Today, so much worrying information is dominating the headlines on newspapers and TV. Intense deforestation, greenhouse-gas pollution, melting ice and sea level rise, wildfires, and plastic pollution. But also global political instability and a widening gap between the rich and the poor.
However, this shouldn’t make us feel hopeless. Bad news could be a signal that we need to change what we’re doing. They could spur us into action!
There are already plenty of companies that are helping the world raise awareness on global challenges and find more sustainable solutions. We gathered 7 companies that are making the world a better place and at the same time conveying their mission with elegant aesthetics and delightful websites. Combinig great design with a strong cause is possible! Check these websites out!
1. ECOSIA
Ecosia is an eco search engine based in Berlin donating 80% or more of its profits to nonprofit organizations that work for the reforestation of our planet. Ecosia is B Lab-certified, CO₂-negative and claims to protect the privacy of its users.
2. CHOOOSE
CHOOOSE is one of the world’s first providers of carbon removal, removing greenhouse gas emissions around the world. It uses different methods to remove CO2, e.g. producing Biochar — a stable and solid form of carbon — and planting trees and making sustainably grown wood.
3. COLORIFIX
According to the World Bank, textile dyeing is responsible for about 20% of global industrial water pollution. In fact, the dyeing industry is one of the largest water consumers in the world, using more than 5 trillion liters per year, along with petrochemical dyes and toxic and highly polluting chemicals. Colorifix is the first company to use a biological process to produce and fix pigments onto textiles. It avoids petrochemicals completely and reduces water consumption while meeting all key industry standards.
4. FASHION FOOTPRINT CALCULATOR by ThredUP
26 billion pounds of clothing are thrown into global landfill every year, and one T-shirt takes 700 gallons of water to produce.The fashion industry produces more harmful carbon emissions than the aviation and shipping industries combined. Find out if your closet contributes to climate change with this Fashion Footprint Calculator created by ThredUP. ThredUP is the world’s largest consignment and thrift store, committed to saving the planet from fashion waste, on a mission to inspire a new generation of shoppers to think secondhand first.
5. PANTAPÅ
Pantapå is the world’s first deposit app for recycling packaging. Everything with a barcode is depositable with the PantaPå app. It’s enough to scan the barcode on the packaging with the app and get the deposit value directly into your mobile phone. On the app, you can see how much carbon-dioxide you have saved the planet from. And with the deposit value you have collected, you can donate it to charity, send it to a friend, or redeem it to your bank account.
6. MAKEGROWLAB
MakeGrowLab turns local food waste into alternatives to plastic packaging and leather or textiles. Their aim is to fuse science with design, to create a fully circular production of local, sustainable materials, and spread them around the world in an efficient and scalable way. Their ‘SCOBY Packaging’ is weaved through a biological process that turns bio-waste into bio-material. This form of pure cellulose has unique features that don’t need an addition of fossil-fuels and other nonbiodegradable and toxic substances.
7. GRIM
One third of all fruit and vegetables produced are discarded by supermarkets because they are too ugly or too many. GRIM, a startup based in Copenhagen, has created a new quality standard of what is edible; they are on a mission to show people how beautiful and tasty ‘ugly’ can be. Fuck beauty standards!
