Eco-Branding

Brands can use ecofriendly methods to meet the challenge of climate change even as the federal government fails to adequately address the crisis. Several recent developments made the future seem bleak for those looking to Washington for substantive action. Last month, a Supreme Court decision curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory power and set back policymakers’ larger effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As Harvard law professor Richard Lazarus said to NPR, ”Remember when Joe Biden was elected he said we’re going to use a whole big government approach to climate change, not just EPA regulation. Well, that whole government approach may now find itself under a cloud of this court’s opinion.”

Although Congress passed and President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, historic legislation aimed at fighting climate change, climate experts and activists say much more is necessary to protect the planet from further environmental damage. “Scientists say the United States needs to do more. It must stop adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2050, which the bill won’t achieve,” The New York Times writes.

With insufficient proof that the government is taking on climate change, brands have an opportunity to intervene. One of the fundamental roles of modern brands is to advance social wellbeing and do what our political establishment can’t. Here are three up-and-coming companies that are shrinking consumers’ carbon footprint with their audacity and inventiveness.

Forward-thinking gadget maker Pela is making smartphone cases that are both spiffy and compostable. A seemingly innocent event piqued the interest of Pela’s founder Jeremy Lang and led him to launch the eco-friendly company. Lang states on Pela’s website, “I started Pela when my son Cole dug up some plastic on the beach in Hawaii, and I started wondering about the impact of plastics on our planet.”

Pela adds that “Jeremy had the courage to spend years experimenting with new materials to try and find an alternative to plastic that could be used in everyday products.” His effort paid off.

CNN reports that the company’s smartphone cases “are made of the brand’s signature Flaxstic. Made from a combination of flax shive and other plant-based biopolymers, the case is soft, flexible, durable and protective for your device.” Its high quality doesn’t compromise the relatively low environmental impact.

“Once you’re ready to pass on your Pela case, simply donate it to your backyard compost bin or industrial composting center where it will take anywhere from six months to two years to return to the earth,” according to InsideHook. This swift decomposition is helping Pela achieve its major aim. Greenmatters writes, “The company’s goal is to remove 1 billion pounds of plastic from the waste stream by 2028.”

Like Pela, entrepreneur named Ericka Rodriguez founded spunky cosmetics brand Axiology because she wanted a more ethical version of a popular product. As she says on Axiology’s website, “when I learned that all of the lipsticks I owned were tested on animals I was horrified and set off on a mission to only buy vegan makeup. Problem was, all of the vegan lipsticks I found were super drying so I started making my own in my kitchen and the rest is history!” Rodriguez’s mission to whip up humane and effective makeup took her from Brooklyn to Bali to Bend (Oregon). The journey was worthwhile; today, Axiology’s products and business practices receive accolades for being good for the Earth and its inhabitants.

Credo says that Axiology sells “planet-friendly + vegan color cosmetics made with 10 ingredients or less” and notes that “wanting to do their part to improve the health of the planet, Axiology was determined to keep litter off the streets of Bali and employed local women to gather and re-purpose trash — turning it into packaging for their own products.”

Rodriguez is just getting warmed up with these environmentally sound measures. She told LIVEKINDLY that “the goal is to mimic nature — to make sure nothing ends up in landfills, incinerators or the ocean and can be reused in some way.”

Textile company Milou Milou shares Axiology and Pela’s commitment to eco-friendly manufacturing. Milou Milou’s website says that the company was “founded in 2019 with the aim of creating a movement back to tailored textiles that impart longevity, beauty and creativity” and that their products “are carbon neutral, zero waste and plastic free.” And like Lang and Rodriguez, Milou Milou’s director and owner Jo Steel began the brand after seeing waste and environmental degradation in the industry and deciding to look for a more sustainable way forward.

“Steel went on to establish a career in fashion, starting out as a textile buyer, which saw her traveling the globe sourcing for big box clothing manufacturers in New Zealand and Australia. It was a great experience that also opened her eyes to the ugly side of clothing manufacturing,” Stuff writes. She says that this “[ugly side] results in billions of fabrics and clothing going to landfill each year. Even premium brands work within this cycle and it really is something that has to change.”

Presently, the company is altering the way to do business to make textile manufacturing less wasteful. Milou Milou’s website says that “we proudly operate outside traditional supply chains. We work with one small factory in Suzhou, China, and all our pieces are made to order. Every action we make is purposeful and every material we engage has a destined home.” And Steel’s vision is taking root in a very literal way. “[Milou Milou has] partnered with Greenfleet to measure and make additional contributions to native Australian reforestation,” ReveEnVert writes.

The focus on sustainability is more than just exemplary environmental stewardship. By going green, brands like Milou Milou, Axiology and Pela are appealing to a growing customer base. “According to Nielsen’s 2015 Global Corporate Sustainability Report, 66% of consumers would spend more on a product if it came from a sustainable brand,” Forbes reports. “Up to 73% of the surveyed Millennials had a similar view. And according to Horizon Media’s Finger on the Pulse study, 81% of Millennials expect companies to declare their corporate citizenship publicly.”