Subscriptions have changed a lot over the last few years. While the word ‘subscription’ used to refer almost exclusively to magazines and newspapers – you can now get subscriptions to cover everything from your TV and movie intake to your music, dinner, razorblades, socks, toothbrushes and even your toilet paper. Subscriptions have gone mainstream.
And as we wade through the swamp of the climate crisis, a handful of innovative businesses and organisations are either starting to use the subscription model for good, or helping their already-ethical products gain more traction by jumping on the subscription bandwagon.
Here are a few of our favourite ethical subscriptions for 2020.
Offset Earth
First things first: offsetting carbon emissions is nowhere near as good as not emitting in the first place. The goal should always be less emissions, not more offsetting. Now that’s covered, we can talk about UK-based Offset Earth.
The scheme is simple: you sign up to pay a certain amount a month, and Offset Earth uses that money to plant trees and undertake other regenerative initiatives that will help sequester carbon from the atmosphere. The ultimate goal being to help individuals become not just carbon neutral, but carbon positive.
You can sign up as an individual, a family (you can even carbon offset your pets!) or a business, and can become climate positive for as little as $7 a month. You can check in on your profile and see how many trees you’ve helped plant and how many tonnes of carbon you’ve offset at any time, too.
Pod & Parcel
With 3 million coffee pods hitting landfill every day in Australia alone, the team behind Pod & Parcel were inspired to create a sustainable alternative. Their mission is to simply offer “the most sustainable and best-tasting coffee pod in Australia.”
All of their pods (once the lids have been removed) can be disposed of in run-of-the-mill green council composting bins, and their coffee is graded across nine key areas to ensure the highest possible quality. Subscribers can pick the type of coffee they like, how much and how often they’d like it delivered, and Pod & Parcel will do the rest.
Who Gives a Crap
Founded in 2012, Who Gives a Crap is a toilet paper company with a difference. With 2.3 billion people around the world without access to a toilet, the company donates 50% of its profits to help build toilets and improve sanitation around the world. Not only that, but the product is made without the use of trees, and the company is a certified B-Corp (for demonstrating the highest standards of social and environmental impact).
To date, Who Gives a Crap has donated over $2.5 million to charity, and by subscribing to regular TP deliveries, you can ensure a never-ending stream of good vibes. And toilet paper. You’ll have lots of toilet paper.
Tsuno
Lots of us don’t think about the ethics of periods often. But Tsuno does. They sell disposable, sustainable bamboo fibre sanitary pads and organic cotton tampons. They’re also a social enterprise, with 50% of profits donated to not-for-profits that work to empower women, mostly in education and menstrual support around the world.
And, conveniently, you can get a Tsuno subscription (with free shipping!). You can choose your products, frequency and if you want chocolate included.
Ecosia
Not a subscription service, but this internet search engine will plant a tree for roughly every 45 searches you make on the site. Ecosia also runs on 100% renewable energy, and it doesn’t sell your data to advertisers or third parties. Beats Google.
