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What sustainability-focused companies/brands do you recommend?
It's honestly hard to separate out companies who are genuinely making a decent effort to not be completely terrible versus those that are just green- or ethical-washing their practices as a marketing tactic. Furthermore, I realize that reducing consumption itself is the most sustainable choice one can make, so I'm asking this more as a "when I do need to buy something, what's a good place to turn to?"
Feel free to give recommendations for any areas, but in particular I'd love to hear about recommendations in the areas of clothes, linens/bedding, and coffee beans, as those are things that I'm currently on the market for. Also, if there are any good resources that aggregate reliable information about sustainable companies, let me know too.
As a business owner myself, a big part of my decisions on who to spend money with is based on how sustainable, environmentally friendly, and socially friendly these companies are. If I can find an alternative to Amazon, Google, etc, I will spend more money to do so[1].
Some tech and non-tech companies worth recommending:
Fathom Analytics as a privacy-focused alternative to Google Analytics. What sealed the deal for me is that they donate to 2% of their gross revenue to both Stripe's Carbon Negative goals and Rainforest Trust. Previously, they donated 1% to 1% for the planet.
Although I don't use their products, Basecamp by DHH & Jason Fried have a good set of guiding principles and morals I subscribe to as a business owner and human being. I highly recommend their podcast, Rework.
Patagonia is an obvious one. They believe that the best way to ensure they continue to operate a successful business is to invest and protect the environment, where their products serve the most use.
Any company that commits to being a certified B Corporation, which encompasses various social purposes and motivations is also a good indicator of a good company.
Good question, by the way. I love this sort of stuff. More power to small, socially and environmentally responsible businesses. Not all companies have to be evil.
[1]: On that note, if anyone can offer me a hosting provider that is certified carbon neutral, do let me know! I want to run my business on servers that offer carbon offsetting or are in carbon friendly locations.