Business
Advice From Millennial Entrepreneurs
Published
5 years agoon
By
Jie Kuang Millennials are underrated when it comes to work ethic. As the biggest age group in the country at 80 million strong, entrepreneurs sprout from all over, creating jobs for a variety of industries. Success comes in many forms, and we at Owner’s Magazine had the opportunity to talk to a few successful entrepreneurs about culture, motivations, and how to achieve your goals. Many of these entrepreneurs are founders and CEO’s of their own businesses, and they are here to give some advice on how to grow.
Greg Star, Founding Partner of Carvertise
“Why finding a mentor is the worst advice I ever received. You may be confused by this title. After all, a mentor is crucial for personal development. They can provide hard earned wisdom that only comes from experience facing similar challenges that you are up against. Additionally, a mentor can open up a network of contacts that you would not meet otherwise. So why would finding a mentor be considered bad advice? Isn’t this a no brainer? The answer is no- and here’s why.
Finding a single mentor limits your thinking. You should be trying to find multiple mentors. Here are three important benefits you get from surrounding yourself with a team of mentors as compared to one.
1. Different viewpoints– Having several mentors with different specialties to bounce problems off of will give you broader insight on the problems you are facing. Your one mentor may have a biased that can only be seen if your getting multiple points of view.
2. Larger network– A mentor can open up a lot of doors to a lot of key introductions for you from a personal and professional standpoint. Thus, the more mentors you have, the larger your network becomes.
3. It teaches you how to ask for help– This is probably the best lesson for finding multiple mentors. The act of constantly reaching out to different people asking help is an incredibly important skill. It teaches you to put your ego aside, which is incredibly important in developing personally and professionally. I personally reach out for help 3-4x a month to people who I think I can learn from, and the benefits have been exponential.
Bringing it together:
Next time someone tells you to find a mentor, stop them, and let them know why they are wrong!”
Andrew Nakkache, Co-founder & CEO of Habitat LLC
“7 core attributes or traits that I think are important for entrepreneurs (at least for me):
Share Ideas – I’m big on sharing a raw idea with everyone. Ideas are typically worthless, and the only way they get better is through talking to enough people (and customers). 9/10 ideas I have are terrible.
Delusional Optimism – You need to have a deep-seeded belief that you and your team are exceptional, and you are the ones that are going to fix the problem you’re solving.
Everlasting Paranoia – Simultaneously, you have to believe that what your building is worthless
Shameless Persistence – Again, tell everyone your idea and ask everyone who you think can help..for help. Most people like to help entrepreneurs, those relationships can turn into mentors.
Impulse Control – You need to have the ability to resist temptation.
Level Headed – This ties into Impulse Control, you’re going to have a lot of internal battles. It’s important to keep a level head, and your team needs to see that.
High Integrity – Always be thankful and courteous to everyone you meet. You never know how someone may be helpful down the road.”
David Feinman, Co-founder & CEO of Viral Ideas
“For new entrepreneurs, it is important to just get started, to do something that you can take to market. Be it a product, a consulting concept, or something small, that you are able to take to a few customers that are willing to pay you something, for your idea or for your concept so that you can test, learn, and grow from that initial starting base, and really build on top of that.”
Benjamin Fuller, Associate of Montgomery McCracken’s Business Department
“While every situation is different, I often recommend that the partners in start-ups have honest and frank discussions their goals. I find that they rarely have accounted for disagreement and difficult circumstances that are likely to arise in any business. It is always easier to have a discussion about these issues up front.
With respect to growing companies, I counsel them on how investment may dilute their equity. For founders of any company it is important to understand what they are giving up in order to gain investment. The bottom line is it’s important to include your lawyer in these types of conversations early and often. We often act as the facilitators of these discussions and can provide specific insight sometimes based on “war stories” – both good and bad – from past representations.”
Stephen Blackwell, Chief Strategy Officer of the Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group
“The Great Recession created a lot of uncertainty for my generation and how it viewed itself and its prospects. The status quo didn’t appear sustainable at the time and it forced a lot of us to think outside the box – and ultimately create jobs during that time. To me, success has been about educating yourself at length about the industry you’re entering and then taking the extra time to get creative. Find that niche your industry is looking for. It’s probably hiding in plain sight.”
Tony Cho, President of Metro 1 Properties
“To me, culture is everything. That is why most, if not all, of our agents and employees chose Metro 1 over other more established companies. The culture we curate and create exudes and exemplifies who we are and who we aspire to be in the community. Providing regular yoga and meditation classes for staff and agents builds camaraderie and rapport between and among the team. Culture is key in business.”
