double impact)!
What it does, is that Boomerang Bags has set up collecting points for anyone to take the bags on their way shopping. In the meantime, those who get together to sew the bags contribute to raising awareness on the plastic problem, as well as learning new skills which anyone can take home to start living more sustainably. An incredible example of collaboration, community engagement and sustainable impact.
Boomerang Bags is now across 13 countries, in which we can find over 280 points of distribution and more than 30 communities are involved. Not to mention the positive impact the brand is making:
Find the full story and how you can get involved in this full article about the good brand Boomerang Bags.
The impact of the brand B1G1
B1G1 is a platform that was created purely for businesses to give back and do “business for good”. How they work is that any business (social enterprise or not) can set up an account and allocate part of their benefits to your selected cause without any intermediaries. The best thing is that you can align your storytelling and impact communications with the chosen giving cause.
I had the chance to attend one of the B1G1 conferences a couple of years ago. What was incredibly interesting is to learn about all the different businesses that had used their platform, and how they experienced a powerful transformation within their business. And this wasn’t just because of the value exchange of connecting their brand with a project of impact, but also because, suddenly, the customers and as well as team members felt way more connected to the brand.
This is the infographic that shows the positive impact B1G1 - through more than 2,000 businesses that have joined their platform so far:
The impact of the brand doTerra
doTerra is a leading brand in the space of natural essential oils. They are great for therapeutic and medicinal purposes, and as you would imagine they don’t use any fillers, synthetic ingredients or harmful contaminants in any stage of the production. But what also makes doTherra and incredibly sustainable business is it’s creating a positive impact in the communities that are sourcing with the natural ingredients.
doTerra founded the Co-Impact Sourcing®, a supply chain program that helps them to provide a job under fair trade conditions as well as resources, tools, and training necessary to ensure a long-lasting partnership. On the other hand, the brand has founded its own charity - the Healing Hands Foundation - with the ultimate goal of providing funding and resources to create community-based social impact projects focused on health and poverty. This is the impact the brand is making:
Find more about this impact brand and why doTerra is the most sustainable essential oil here.
The impact of the brand Ecoalf
EcoALF is a fashion brand right from Spain that was born with the mission of cleaning the oceans. They developed the technology to turn recycled plastic and fishing nets collected from the Mediterranean seas into high-quality fashion.
EcoAlf recycles 1 ton of plastic every day. And today they are also exploring waste such as tyres or coffee for new fashion lines. This is how their impact on plastic looks like:
Learn more in detail about the brand EcoALF right here.
The impact of the brand Ecosia
When I started researching on brands I truly never thought planting trees right from your computer could be possible. Ecosia is the most sustainable search engine in the world. If you set it up on your desktop or mobile phone, you will plant a tree every time you search.
Data from 2018 was already showing the massive impact of this technology in the reforestation of the world:
We all wonder how can a search engine plant trees? I also did the research and here is how Ecosia works.
The impact of the brand Hero Condoms
Can you imagine making love in your country, wherever you might be, and saving lives on the other side of the world? Hero Condoms is a social enterprise that uses the one for one business model, so every time you purchase condoms they donate the same amount. Furthermore, these condoms are vegan-friendly, ph balanced, petrochemical and paraben free and also manufactured sustainably by using solar power and recycled water. Yup, having sex was never so good!
Here we share their data of impact that we put together early last year:
If you want to learn more about the beautiful story and impact of Hero Condoms find it all here.
The impact of the brand OZ Harvest
OzHarvest is another beautiful story that comes right from Australia! As many social enterprises do, this business was born after founder Ronni Kahn noticed something wrong in the system. This one was about the huge volume of good food going to waste from the hospitality industry: over 20 billion dollars of food is thrown away in Australia.
She decided there had to be a better way so she started what is now the leading food rescue organisation in the world, collecting quality excess food from commercial outlets and delivering it directly to the charities all over the country. This is OzHarvest’s impact:
I know, quite inspiring! If you want to learn more about OzHarvest and its yellow army read this article!
The impact of the brand Thankyou
Thankyou is a social enterprise that works towards ending global poverty. It all started with a simple idea: what if purchasing everyday items that could provide life-changing solutions for the millions of people who live in poverty?
And so they developed a range of products such as water, cereals, body care and now also baby products. If I have to be honest, I don’t like that their products use so much plastic packaging, but when it comes to the social impact here is the massive contribution (data early 2018):
Find out more information on how Thankyou contributes to the different causes here.
Maxime Dücker is the co-founder of Ourgoodbrands.com - a media platform that exists to empower consumers to make better purchase decisions through valuable & honest information, tools and resources that come in the form of social impact brands & sustainable lifestyles. If you are a social entrepreneur willing to make a difference and learn about the latest trends, business models or innovative materials, or just a consumer ready to make a positive impact with your individual choice, make sure you join Ourgoodbrands.
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