It’s no secret that shoppers prefer to spend their money with brands that align with their values, and sustainability is one of the most important ones. With Earth Day approaching, we want to celebrate some of our favorite sustainable brands, and the AWIE Honorees who founded them.
These inspiring women all took their wealth of experience in eCommerce, retail, and marketing and used it to create something better — better for the planet and for the people who live there.
AVA Technologies
AVA Technologies is an eCommerce brand with a lofty mission: To feed the world’s transition to sustainable food production and consumption. The brand’s flagship product, AVA Byte, is an AI-powered smart garden that allows anyone to grow fresh herbs and vegetables, year-round. While there’s nothing more sustainable than growing your own food at home, AVA’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond the actions of their customers. AVA Byte’s plant pods and growing system uses 95% less water than plants grown in soil. The seeds are organic, the pods are compostable, and the packaging is biodegradable.
Valerie Song is the co-founder of AVA Technologies, and 2021 AWIE Honoree. She made the transition from CPG brand management to co-founding a startup because she wanted to work on something more aligned with her values. Inside of AVA, she’s a proud advocate for diversity and inclusion; outside, she volunteers as a mentor to youth and women in STEM.
Flora & Fauna
As Australia’s largest eco-store, Flora & Fauna is a purpose-driven brand. Their tagline is “Kind to the planet, people, and animals,” and that ethos is carried through every aspect of their business. All of the products sold at Flora & Fauna are vegan, ethically sourced, cruelty-free, and low impact. The brand works with Greenfleet, an organization that regenerates forests in Australia, ocean conservation group Sea Shepherd, and One Tree Planted, through which they have planted more than 1,000 trees. Flora & Fauna is also a participant in 1% for the Planet, where 1% of sales are donated to environmental causes.
Julie Mathers, founder of Flora & Fauna and a 2022 AWIE Honoree, lives a purpose-driven life both in and out of the office. After spending more than 20 years working in retail, she wanted to create a business that contributes positively to society and drives change for the better. She champions transparency and inclusion at the brand, and is an advocate for disability awareness.
Izzy Zero Waste Beauty
Izzy is the first zero-waste beauty brand. All of the brand’s products are packaged in medical grade, stainless steel tubes, which can be cleaned and refilled more than 10,000 times. When customers run out of product, they send the tubes back in a reusable mailer to be cleaned and refilled. And all of Izzy’s products are clean, cruelty-free, and vegan-friendly. A portion of the proceeds of every sale go to the National Forest Foundation, a conservation group; Her Justice, which helps NYC women in poverty access legal resources, and Pencils of Promise, which creates schools in the developing world.
Shannon Goldberg, Izzy’s Chief Zero Waste Officer and AWIE 2022 Honoree, founded Izzy after nearly two decades of dedicated beauty experience in marketing, innovation and product development. She made the change because she no longer wanted to contribute to the more than 120 billion units of unrecyclable plastic that the beauty industry produces each year. Her ultimate goal was to create a zero waste beauty brand that would contribute to a brighter future for her daughter, Emm.
KitePride
KitePride is an NGO-owned Tel Aviv-based fashion social enterprise with a dual mission: keep discarded kitesurfing gear out of landfills and provide jobs to survivors of human trafficking and prostitution. The brand creates and sells functional, one-of-a-kind bags from upcycled kitesurfing kites, sails, parachutes, and wetsuits.
Tabea Oppliger is KitePride’s founder and an AWIE 2021 Honoree. In 2011, she founded Glowbal Act, a Swiss nonprofit organization with the goal to end modern day slavery. KitePride serves as the group’s umbrella for profit, and a way to offer jobs. In the years since, she has turned her passion for her chosen cause into a successful business, and a second chance for the women she employs.
Celebrate Earth Day by supporting one of these sustainable, women-owned brands. And if you’re an amazing woman in eCommerce, join the AWIE Community on Slack.