The average household in the UK produces more than a tonne of waste every year. Lots of people are trying to reduce their waste and some companies are coming up with clever ideas on how to do so. From charity shops collecting toiletries to recycling your bike, here is a list of sustainable and ethical businesses that you could use to help save the planet and help people in need.
Beauty Banks is a people-powered movement. Its aim is to provide those living in poverty with basic daily hygiene essentials and personal care items. This is about dignity, self-confidence and mental wellbeing. It’s super simple to use, if you have toiletries that you’ve never used, like body cream that you got for Christmas for the 10th time or won a soap lottery and have bars of soap for the rest of your life, you can send it all to the Beauty Banks and they will donate it to people who really need it.
As long as your products have never been used you can send them. The banks are after anything from dental care, baby products or washing powder and have a list of the items they really need on Easho.
If you’re looking to tackle food waste, Oddbox is for you. Every year, a shocking 20-40% of produce in the UK is wasted before it even leaves the farm meaning a lot of unnecessary waste for the planet. So, what’s their solution? Oddbox is determined to battle food waste by giving ugly, wonky fruits and vegs a better future. Every week, you’ll receive a box full of fruits and vegs that couldn’t pass the supermarket test and would have gone to waste otherwise. It’s seasonal, and all products are sourced in the UK.
If they have any surplus, Oddbox will give it to charities who fight poverty.
Do you sometimes miss the milkman? Well look no further because Milk & More are here to help. Their goal is to encourage people to eat well and live sustainably. Milk & More strive to continue both the milkman legacy and its expansion. They deliver over 200 products to your doorsteps around the country before 7am, including the old glass bottle of Milk. All the products are sourced in the UK, and as they’re fully transparent, you can read all the suppliers’ stories on their website.
Milk & More is also a place where you can find some great recipes and inspiration if you don’t know what to cook.
Vinted is the largest secondhand fashion marketplace in the world with a community of 21 million spanning across the globe. If you have too many clothes for your closet, then why don’t you just sell it online? Vinted makes it super easy for you to do so, all you need to do is to take a photo of your item and post it online. Once it’s done, people will start contacting you if they are interested. It’s a great way to find pieces of clothing that are not on the High street and to make sure you’re not wasting them either. You’ll need to send your items yourself, but they are making it super easy for you.
Reuse aim is to reduce poverty, tackle waste and offer a brighter and better future for the most isolated individuals in our society. If you are someone who wants to change your sofa every year or depending on the season, Reuse could be for you. This network helps you donate your old items including furniture, home appliances and will give it to people in need. Reuse Network supports more than 150 reuse charities across the UK, including charitable and social enterprise organisations and commercial partners. Not only will your sofa be given to low-income households, it’ll also avoid sending your furniture to landfill and save the planet.
The bike project takes second-hand bikes, fix them up and donate them to refugees and asylum-seekers in London and Birmingham. This project helps refugees get from one place to another without having to pay for transport. Since 2013, they have given away over 4,500 bikes to refugees from dozens of countries including Syria, Eritrea and Albania.
They also run Bike Buddies, a cycling befriending project, and Pedal Power, teaching refugee women to cycle – sometimes for the first time in their lives.
Are you willing to save the planet and help people with your business? At the PHA Group we’d love to help you show the world what you’re doing. So please get in touch today to see how we can help.