Erica Dias, Co-Owner of The B Firm
“Never give up! Dreaming isn’t going to get you anywhere. DOING will! You’ve got this! Faith It Until You Make It!”
Ryan Shear, Principal of Property Markets Group
“I’ve found that so much of what dictates success in real estate development as a profession and an industry ultimately boils down to effective management, whether it’s managing time, resources, personnel, etc. From the beginning, I recognized an opportunity to do things at PMG differently from the typical development shop. We have a great blend of really experienced industry veterans working hand-in-hand with ambitious young professionals that has left us with a very atypical culture relative to the other companies in our field. We have fun together and support one another, but we are also constantly pushing. When it comes to incentivizing employees based on project performance, I think we are more aggressive than just about any other developer of our size and that gets the team to reach for that higher gear. I am very demanding of my team, but they have become even more demanding of themselves and that is what makes me most proud.”
Karen Elmir, CEO of The Elmir Group
“To maximize sales, one must be creative and think outside the box. Push beyond ordinary marketing tools by investing in your listing and always look for new channels of communication and sales. Remember, it takes money to make money. Additionally, professionalism and dedication are key. Make sure to consistently be knowledgeable about your product, as well as the state of the market and its trends.”
Ali Grant, Founder of Be Social
“As your business expands, you will soon understand the need to scale efficiently. It can be difficult giving ownership to others, but putting trust in your team allows you to conquer, grow, and scale.”
Elizabeth Convery, Founder of Very Real Estate
“I have been fortunate to build my entire book of business at VERY Real Estate on word-of-mouth referrals. It is my belief if you do right by one person, and put their needs above your own, treating them with respect, dignity, and acting in a thoughtful way on their behalf, that you leave a lasting and memorable impression. Naturally, when people have a positive experience, they tell their friends and your business grows like a tree. I strive to always have people smile when they hear my name. Making someone feel special is the key to building trusting, lasting relationships and having a reputation that leaves people feeling great.”
Zubin Teherani, Co-Founder of LeagueSide
“Sell your idea before you sell your product. Youth sports sponsorships have unique advantages over other forms of marketing. They provide a captivated audience for hours every weekend, guarantees digital and in-person impressions to the same group of families, and supports the families you’re marketing to by subsidizing their costs. We always, always, always, start by selling the merits of sponsoring youth sports organizations before we get into how it works. Selling the big picture helped us close big clients and investors in our early days before we ever built a product.
“Fake it till ya make it” – When we started LeagueSide, we focused on selling before we ever built a product. We pitched clients, youth sports leagues, and investors and got yeses before we committed to LeagueSide full-time. This validated that this was a business worth pursuing, saved us months of time, and gave us perfect clarity of what we needed to do next.”
Jenny Cipoletti, Founder of Margo & Me
“The Shift: I started reaching out to stylists to work with them on weekends. I worked PR during the week and started styling on the weekends with whoever needed an assistant at the time. From there, I started to realize I really enjoyed the styling more. I woke up at 25 and I had a grocery list of all of these amazing things: my health, my boyfriend, and my puppy, but I just wasn’t happy. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I was alive but I wasn’t living. I was just going through the motions.
That Quit Moment: I said to myself, if I wake up at 30 years old and I’m still doing this, it’s not going to be pretty, so I left my PR job and went back to school. I did the nine month program at FIDM for fashion design, and it was incredible. For years and years, I hadn’t learned anything tangible applicable or creative — that changed overnight. I’d totally forgotten what it felt like to be a student again, totally immersed in a creative culture and constantly inspired by my teachers, my peers, and my work. I was thrown into a design program where you learned how to sketch, sew, drape, and create patterns. It was like this bubble just burst inside of me. I suddenly realized that this was what I’d been missing all along.
Start, Just Start: In addition to going back to school, I launched Margo and Me as a way to showcase what I was designing (Margo is my french bulldog). It started out as just a showcase for the dresses I was designing, but then I started posting outfits and styling tips as well. My husband is a director and was the one who originally inspired the idea because he was testing his new camera lens so I asked him to take a picture of me wearing one of my outfits. There were a few trendsetters out there, but this was before the huge blogging boom. There weren’t really many people doing it at the time. It was a whole new world.”
