Every day 7 billion of us thrive on our ecosystem of oceans, atmosphere, forests, waterways, and rich diversity of life. This life support system is precious and challenged by our growth. So to continue to grow, we have to look at our relationships with the natural world differently. How can we acknowledge, preserve and restore, while creating opportunity and hope? BlueAvocado was designed to do just this - create beautiful products for your home and life that reduce our waste footprint, use less energy overtime, and inspire and reward better choices. We back our products with a better business model – one that creates economic, environmental and social value. Our job at BlueAvocado is to inspire you and help you deliver measurable impact - everyday. Smile More. Waste Less.
OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT – MEASURED AT EACH PRODUCT LEVEL.
At BlueAvocado, we want to inspire you. Every time you use our products, we want to celebrate the impact you are making, and change the way you think about how your actions and product choices can preserve and restore our natural world. Since day one, our BlueAvocado products have carried an impact label to show you how our products + your actions less waste. And we annualize your impact to encourage you to keep going. We offer a snapshot of energy it takes us to make the product, showing the carbon dioxide emissions per product, audited by Green Mountain Energy. And last year we added bottles upcycled to show you how much waste each product is keeping out of the landfill. Every time you use a BlueAvocado product, we want you to deliver impact that makes you feel as good as you look.
From 2008 - 2012, BlueAvocado, its customers have taken actions, that together have delivered the following impact for the planet and people:
Disposable Avoided – 128 million.
128 million disposable plastic bags, lunch bags, and reusable sandwich bags were avoided, reducing our trash in landfills, oceans and highways . Plastic bags represent the #2 most commonly found item in beach clean-ups worldwide. We consume more than 100 billion plastic bags worldwide, most of which are used for minutes, are not recycled, and last 1,000 years. (Source: Ocean Conservancy, EPA)Bottles Upcycled – 3 Million.
Since 2009, we’ve partnered with UNFI and the company’s Repreve recycled polyester brand of fibers to turn more than 3 million plastic bottles into coveted BlueAvocado products. Worldwide we consumer X million plastic bottles each year. In the US, only 38% of these are recycled. We believe there is no “away” and we continue to seek ways to increase our recycled content and upcycle our products.To learn more about Repreve fibers, click here.
OUR SOCIAL IMPACT – EMPOWERING PEOPLE.
Micro-entrepreneurs Empowered – 459.
Most of the world’s poor are women, living on less than $200 a year. As women entrepreneurs, we wanted use the power of our business to create social value that gave other women entrepreneurs hope. Since inception, BlueAvocado has invested 1% of sales in micro-entrepreneurs and institutions to create wealth and end a cycle of poverty in their communities. The company’s investment enables micro-loans that range from $150 - $2000 that are repaid and continually cycle inside the partners financial institutions. Through its initial national partnership with Kiva and now Whole Foods’ Whole Planet Foundation Supplier Alliance Partner, BlueAvocado is helping to end the cycle of poverty, and enable women to realize their potential. Most economic development experts estimate that a micro-entrepreneur will lift 5 others with her, so by investing in nearly 459 women our BlueAvocado customers have helped us improve the lives of more than 2,200 people around the world. In addition to our 1% of sale, BlueAvocado partners with Whole Foods to offer reusable bags featuring designs inspired by the communities that receive micro-loans from Whole Planet Foundations. $1 of each bag sale goes to raise money for women micro-entrepreneurs. In addition to the countries in which Whole Foods sources products, the foundation will invest in communities in the US through its partnership with Grameen America. To learn more, click here.
INSPIRING + REWARDING YOUR GREEN LIFESTYLE
Whole Planet – Make Change. Not Waste App.
Created by BlueAvocado for Whole Planet Foundation, the “Make Change, Not Waste” mobile iPhone application is the only retailer-based app that rewards customers for making greener choices, while providing a third tier of impact that improves the lives of women micro-entrepreneurs. Since April 2012, users have logged more than 324,000 green actions and have donated the value of 4200 coupons to fund microlending projects around the globe through Whole Planet Foundation, a non-profit of Whole Foods Market® dedicated to poverty alleviation. Consumers can unlock coupons as rewards for their green lifestyle choices from top green brands like Alexia Foods, BlueAvocado, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap, Enray, Frontier Co-op, Garden of Life, Nature’s Path, Organic Valley, Stonyfield and Whole Foods Market, Allegro Coffee Company, Earth’s Best, and Naked Juice.Click here to download the app and start earning coupons.
Carbon Footprint Calculator
At BlueAvocado, we think of waste as all the resources we use – needlessly. Primary to all of us, is the use less energy and the resulting carbon dioxide emissions. Whether as a business or a consumer, each of us needs to think about how our lifestyle choices or products consume energy, off-set emissions, or restore energy resources. As a business, we continue to look for ways to reduce our carbon footprint, which (since day one) is 100% offset through our partnership with Green Mountain Energy. Since day one, we’ve encouraged our BlueAvocado fans to evaluate their carbon footprint and take steps to reduce. Calculate your footprint now.Billion Bag Pledge + Schlumpy
When we launched, we wanted to propose a bold goal – keep 1 billion plastic bags out of the waste stream. To educate our fans about the 1,000 plastic bags an average American family consumes every year, we created Schlumpy – a supersize ambassador for our dream. He has inspired kids, moms, and musicians alike. To join his campaign, click here.
Building a Better Business – B Corp. Certified.
Blue Avocado is in business to inspire our stakeholders--customers, co-creators, communities, investors, the planet--to take action and create a world that will allow all beings to live, work and thrive. In 2013, the company joined the elite ranks of 715 companies in 24 countries that have been awarded B Corp designation for their ability to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance. Certified by the non-profit B Lab, the B Corp logo lets consumers know that BlueAvocado is not just making “good products,” we are also a “good company.” From our vision to our One Planet stakeholder model, to our team to our supply chain, to our community, or our environment, BlueAvocado is changing the way we create and measure value in business.
Measuring What Matters – Our Sustainability Report.
At BlueAvocado, we want to measure what matters to us from environmental impacts of our products to the economic value for the US, to the jobs that we create. No business is perfect, but we wanted to share our journey with you – with transparency, and honesty. We also wanted to hold ourselves accountable to same Global Reporting Index (GRI) standards for responsible business that modern impact investors demand, and many of our retail partners follow. To read more, click on the links below:- Check out our first – 2009 Sustainability Report
- Coming May 2013 – 2012 Responsible Business Report : Tales of Deep Impact