3 Apps You Need on Your Phone

Do you consider yourself an activist? Are you politically active? Do you care about environmental and social issues? Then here are three apps you need on your phone!

Good on You

Good on You is a resource and app for rating fashion brands for their impact on labor, the environment, and animals. With the motto, “Wear the change you want to see,” they are paving the way to universal change in the fashion industry by empowering people with the information to make more ethical choices. The app features thousands of clothing, footwear, and accessory brands, and helps you discover brands that fit your style and budget.

The Issues They Evaluate:

People- they look at the impact on workers throughout the supply chain, including policies and practice on child labor, forced labor, worker safety, the right to join unions, and living wages.

Planet- they evaluate each brand’s overall impact on the planet, considering energy, water, and resource use, carbon emissions, waste and byproduct disposal.

Animals: they identify the use of fur, angora, down feather, shearling, karakul, and exotic animal skin and hair. They also consider the use of wool and leather.

How They Rate:

The ratings are: We Avoid (1), Not Good Enough (2), It’s a Start (3), Good (4), and Great (5). They only advertise brands with ratings of Good or Great.

Why You Should Download:

Voting with our wallets is one of the most powerful things we can do as consumers, customers, and citizens. You can choose to use your money as a form of activism, as a force for good and change. When you purchase an item of clothing, you aren’t just buying that item but supporting the actions and impact, good or bad, of the company you buy from. Every time you choose a more ethical or sustainable brand you create an incentive for that brand to keep doing what’s right and other brands to do better.

Buycott

Buycott is an app that helps you vote with your wallet. Noticing a trend? There are two primary actions of Buycott, 1.) Scanning product UPC barcodes to learn about the product, to learn about the company which owns the product, and make informed decisions that are aligned with your values, and 2.) Join Campaigns, which helps with the first action. When you scan a barcode, Buycott provides you with as much information as possible, from contact information to family trees, which show all related companies and how they are connected.

I think the perfect way to explain it is to provide an example. First, some campaigns I’ve joined: Boycott Goya, End Animal Testing, Say No to Palm Oil Products, Monsanto Products Boycott, Support Fair Trade, and Boycott Koch Industries. I’m snacking on some Cape Cod potato chips while I write this, so I decided to scan the barcode, the page shows that it doesn’t conflict with any campaigns I support. It shows another campaign which lists this product as avoid, alternatives to this product, information on Cape Cod Chip Company, a family tree, and the options to favorite the product and share the information. I decided to look into the campaign, which is Boycott North Carolina LGBTQ Hate, the campaign’s mission is to boycott all North Carolina Businesses and businesses headquartered there until equality is won in the state. There are 13 companies specifically listed and I review the family tree of Cape Cod Chip Company, the parent company is Lance, Inc., headquartered in NC.

Why You Should Download:

Vote with your wallet. Make informed purchases aligned with your values. Make a difference.

Too Good to Go

Too Good to Go is the #1 Anti-Food Waste App. Their mission is to inspire and empower everyone to take action against food waste. The idea was started in Denmark and is now the largest B2C (Business to Consumer) marketplace in the world for surplus food. Their business model has four pillars against which they have set goals to hit by 2020.

Four Pillars:

1.) Households- inspire 50 million people to take action against food waste, they are at 66% of this goal.

2.) Businesses- work with 75,000 businesses, they have achieved this goal.

3.) Schools- inspire and work with 500 schools, they have achieved this goal.

4.) Public Affairs- impact regulations in 5 countries, they have achieved this goal.

How Does it Work:

For many different reasons stores and restaurants produce more food they can sell, which often leads to food being thrown away. Too Good to Go gives that food a second chance by offering surprise bags to its users, meaning users get delicious food at a great price (the surprise bags cost 1/3 of their worth), businesses reach new customers and recover losts, and the planet has less burden. It's as simple as downloading the app, logging in, and saving surplus food from local stores.

Why You Should Download:

Each year 1/3 of food produced in the world goes to waste and is responsible for 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions. If food waste was a country it would be the third largest greenhouse gas emitter. Food waste is a silly problem and we should be doing everything we can to stop it.

We hold so much power and knowledge in our hands, it's time we put it to good use.