This article is about improving your business. It is not about finding gimmicks to make people buy your products, it is about being the best you can be so people want to support what you are doing. It is about the impact your business has on the planet. In terms of the environment, we all have to do better.

A Moral Responsibility to Care

I just took delivery of 48 loo rolls from Who Gives a Crap. I like their marketing style, and the £5 voucher sent by a friend I trust was great too, but those aren’t what persuaded me to buy. I chose to buy from this business because I love what they are doing. 50% Of their profits go towards providing toilets for the 40%, yes 40%, of the world’s population who don’t have one, an outrageous statistic. The product is great quality (‘like wiping with unicorn tears’) and I felt a moral responsibility to support them. I also now have enough loo roll to last the year.

Businesses That Get it Right

I am cutting down the amount of plastic we use in the household. Bar soaps, no clingfilm, re-usable shopping bags, cups, bottles, bar shampoo, Smol washing and dishwasher tabs, glass bottle milk delivery… you know what I’m talking about. Small but necessary steps, not enough people taking them.

I ordered some products from Lush, the place with the overpowering smell and synthetic appearance as you pass by. When you go in and talk to any staff member it turns out hey are all natural and they’ve been saving the planet for years. Lush have had outstanding ethics from their 1970s origins, they’re just not bragging about it. Their packaging is not plastic, they encourage re-use, the ‘polystyrene’ chips used in delivery boxes are in fact biodegradable potato starch. Labelling is clear, contents are ethically sourced and involve no animal cruelty. I wish they could address the dichotomy between the impression they give on the outside and the company they are on the inside, the brightly coloured bath-bombs are fun but don’t shout ‘natural’ to me.

What Can Your Business Do?

Whatever steps you take it doesn’t have to cost the earth (excuse the pun).

1. Listen, learn, educate, inform, get everyone on board at every level
2. Reduce plastic use
3. Choose an energy provider who uses renewable energy
4. Recycle, and make it easy to do so
5. Save energy at every possible opportunity, carry out an audit
6. Source ethical materials
7. Ask suppliers about their ethical policies
8. Reduce waste
9. Plant trees, bring in plants
10. Ask for advice from any of the free expert sources