Kathleen McCabe, Founder of Syreni
“In the early stages of starting a company the best way to stay motivated is hold yourself accountable by telling as many people as possible about what you are doing. This will help you gain confidence and allow you to practice your natural sales pitch while building your future network. Get a web presence early and publish your anticipated launch date. The excitement you see from your early followers will motivate you to keep going and not give up.”
Hayk Tadevosyan, Insurance Agent at State Farm
“I always go back and use numbers to make things simple to understand as I strongly understand that numbers don’t lie. A powerful statistic and a very familiar one to business owners is “9 out of 10 businesses don’t make it past year One”, well what happens after year one?
Another interesting statistic, half the business owners that make it past year one don’t see year three and half of who makes it past year three don’t see year five…. Why is that?
During the starting phase of a business if you are part of the 9 out of 10 that doesn’t make it, it’s due to the fault of the person in charge, the business owner. You didn’t work hard enough, weren’t committed and were not putting in the hours. The only “silver bullet” in business success that I’m aware of is good old fashion Hard Work. SAME can be said by every successful entrepreneur I know.
The problem with year 3 is our business outgrown us in volume. As an individual there are only so many meeting we can attend, so many calls we can make, so many things we can manage. If we don’t duplicate ourselves, and in many cases duplicating ourselves several times, we will not keep up with the growth. When a demand exceeds the business structure, the business falls apart, which is why it’s crucial to start training and developing a team right away, and the right people take a while to develop. If you ask yourself the question of, “How long it took us to learn a skill and perfect it?” If the answer is years, then why do we get frustrated with our managers if they don’t get it right the first time and fire them?! We have to be patient and spend a lot of our time coaching, although sometimes we feel that time is better spend closing more deals. That’s a huge misconception, training and developing a team is the highest ROI time we can spend in a business.
Usually by year 5, the business owner is no longer working for money, but more for balance in life. At this point, we have to realize we don’t need a job and the business is not built to create a job for the business owner, it’s built to create jobs for others. If by year 5 the business owner doesn’t have a manager that manages his team and a team that manages the customers, there is a high chance of the business owners to get negative with the business, which takes away creativity, and with lack of creativity, there is no passion, and without having passion, business dies, either right away or slowly till it becomes more expensive to maintain the business than to just close doors.
There are a lot of moving parts to making a business work, but if I were to give anyone advice on what to focus on is this time schedule.
Year 1 – Be the hardest worker with longest hours. Become what you are looking to recreate as far as future employees in the business.
Year 2-3 – Since you are a machine, look to duplicate yourself. We always attract what we are, not who we want. So, if you are a hard and smart worker you will find a good team, if you don’t, then you need to ask yourself if you are leading by example.
Year 3-5 – One of your team members will shine more than the rest, put them in charge and train them on how to train others. Train the team to answer to the manager, so you only answer to your manager. It’s much easier long term to answer to few sharp leaders within your organization than thousands of clients. At this point, the machine is running, you have lots of time to spend on other business ventures, hobbies, family etc.
Your team is making lots of money and you have created good jobs in the community, and the business doesn’t stop growing as you are not a one man show.
Jie writes about influencers and startups in various industries. She is a designer turned techie, and when she is not writing, you can find her in her workshop working on her next big project.
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Business
Omnichannel Marketing Platforms: Definition, Examples & Tools
Published
4 months agoon
August 22, 2024By
Kai KelisOmnichannel has become a recent buzzword online. That’s because the business landscape has shifted most of their marketing efforts into virtual communication. Advertisers are always looking for new ways to boost online connections with audiences while increasing sales. This is how “omnichannel” sprouted quickly and into every marketer’s arsenal. But what is omnichannel, and what are some omnichannel marketing platforms that do the job? Read on to find out.
What is Omnichannel Marketing?
The concept of omnichannel is simple. It aims to provide marketers a quick way to communicate with their customers and get as much engagement and conversion as possible from one go. Their objective is for customers to enjoy a seamless shopping experience on multiple brand channels, including online, mobile, or in-store. This means, marketers would have to show customers the same pricing and promotions across all brand channels.
However, it also goes beyond that. You have to ensure that customers can navigate through different channels with ease. This means customers can switch between your brand channels without any roadblocks. For instance, a customer can order from your online store and have the option to pick it up from your physical location. One way to increase sales is by offering customers additional items to boost order value.
Why is Omnichannel Marketing Important?
Omnichannel marketing is crucial these days since most people have shifted to online browsing and shopping. Moreover, if advertisers market on three or more channels, this could result in a 90 percent higher retention rate compared to using a single-channel campaign.
