As you all know by now, I love to promote businesses that are ethical, environmentally friendly and just try their hardest to make the world a better place, so I thought today I’d round up five great companies that I’ve stumbled across lately.
Selfish Mother (Top)
Selfish Mother was created by journalist and writer Molly Gunn, and is a winning combination of blogzine, online shop and social community. No ordinary shop, this one takes ethics to the next level; all sweatshirts and t-shirts are made at a Fair Wear Foundation certified factory in Bangladesh, and screen printed in London. On top of that, profits from each item of clothing go towards supporting different charities (a whopping £15 per t-shirt or sweatshirt), from Kids Charity UK and Women for Women to The Refugee Council and Prostate Cancer UK, amongst others. They cater for men, women and children, so you can kit out your whole family!
‘Mother’ Sweatshirt: £45 // ‘Human’ T-shirt: £30 //
Little House in Town
I discovered Little House in Town by accident while I was on an internet wander last week (you know, when you click from one place to another, and then find something wonderful at the end of it!), and it’s absolutely full of vintage and fair trade treasures. From vintage flowerpots (you can never have too many – I always think they look way nice than new ones) and Observer nature books to handwoven rugs made in India, fairly traded mirrors and British made blankets, there’s plenty to satisfy your ethical homeware cravings!
Leesa
If you’re in the market for a new mattress, don’t just rush off to your local bed showroom or branch of Argos – take the time to head over to the Leesa website and check out what they’ve got to offer. Not only do their cleverly designed mattresses combine temperature control, contouring pressure relief and core support, the company itself are pretty incredible too. With social impact at their core, Leesa are the proud owners of three different programmes; the One-Ten Programme is built around the promise that for every ten mattresses they sell, they donate one – since their launch in January of last year, they’ve donated a whopping 4,000 mattresses to partners including Heading Home in Boston, the Denver Rescue Mission and Larkin Street Youth. The Leesa One-Earth Programme works on a similar basis, but involves partnering with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant one tree for every mattress that is sold – the goal is to plant a million trees worldwide by 2025. Finally, the One-Community Programme sees the staff volunteering at a food bank and homeless shelter every month, running weekend campaigns and sponsoring local charity events. I honestly can’t think of a more socially minded company!
You can follow Leesa and their social impact news over on their blog.
Lines and Current
I wrote about Lines and Current last year, on this post (I think Daisy wore the sunglasses better than me!), but decided I couldn’t not include them here, as they’re one of the kindest and most stylish accessory companies around. Founded by Rebekkah and based in Northern Ireland, Lines and Current stock eyewear, headwear and jewellery which all feature beautiful clean lines and simple details. The best thing is that 10% of all profits go towards companies they’re partnering, which changes regularly; right now, they’re supporting the Significado Foundation, which helps young people in Moldova receive training for work, and they’ve previously worked with Storehouse, Trekstock, Hand in Hand for Syria and many others. They also have a pretty great Instagram account, so be sure to check that out!
Tinka Blu
I found Tinka Blu quite by accident when I was on Instagram one day, and immediately got excited because they stock EXACTLY the type of swimwear I’ve been looking for since around 2014 – I’m not one for frills or mesh or whatever, so their simplicity and practicality is right up my street. When I clicked through to their website, I was even more thrilled to find that they’re a completely eco-friendly company, and that the bikinis are all made from recycled materials. Plastic bottles, fishing nets and other rubbish is collected from landfills and oceans, regenerated into raw materials and then sewn into swimwear. And if that wasn’t enough, they also source renewable energy, use a green web-provider, pack products in recycled packaging and ship climate neutral with GoGreen. Swoon! (Technically these are designed for surfers, but I’m sure activities such as ‘chasing-after-small-children’ will do!)