— Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed’s editors. Purchases you make through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.
While many brands and corporations exacerbate our current climate crisis, not all do. It’s important to recognize and highlight those who do their part to make sure they leave the planet in either as good of shape or better than how they found it.
Here are 17 brands that are giving back to the planet. When you shop from these brands, you’re shopping from those who are committed to doing the work and respecting our Earth.
Make smart choices without hours of googling. Subscribe to The Checklist newsletter for expert product advice and recommendations.
What is Earth Day?
Earth Day is an event meant to raise awareness for environmental issues that impact the planet we call home. Earth Day was founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson in April 1970 to bring national awareness to environmental issues. It’s evident this worked, as his efforts lead to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December of that year.
When is Earth Day?
Earth Day is observed annually on April 22 by over 1 billion people around the globe. It falls on a Saturday this year.
Brands giving back for Earth Day 2023
Columbia
Colombia Sportswear gives back by responsibly utilizing our planet’s greatest resource—water. Colombia has a long and fruitful partnership with Planet Water in which the brand helps provide clean drinking water to disadvantaged communities across the globe. Since its partnership began in 2016, Columbia has constructed 24 water towers.
Rothy’s
Rothy’s is committed to giving back to the planet through its sustainable manufacturing practices. Its products are made from recycled, natural or renewable materials. Over 158,965,875 single-use water bottles have been made into Rothy’s signature thread. The brand wants to reduce landfill use, so they allow customers to bring Rothy shoes to any of its retail stores in order to be recycled and repurposed into something new.
Allbirds
Allbirds is a footwear company that gives back to the Earth thanks to its devotion to sustainability. Noticing how reliant the shoe industry has become on environmentally damaging materials such as petroleum-based plastics, Allbirds decided to replace these materials in its footwear. Where they can’t use natural materials or create their own green materials, Allbirds recycles plastics for use in its shoes. The company is on track to cut its carbon footprint in half by 2025 and reduce it to near zero by 2030.
Lululemon
You may know Lululemon as one of the hottest athletic clothing brands around. What you might not know is that they’re green, too. Starting on Earth Day the brand’s “Like New” resale program of lightly worn clothes will be available to all shoppers across the country. 100% of the program’s profits are reinvested to support Lululemon’s goals listed in its Impact Agenda, including making 100% of products with sustainable materials by 2030.
Pela
Pela is a phone accessory brand committed to reducing the impact of plastic waste by making their products compostable. Pela’s phone cases are BPA-, lead-, cadmium- and phthalates-free, as well as designed to be broken down for use in compost instead of recycled or thrown away. Pela’s phone cases are one of the most literal ways a brand has given back to the Earth. If that wasn’t cool enough, Pela is throwing an Earth Day sale in which you can pay what you want when buying products by choosing one of three payment tiers.
Beyond Meat
The process of raising and processing livestock makes up 10% of our greenhouse emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Beyond Meat’s name says it all. The brand gives back to the Earth by fighting our reliance on the meat industry, trying to create a world beyond meat. As a bonus, the brand recognizes that most alternatives taste nowhere near as good as the real deal, so its plant-based substitute tastes extremely similar to actual meat. Producing a Beyond Meat patty uses 46% less energy, 99% less water and 93% less land than making an equivalent beef patty.
The Sugar Cane Straw
Straws have been highlighted as another large factor in plastic waste. Whether they’re a large factor is up for debate and there are legitimate use cases for straws as many people with strength and mobility disabilities can attest to. That said, there are ways to make straws more eco-friendly, as proven by companies such as The Sugarcane Straw. As the name implies, this company sells straws made out of sugarcane, repurposing the byproduct of sugar production to be utilized instead of destroyed and wasted. These straws are more durable than paper straws and they’re home-compostable.
by humankind
While the production of plastic is bad enough, what really exacerbates the problem is how plastic is used. You may use a tube of toothpaste or a container of mouthwash for a month or two, yet the environmental impact of plastic will be felt for years. by humankind gives back to the planet by selling zero-waste care products. This means that they can be refilled instead of thrown away. Additionally, the brand is carbon-neutral and uses compostable packaging.
ABLE
In addition to the brand’s sustainability in terms of providing women with economic mobility and stability, ABLE also has several measures towards environmental sustainability. Most of the silver in its jewelry is made of recycled materials, leather is upcycled from leather hides that would have been discarded and denim is sourced in a way to have the smallest carbon footprint possible.
Madewell
Madewell teamed up with fellow clothing brand Parks Project to make a clothing line inspired by the beauty of Utah’s Zion National Park. As part of the collaboration, Madewell donated $10,000 to the Zion Forever project, which works to preserve the natural habitat of the must-see park. In addition, Madewell cuts down on waste by giving clothes a second and third chance through its extensive “pre-loved” collection.
Patagonia
“Earth is now our only shareholder,” Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard declared last September in a statement announcing ownership of the company was being transferred to a non-profit. Now, all profits made by Patagonia will go toward fighting climate change. Patagonia has a long history of giving back to the planet—since 2002, the company has given 1% of its profits to environmental nonprofits and it features a resale shop in its Worn Wear program to give clothes a second life.
Numi Tea
The only thing better than drinking a cup of morning tea is drinking a cup of ethically-sourced morning tea. Numi Tea can help you do just that. Numi works hard to reduce its carbon footprint as much as possible and utilizes plant-based packaging as part of this. In addition, through using Verified Fair Labor and Fair Trade Certified tea farms, the company ensures the tea farms they source from pay their workers fair wages and that the funds go to improving their communities.
Green Toys
It’s estimated that 90% of toys are made from plastic and as such, the industry plays a large role in plastic production. This requires large amounts of energy and harms the environment during both the production and disposal stage. Fortunately, Green Toys is a company that recognizes this and as such, all of its toys are made of recycled and organic materials. According to Green Toys, every pound of recycled milk jugs used to make their toys saves enough energy to power a laptop for a month.
Bandits Bandanas
The only thing cooler than wearing a bandana is wearing a bandana tied to charity. When you shop from Bandits Bandanas, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing. Each time you buy one of their beautifully-designed bandanas, 10% of the proceeds go to a charity of that bandana’s artist’s choice. For example, proceeds from Abby Leighton’s “Picked from Paradise” bandana go towards The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation.
Tentree
Tentree gives back by replenishing one of the Earth’s greatest resources: trees and the oxygen that comes with them. With every sustainably-made item of clothing or accessory you buy from Tentree, the company plants ten trees. They aim to plant one billion trees by 2030 and have so far planted over 75 million trees.
Nisolo
Nisolo is another shoe brand that gives back. It has a long-lasting partnership with Nashville-based non-profit Soles4Souls, which helps donate shoes and clothing around the world. You can donate your shoes to Nisolo, which will then help distribute them to micro-entrepreneurs in developing countries and keep them out of landfills. Doing so will get you a discount code for future shopping.
Pura Vida
Pura Vida makes absolutely beautiful bracelets. What’s even more beautiful about the brand is its commitment to give back to the Earth. Each time you buy from Pura Vida, 5% of the purchase price goes to charitable donations to non-profits such as Coral Reef Alliance and National Parks Conservation Association.
The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews and more.
Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.