Additionally, omnichannel marketing also strengthens your brand messaging since campaigns are consistent across all platforms. But what are the primary reasons why advertisers focus on omnichannel marketing?
- Brands will get high customer retention
- Gains customer loyalty
- More personalization in the customer’s journey
- More integrated business
- Better customer insight
- Smooth and enjoyable customer experience
How Does Omnichannel Advertising Work?
An example of omnichannel marketing is when a sports retail store sends its prospects an email containing a recent promotion on its newly launched running shoes. The email content shows the link to the promotion. Once customers click this link, they are taken to the brand’s eCommerce website. Instructions also let them know they can get it from the brick-and-mortar store.
Another example is when a furniture store shows a behind-the-scenes video on YouTube about how its experts craft their pieces. Once viewers watch the video, they are welcomed with a link inviting them to join the brand’s email newsletter.
10 Omnichannel Marketing Platforms
Here are 10 best omnichannel marketing tools.
1. BigCommerce
This online and offline sales tool is for large-scale businesses looking to streamline their advertising strategies. BigCommerce unifies all marketing campaigns in an easy and convenient platform, including in-store, online, social media, and marketplaces. It can also handle large volumes of sales, traffic, and transactions, providing customers with a smooth experience.
2. NewStore
NewStore is the tool for all your POS and inventory management systems. It can manage orders, inventory, and customer data across the brand’s channels. It also comes with robust marketing tools that offer personalized engagement, such as push notifications, mobile apps, and location-based marketing.
3. Glassix
If you’re looking for the best omnichannel marketing platforms for communication, Glassix sits at the top of the list. It’s an AI-powered advertising tool that helps with email, SMS, live chat, messaging apps, and social media. Using Glassix means tracking all customer interactions and messages in one user-friendly interface is easy. It also lets you send targeted messages to your audiences based on their preferences and behaviors.
4. Desku
In addition to integrating all customer communications in one interface, Desku also helps with automation functions, such as chatbots, canned responses, ticketing systems, and more. Plus, it offers reporting tools and analytics to monitor progress.
5. Omnisend
Omnisend is the platform for all your SMS and email marketing campaigns. It’s best suited for eCommerce businesses and allows advertisers to create, monitor, and automate campaigns across all channels. It offers drag-and-drop features and is extremely easy to use.
6. Tidio
When searching for the best omnichannel communication platform, Tidio ranks high. It’s designed to facilitate customer interactions, manage inquiries, and offer real-time support.
7. Adobe Experience Cloud
You can’t succeed in omnichannel marketing without using a cloud-based service. And Adobe Experience Cloud ensures you get the right cloud-based solution for optimizing customer experiences. You can use this tool to build and manage customer journeys through AI-powered insights. You can also integrate this platform with other Adobe tools like Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Target, Adobe Campaign, Adobe Analytics, and more.
8. Revealbot
If you’re spending time on paid ads, Revealbot will help you manage them in one user-friendly interface. It’s a marketing tool that helps optimize digital advertising campaigns on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Google Ads. You can use this tool to set automation features, campaign budgets, and custom ad rules.
9. Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus if one of the best omnichannel marketing platforms for eCommerce businesses. It helps create a streamlined customer shopping experience. From workflows and checkouts to customer segmentation and targeted marketing campaigns, this is a reliable tool to use.
10. Oracle CX Commerce
Oracle CX Commerce is the best solution for B2B and B2C businesses. It’s a cloud-based eCommerce platform that helps provide personalized experiences. It also offers advanced features that simplify segmentation, customized content, targeted promotions, and customer engagement.
If you frequent the outdoors, you know how important protecting your playground is. When you’re close to nature, you must always prioritize eco-consciousness. While you practice sustainable habits, supporting brands prioritizing sustainability becomes a top priority. If you’re always planning an outdoor adventure and need the gear, here are the top 10 sustainable outdoor gear brands you must check out.
1. Patagonia
Over the years, Patagonia has lined up its corporate social responsibilities, mainly focusing on labor and the environment. They have robust social responsibility programs that ensure workers and communities are cared for. Patagonia claims that 85 percent of its products are made in factories with Fair Trade Certified certifications. The brand also helped over 85,000 workers by participating in Fair Trade programs. The brand also helped more than 2,000 farmers from its Regenerative Organic Certified cotton program.
