1# Weekly Round-up
Every day in February, I am going to be sharing with you my curated collection of sustainable businesses - ranging from fashion, transport, energy, cleaning products and food. Here is the first collection!
HumanForest
Just as trees act as carbon sinks, cycling reduces your carbon dioxide emissions.
You also get 10 mins free and then after that, it's only 19p per minute … so much cheaper than a taxi.
Every bike runs on renewable energy
Their community has stopped 160 tonnes of CO2 going into the atmosphere - equivalent to planting 6,693 trees!
Their bikes are dotted all around London.
They are one of the four main ebike initiatives in London competing with the Santander bikes, Lime and Jump.
Flocq in partnership with Sutton United have created a green bay e-bike pick up and drop off zone at the club ground! They are also supported by Whole Foods and Nutmeg. ⚽
Lucy & Yak
I adore Lucy & Yak's products but also their eco and ethical credentials… they are pioneering the comfort movement with their funky dungarees, jumpsuits and tees, but they do not compromise on ethics or sustainability.
Founders Lucy and Chris abandoned the rat race to travel the world paying their way by selling handmade pouches made out of pre-loved fabric in New Zealand. On their return they decided they were going to start their own business and live in a camper van. They began by selling vintage clothes on Depop and then fell in love with the idea of making their own collection of dungarees.
Through their Re:Yaked and buy-back schemes they ensure that their Yaks stay in circulation for as long as possible. They also sell imperfect Yaks which are an absolute bargain.
Instead of the usual Black Friday consumerist nonsense Lucy & Yak partnered with Fior Di Loto to fight for girls' education - over 100 girls are at Uni thanks to their efforts. 153 women also received sewing machines for International Women's Day, and 21 houses were built by the foundation.
Their clothes are made of organic cotton, dyed with natural earth pigments and the tags contain tomato seeds which you can plant in your garden!
In their impact report they highlighted that through their work with Ecologi they have offset 1,800.39 tonnes of carbon in 41 months and planted 29,376 trees.
Oddcoffee
Oddcoffee is a company that sells surplus, imperfect coffee - 3,500 kilos of coffee has been rescued thanks to them!
“Let's save the planet one coffee at a time.”
They started out by selling wasted coffee pods on Facebook Marketplace and so many orders came in. Then they began to deliver pods by hand on a pushbike, and now they are working with the leading coffee brands to redistribute and resell their coffee.
“Thousands of tons of coffee pods are discarded each year, either because it is surplus or has minor imperfections that don’t impact the quality or taste. Not only was this a gap in the market and an excellent business opportunity, but we could also help to make a change and improve the sustainability of the industry.”
Clean Kitchen Club
Ex-Made In Chelsea star Verity Bowditch began Clean Kitchen Club with her buddy Mikey Pearce.
They had a shared vision of interesting, fun and tasty plant-based food.
There are lots of their restaurants dotted around London from Notting Hill to Camden.
They also cater for events and functions - notable clients include Dior and Tenzing
Following a successful seed funding round they have been valued at a whopping £7.5 M - they have truly brought plant-based food to the mainstream.
“I’m incredibly proud of the team for signing our first investment round and seeing the phenomenal growth Clean Kitchen Club is experiencing every day. The idea for Clean was born from my mother’s vegan bacon sandwich and I decided I needed to create a brand that would provide delicious, accessible plant-based food and bring it to the mainstream. We have big ambitions to be the biggest plant-based food brand in the UK – this is just the start.”
- Mikey Pearce
smol
It's day 3 of my sustainable stories collection, and today I am sharing with you one of my fave cleaning products … smol !
Founded on the simple belief that "sustainable swaps should be effortless, accessible, and affordable so everyone can take part. And when everyone is taking part, we see the greatest change."
The #climateemergency is the biggest plight humanity is facing and smol is doing their bit to ensure the future is greener and brighter - there really is no business on a dead planet.
Their products have saved 1,177 tonnes of plastic being used, 3,160 tonnes of chemicals, 35 tonnes of animal fats, and 1,076,230 tonnes of water!
Through their work with #TheHygieneBank they donate one wash to those in need every time they order with smol. They are also working to raise funds for the #OceanRecoveryProject to keep beaches plastic free.
