Unfortunately, there are plenty of companies, businesses, and brands, including some of the biggest in the world, which don’t operate ethically. Being ethical means that you have morals and are conscious in the way you treat others and the planet, meaning that when we say companies are unethical, it means they are exploiting people, the environment, or animals.
Thankfully, there are countless of good, reliable companies and brands that are doing everything in their power to right these wrongs, from providing services to aid the environment to sourcing their materials in the right way. Here are a few ways you can continue or start to support ethical companies.
Look for environmentally friendly brands
It’s a frankly frightening statistic to see that back in 2017, just 100 companies were responsible for 71% of all global emissions. Since then, some of the bigger companies have made measures to try and reduce their carbon footprint, with McDonald’s being a positive example after using their old cooking oil recycled from their restaurants to power their delivery trucks.
Another ethical practice some companies implement are done to limit the devastating effects of deforestation, which is drastically reducing habitats for some of the world’s most endangered species. Keebos is one such company, who have pledged to plant one tree for every one of its smartphone cases it sells, giving customers an excellent incentive to safeguard both their devices and the planet.
Investigate how their products are made
Some major companies, particularly manufacturers, utilize forced and even child labor to make their goods, with some instances forcing workers to go through grueling and illegal 100-hour weeks. The reason they do these practices is to help keep costs low and improve their profit margin and is widespread in the food and textiles industries.
An excellent way to make sure your grocery shopping is ethical is to look out for the blue and green Fairtrade Foundation logo on your products. This logo demonstrates that the food has been ethically sourced, the workers have been fairly paid and that the conditions they work in are up to scratch. This organization also partakes in many charitable activities, particularly providing clean water for vulnerable communities.
Use cruelty-free beauty brands
Still, to this day, there are plenty of make-up and beauty brands as well as medical practitioners using animals to test their products, with plenty of the industry leaders falling foul of this treatment.
However, you don’t have to ditch the glam life for good if you want to remain ethical, as there are plenty of brands that pride themselves on being cruelty-free, such as BareMinerals and Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty. For those beauticians wanting to construct their look ethically, here’s a helpful list of brands to avoid due to their testing on animals as well as other practices.
Another way to support ethical companies is to shop with vegan brands. This can be a big sacrifice, as a lot of luxury products use these materials. Still, if you’re serious about shopping ethically and reducing animal cruelty, then there are plenty of good quality alternative options which do not harm any animals or the environment in its manufacturing process.