2. Osprey
Osprey, a brand that creates robust backpacks for travel and outdoors, is also committed to sustainability. The company is a trusted bluesign SYSTEM partner, which helps eliminate PFAS-based DWR in 100 percent of its textile products. On top of its promise of eco-friendly materials, the standard for its backpacks is unparalleled, offering durability, functionality, and repairability. These products undergo field testing and athlete evaluations to ensure it’s a pack that runs a lifetime.
3. Hydro Flask
Plastic bottles comprise one of the highest numbers of ocean pollutants. Hydro Flask is committed to minimizing this by introducing excellent insulated water bottles that last a lifetime! I bought one five years ago, and the insulation functionality still works like the very first day I got it. The brand boasts its recycled-content bottle, the Slingback Bottle Pack, with a 100 percent recycled polyester body. It also eliminated single-use plastic for its packaging, specifically for 90 percent of its products. Hydro Flask uses soy-based inks and no foils and varnishes for their products too!
4. Black Diamond
Black Diamond is among the top brands for the best outdoor gear, specifically reliable and durable helmets. The company’s ethos is based on the team’s outdoor pursuits. First, the company’s 12,000-square-foot headquarters is energy-efficient, with a 2,200-watt solar photovoltaic system that generates about 3,000 kWh of electricity per year. Black Diamond also advocates for sustainable outdoor and recreation practices and is a founding member of the Outdoor Industry Association’s Climate Action Corps.
5. Sierra Designs
Sierra Designs is also one of the best sustainable outdoor gear brands you can rely on. They aim to create products that have as minimal impact as possible on Mother Nature. The brand boasts the DriDown product, which ensures that feathers come from animals that weren’t subjected to any harm. The brand also uses neglected recycled materials for its fabric’s exteriors and insulation for apparel and sleeping bags. A lifetime warranty also backs all Sierra Designs products.
6. Hyperlite
Hyperlite is your go-to outdoor gear brand if you’re into climbing, hiking, or rock climbing. The company is committed to sustainability for as long as the brand is still in operation. They created the Hyperlite Mountain Gear ethos, essentialism, which differs from minimalism. The brand believes that an intentional and thoughtful approach to assembling its backpacks ensures its products are safe, comfortable, warm, and efficient. Hyperlite is a proud partner of Dyneema, a bio-based fiber company, and promises to use this fiber in all its outdoor gear products.
7. MSR
For all your climbing equipment, don’t miss out on MSR products. The founder, a lifelong mountaineer, believed that a safe and reliable equipment is key to greater adventures. Today, the brand is proud to hand-build many MSR products. The brand is also another founding members of the Outdoor Industry Association Sustainability Working Group. It’s a collaboration of over 300 outdoor brands, manufacturers, and suppliers that focus on sustainability challenges and solutions.
8. Sunski
When you’re enjoying outdoor adventures, make sure you enjoy it in style with Sunski sustainable glasses. Sunski is a fantastic eyewear manufacturer in America that uses plastic scraps to turn into frames! A unique sunglass niche in the industry. The sunglasses are flexible, lightweight, and extremely durable. All Sunski customers will also get a lifetime warranty for their glasses. And if they break? Repair or replacement is free!
9. Cotopaxi
Cotopaxi backpacks, travel packs, hip packs, and duffels are colorful and vibrant and made with eco-friendly materials. They embarked on the The (Re)Purpose™ Collection program, which uses recycled deadstock or leftover fabric from other fashion brands. They also offer a lifetime guarantee on repairs or replacements. As members of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, they support Amazon’s reforestation. Cotopaxi believes that doing good will create a ripple effect, so they reward customers who #DoGood!
10. Goal Zero
Here’s another eco-friendly outdoor gear brand for all your needs and more. To offer you the best outdoor camping experience, Goal Zero even sells power essentials, such as inverter generators, handheld portable power devices, solar panels, and battery banks. The company also aims to practice eco-conscious manufacturing methods by ensuring all 10+ factories in nine countries adhere to environmental and human rights standards. Its top sustainable camping gear is the Yeti Portable Power Station, with a four over five rating!
Eco-consciousness and health and fitness must be the perfect tandem. If you prioritize your health and fitness, the same care should also concentrate on sustainability. While you’re focused on your fitness goals, the process shouldn’t be as destructive to the environment. Just like you want to nourish your body with the good stuff, you also want to protect Mother Nature like it’s your own body. After all, the outdoors offers so much to benefit your health in the long run. Hiking, camping, rock climbing, surfing, swimming, to name a few. That said, protecting your playground as much as possible is only fitting. And that starts with choosing the most sustainable activewear brands. Here are the top 10 sustainable brands for fun and play.
