Sustainable Companies: 5 Sustainable Brands to Support
We all want to make the right choice for our loved ones and the planet, and one of the most effective ways to do so is to buy sustainable brands. Here’s a list of five sustainable brands available and a brief look at how they put purpose on par with profits.
Why Choose Sustainable Brands?
Supporting sustainable companies whose products and business practices are better for the environment can make a difference in a number of ways. The first is economic: By buying their products, you help keep them in business. You’re also sending a clear message to their competitors that you approve of the efforts sustainable companies make to improve the environmental footprint they leave behind.
Another positive outcome from your purchase and use of sustainable products is that you’re also encouraging all companies to be more responsible when it comes to driving positive change in society. According to a 2021 World Wildlife Federation article, this movement – called “eco-wakening” – is a chain reaction that is “driven by personal experience of the devastating impacts of fires, floods, droughts, and COVID-19.” This responsibility includes a desire for companies to be transparent in how their goods are sourced, their support of biodiversity and human rights, and making nature-positive business practices a priority – all things that sustainable brands already do.
The article goes on to say that eco-wakening has led to “a 71% rise in online searches for sustainable goods globally over the past five years.” And in a McKinsey & Company survey, “66% of all respondents, and 75% of millennial respondents, said they consider sustainability when making a purchase.” With this in mind, here are five sustainable brands you can support (and possibly already do!).
1. Nice 'N CLEAN® Wipes
Since 1957, Nice-Pak Products, the parent company of Nice 'N CLEAN® Wipes, has been manufacturing sustainably made wipes. Through constant product innovation, environmental responsibility, and community education, this fourth-generation, family-owned company has earned the trust of millions of parents, teachers, and healthcare professionals.
It’s this commitment to sustainability that led to the development of Nice 'N CLEAN® SecureFLUSH™ Technology Flushable Wipes. These innovative wipes are made with plant-based fibers that are 100% biodegradable [1]. This moist toilet tissue breaks apart 5 times faster than the leading toilet paper and can be flushed up to 5 wipes at a time [2].
As part of their ongoing mission to helping the world stay healthy and well, the Nice 'N CLEAN® brand is joining forces with American Forests, the oldest national nonprofit conservation organization in the United States, and Project Learning Tree, a nonprofit dedicated to environmental education of our country’s youth. The multi-year sponsorship involves planting 150,000 trees in the U.S. over the next three years and creating a digital environmental education curriculum for K-12 students.
LEARN MORE: Nice-Pak's Sustainability Report
2. Ford Motor Company
Ford is known for dependability – and over the years, they have also become synonymous with sustainability. The company’s goals include complete carbon neutrality worldwide by 2050. Company leaders are currently working with the state of California to implement more stringent vehicle greenhouse standards. By 2035, this sustainable brand has committed to ensuring that all of its manufacturing plants across the globe will use 100% locally-sourced renewable energy and that it will eliminate the operational use of single-source plastics by 2030.
3. Disney
For over 60 years, each Disney park has instituted environmental sustainability projects that have set industry standards. The entertainment giant aims to achieve zero net direct greenhouse gas emissions within all of its facilities around the world by 2030 and to use carbon-free electricity in all of its direct operations by 2030. Disney’s zero waste policy, instituted in 2009, ensures nothing becomes landfill. The sustainable company also uses water-saving technology and regularly reviews and innovates its product manufacturing and distribution to reduce its carbon footprint. And beginning in 2022, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts will serve only 100% responsibly sourced seafood as part of its commitment to protecting and conserving local natural water systems.
4. Google
Carbon neutral since 2007, Google demonstrates its sustainability commitment on a macro level through its green supply chain management practices and environmental sustainability. But this sustainable company’s practices are also on a level much closer to home through its environmentally-aware corporate culture, including powering its facilities with renewable energy sources, hosting farmers' markets and sustainable cooking seminars, and hiring goats to trim the grass on its California campus starting in 2009.
5. McCormick & Company
Listed sixth in CEO Magazine’s “10 of the world’s most sustainable companies” for 2021, McCormick & Company is also ranked number one in the food industry. This US-based Fortune 1000 company is committed to sustainable sourcing to support farmers across 85 countries. By increasing supply chain efficiency, these farmers have more affordable access to health insurance and interest-free loans, as well as cost-reduction strategies that allow for increased profits. To help farmers stay on the right track, McCormick also pays a premium or bonus for Rainforest Alliance-Certified™ and other sustainable products. Moreover, the company invests in education, water resources, and crop diversity in farming communities in Madagascar, India, and Indonesia.
Commit to Supporting Sustainable Companies
By taking the time to learn more about the brands we use every day, and making the decision to support sustainable companies, you’re sending out a clear message that you support their efforts to protect the planet’s health and that you share their values.
[1] When disposed of in the toilet.
[2] Safe for well-maintained sewer and septic systems. Not recommended for use with basement pump systems.
References:
- https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/05/eco-wakening-consumers-driving-sustainability/
- https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/retail/our%20insights/the%20state%20of%20fashion%202020%20navigating%20uncertainty/the-state-of-fashion-2020-final.pdf
- https://www.americanforests.org/
- https://www.plt.org/
- https://corporate.ford.com/microsites/fordtrends/sustaining-sustainability.html
- https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/environmental-sustainability/
- https://sustainability.google/
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/google-rents-goats-to-mow-the-lawn-11402182/
- https://www.mccormickcorporation.com/en/responsibility/sustainable-sourcing
