We spend 8 years of our life in shops overall.
2 weeks each year are spent just in the supermarket.
Our 2nd biggest financial outgoing in life is on groceries.
Scary huh? Everyone is striving to life a more eco-friendly, sustainable, plastic free, conscious life (or at least we feel we should to keep up with that one friend that seems to be able to do all this without a fault!)
So, to help you out we here at COTW have compiled a list of SIMPLE SWAPS of brands that GIVE BACK so you can be the most conscious shopper there is. Trust us adding these things to your shopping cart will make you not want to go through a Self-Checkout. Cause it’s hard not to brag sometimes right?
But to be serious for a second, remember, we don’t need 1 person living perfectly in order to make a difference, we need a billion imperfect people doing lots of small things to equal great change.
Thankyou
Gives back to World Vision, One Heart, Care, Splash and UNICEF
View this post on Instagram
“We believe that every person has equal value and the right to a life free from poverty” Is Thankyou’s motto for their business and we are so THANKFUL that this brand exists from hand soaps, sanitisers, water and baby supplies for our little man Lachie we know that by purchasing these items we are making a difference and contributing to Thankyou’s $6.2 Million Dollars in giving and supporting 857 000 people in need. Who wouldn’t want to get behind that?
Our favourite products include:
Botanical Patchouli & Vanilla Hand Wash
Antibacterial Hand & Surface Sanitiser Spray
Baby Top to Toe Bath Wash
Who Gives a Crap?
50% of all profits go to help build toilets for those in need.
View this post on Instagram
Buying toilet paper online? 2019 is full of weird and wonderful things. With all their toilet paper being 100% PLASTIC FREE, made from environmentally and recycled materials and 50% of their profits donated to help build toilets for those in need you won’t mind doing a few online clicks for this paper rather than walking down the loo paper aisle.
1.8 MILLION DOLLARS has already been donated by this company so why grab some of this pretty paper, donate to charity and show your friends how #sustainable you are next time they come over (cause let’s be honest if you can buy eco-friendly loo paper your life looks more put together than a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle!)
Outland Denim
Provides sustainable employment and training opportunities for women who have experienced exploitation.
View this post on Instagram
Who doesn’t love the royal family, reducing waste and ending poverty (the only correct answer here is no one)? Outland Denim is your one stop (online) shop for buying the coolest, stylish and empowering jeans ever. They use less water, less energy, sustainable practices and give employment and education opportunities to women who have experienced sexual exploitation. It’s company taking a tragic issue and creating something beautiful out of it.
And Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle have the same jeans so that’s pretty snazzy aye! Nice to see those two finally having something in common.
TOMS
Provides made-to-order shoes for children in need for every pair of shoes sold.
View this post on Instagram
So, you have your soaps, loo paper and stylish jeans now all you need is a cool pair of shoes and shades, right? TOMS Brand has got you. Stylish, comfy, sustainable and with every purchase you are providing shoes, sight and water to those in need why are you still reading this go grab yourself a pair now!! (actually, wait until you’ve finished the post first) their ONE for ONE promise means that for every purchase you make they will donate a needed item to a person in need. How cool is that?
Little Ripples
Provides 1 year of clean water for a person in poverty for every bottle of wine sold.
View this post on Instagram
So, we all know about that time when Jesus turned water into wine right? Well Little Ripples are reversing that and tuning wine to water. For everyone bottle of Little Ripples wine sold they are pledging to provide one year of clean water to one person each year. Not only is this such a great initiative but it gives us the excuse to drink more wine in the name of saving the world. That is something we can seriously get behind!
Patagonia
Dedicated to recycling and reducing fast fashion.
View this post on Instagram
One of the biggest problems we have regarding waste in the first world is FAST FASHION.
Did you know:
Approximately 7,000 litres of water are needed to produce one pair of jeans (the amount of water one individual drinks in 5-6 years).
Only 10% of the clothes people donate to thrift stores or charities get sold, the rest goes to landfill.
85% of the plastic pollution in the ocean is due to microfibers from synthetic clothing.
250,000 Indian cotton farmers have committed suicide in the last 15 years due to the stress of debt they accumulated through buying genetically modified cotton seeds to keep up with demand.
Shocking and very scary facts. One thing we can do to prevent this however is buy from brands that
1. Make their clothes to last
2. Use Organic Cotton clothing and no synthetic materials
3. Buy fair trade and humanely made clothing
4. Use recycled materials
Sound like an effort and a half? It can be overwhelming that’s for sure however Patagonia does all those things and more! They also have a worn wear program that you can drop your garment off at and they repair it for you. Pretty neat hey? So next time you’re going on an outdoor adventure you know where to shop!
Mable
Make biodegradable plastic-free toothbrushes and provide education about sustainability in U.S schools.
View this post on Instagram
A US toothbrush company that is doing so much more than making teeth clean. All their toothbrushes are made from bamboo which is 100% biodegradable. For every toothbrush they sell they donate one to a child in need in the US. But they didn’t stop there they also go from school to school teaching kids about sustainable choices, personal health, and how products like the MABLE brush ensure that no one has to go without.
Kellogg’s
Donates food to children in need in Australia.
View this post on Instagram
The cereal company? Yep you heard us right. We know they’re not perfect but we have recently switched up our routine to buy more Kellogg’s cereal. Why? Simply because in Australia alone 1 in 7 kids go without breakfast and just by purchasing a box of cereal, we can change that. Since 2013 Kellogg’s have donated over 25 million servings of Kellogg products. Sometimes it’s the smallest changes that make the biggest difference.
Seed and Sprout
Give back to the Earth by planting a tree every time you shop.
View this post on Instagram
A plastic free company that is committed to helping the average Aussie reduce their single use plastics in the simplest way. With every order you make with this company not one, but TWO trees are planted. They will send you a seed to plant yourself and as well as this they also plant a tree in an area of need. By 2020, in partnership with Earth Day Network, their tree planting initiative will have reforested hundreds of acres of rainforest and thousands of individual trees. Currently their trees are being planted in the Amazon due to the recent fires. Giving back to mother earth Is so important.
Lindt
Provides education and clean water to cocoa farmers in third world communities
View this post on Instagram
So pretty much what we are saying in this article is you can drink wine, eat chocolates and look Royal all while making our world a better place? In short. Yes, that’s exactly what we are saying.
We love Lindt because not only are they committed to making the most delicious chocolate but also providing clean drinking water and education to the cocoa farmers they employ. Every year they provide opportunities for cocoa farmers to gain education and subsequently harvest more cocoa due to better farming practises and increase their income. They are also committed to educating about sustainable palm oil and the importance of using sustainable palm oil in society. For more info on sustainable palm oil click HERE.
Soap, loo paper, jeans, shoes, sunnies, wine, outdoor gear, toothbrushes, breakfast, containers and chocolate. 10 items we all most likely have in our household and 10 brands we can buy them off to help make the world a better place. As actress Emma Watson says, “as consumers we have so much power to change the world by being conscious about what we buy.”