1. Iron Roots
While some activewear brands claim 80 percent sustainability, Iron Roots embarks on 100 percent sustainable products and processes. It’s plastic-free all-organic athletic apparel that will not only make you feel good but also make you feel better about wearing Mother Nature-friendly apparel. Founded in 2018 by Dutch friends, the founders combined functionality, design, and sustainability in beautiful sportswear. They were both fed up with how the market manufactures most apparel from unsustainable materials. The brand uses non-plastic materials and unique plastic-based apparel like polyester. It’s a breathable and comfortable activewear that will help you achieve your fitness goals!
2. Girlfriend Collective
Girlfriend Collective is a Seattle-based brand making waves in the sustainable activewear niche in 2024. They are famous for their sports bras, trendy gym tops, leggings, and more! But the best part is the teams behind this brand are tree huggers, prioritizing recycled materials for their apparel. From fabric scraps to water bottles and fishing nets, you know you’re working out and helping the brand’s mission. The brand also uses eco-friendly dyes to color its clothes while managing wastewater responsibly. They created the ReGirlfriend program to prevent textiles from being in landfills!
3. Patagonia
Every outdoorsperson has heard of the famous brand Patagonia. The company has set a gold standard for sustainable apparel and manufacturing. Recently, the popular activewear brand has revamped its ownership structure to ensure it allocates a budget for environmental initiatives. The brand not only outsources sustainable materials and works with eco-conscious factories, but it is also transparent about it.
4. Groceries Apparel
Groceries Apparel is another sustainable activewear brand that focuses on upcycled food waste without needing third-party people or factories. They manufacture their activewear themselves through non-toxic and locally sourced materials. Who would’ve thought another person’s food waste could be a gym rat’s workout clothes? They manufacture all their products in their Los Angeles factory, making them a 100 percent self-sufficient brand!
5. Move by Mate
Move by Mate knows that conventional cotton, a material used by most apparel brands, is detrimental to the environment due to its pesticide use, heavy farming, and excessive water consumption. Move by Mate is also one of the sustainable activewear brands that uses organic cotton instead of traditional cotton, keeping the soil healthy. They claim that organic soil is also more breathable.
6. Wolven
If leggings are your workout go-to, then you must check out Wolven. It’s a brand that produces recycled sexy leggings for your exercise routines. Wolven is also deemed Lululemon’s competitor due to its elegant designs in multiple muted colors. Wolven leggings are made of 84 percent recycled PET or plastic bottles. The brand’s recycled materials are also Global Recycled Standard-certified. When you buy Wolven leggings, you’re guaranteed they are free of uncomfortable, harmful chemicals.
7. Reformation
You can be sure this brand is one of the most mainstream activewear brands that doesn’t take eco-consciousness lightly. Reformation boasts multiple eco-friendly initiatives, and they will not stop anytime soon. For one, they have a RefRecycling program, encouraging customers to drop off their used Reformation products in exchange for store credits. Moreover, Reformation also partners with many eco-conscious organizations like Bluesign. They also have a FactoryForward to ensure their suppliers become the best at what they do.
8. Gngr Bees
Founded in 2019, the owner, Natalia Grisard, was inspired to create Gngr Bees by her love for wildlife. She claims this brand is “driven by purpose and not by profit.” The brand’s apparel is made from discarded products. The company has reclaimed over 45,000 plastic bottles and over 4,000 kilograms of fishing nets. Gngr Bees also partners with Azizi Life and Beach Collective to plant mangroves and recycle ocean-bound plastic.
9. The North Face
The North Face has a long history of embracing eco-friendly products, initiatives, and commitments ever since. They are committed to prioritizing nature through science-based and actionable goal-setting. The North Face ensures all their materials are 100 percent recyclable and responsibly sourced. They created the North Face Renewed program that focuses on circularity by giving used gear a second life. This way, they are given a chance before users toss them into a landfill.
10. Tentree
Tentree is a Vancouver-based brand that believes in the power of tree planting. Its name is embedded in its company vision to plant ten trees in exchange for every item purchased. The company centers its practices on environmentally friendly ways, which they call the “earth-first approach.” This focuses on safe and fair working conditions for all employees and prioritizes sustainable and recycled materials for their products. Some of these materials are Tencel lyocell, Repreve polyester, and more. They created the Climate+ Initiative, which lets customers prevent carbon emissions by buying a pack of trees.