https://www.kleankanteen.com/pages/our-family

Submitted By: Maiya Claire

TruEarth's corporate values express their commitment to the environment and their integrity within their business practices, where they state, "We will never compromise our values or cut corners to reduce costs. We will not shortchange the environment to make a profit. We will be transparent about production and ingredients".

Other products offered by the company are well-aligned as well, where several environmentally-friendly substitutes for traditionally plastic products are sold. For example, beeswax food wrap instead of plastic wrap and reusable bamboo cotton pads to replace single-use cotton rounds. 

A barrier to purchase this product may be skepticism in the product’s effectiveness when compared to traditional forms of liquid laundry detergent. There is also a much higher price point in comparison to a bottle of Tide laundry detergent, for example (TruEarth is $21.95 for 32 loads, while a bottle of Tide is approximately $9 for 32 loads). TruEarth products are currently stocked in over 1,700 stores in North America and the company also has an excellent e-commerce page, but they are yet to expand outside of the continent. 

I personally have used this product for several years now and think that it is worth the additional cost if one has it available to spend. When you consider how many plastic bottles of laundry detergent a single-family home would use and throw away in a single year, a product like this is a great environmentally-friendly option!

-Lisa Evans

The Nexe Pod has the ability to be:

Based on the packaging of the Nexe coffee pod, we can see that it has a natural colour tone, which represents the recycled and plant-based aspects. It has also been created with 3D printers which reduce greenhouse gases in the environment. When you look at the body of the packaging, you can see a basket woven style pattern, which I guess reminds consumers of homemade knitting?

What is Nexe?

Nexe is an innovative materials company based in Vancouver, that designs, manufactures and leverages disruptive technology to make plant-based products.

Founded in 2015, the company leveraged 3D printing to design, prototype and patent the world’s first compostable single-serve coffee pod born out of the need to replace non-biodegradable plastic.

Nexe is partnered with the Government of Canada, UBC, and the City of Surrey to name a few.

A barrier to entry for consumers to purchase these coffee pods are to own or have acess to either a Nexe, Keurig or Nespresso coffee machines. Otherwise, the Nexe pods are priced similarly to other branded pods.

https://nexecoffee.com/

- Daniel Cavak

 

OLA Bamboo is a Quebec-based company created with a mission to reduce plastic waste by providing eco-friendly products that are accessible and affordable. OLA Bamboo is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by giving back to the environment in tree planting. The company has partnered up with Compensation CO2 Quebec and has planted over 3,000 trees in the last five years. OLA Bamboo also works with communities in Quebec and has donated its products, such as bamboo toothbrushes and zero waste kits for those in need. OLA Bamboo encourages individuals to join their eco-friendly lifestyle by reducing environmental footprints together.

 

Barriers to purchasing this product include a lack of brand recognition and trust. With OLA Bamboo being a smaller company, consumers may feel skeptical about trying new brands that they’ve never heard of. Consumers may also be hesitant to invest in this higher-priced product, as this natural deodorant sells at retail price for $9.99 compared to the typical big name-brand (i.e. Secret, Dove, etc.) deodorant for ~$3. Brands like Secret and Dove are well-known; however, their deodorant is packaged in a one-time-use plastic container and contains ingredients that can be harmful to one’s health (i.e. aluminum poisoning). A trade-off that the consumer would have to make is the convenience of the product. Other deodorants with plastic packaging can easily be found at your nearest grocery store, whereas OLA Bamboo products can only be found at select health provider retail locations or online, which can take days to reach the consumers.

 

Link: https://olabamboo.com/en/product/natural-deodorant-canada/

Karen Ha

As a brand producing sustainable everyday products, EcoRoots collaborates with plastic-free vendors and small businesses, striving to make any packaging compostable, reusable, or recyclable. EcoRoots contributes to the 1% for the Planet movement, and by donating one percent of their annual sales, EcoRoots actively assists eco-friendly initiatives. EcoRoots has raised $10,315 for the Ocean Conservancy Inc. this year through purchases.

Since toothbrushes are replaced every 3 months, EcoRoots’ biodegradable toothbrushes are sustainable alternatives to traditional toothbrushes made with single-use plastics, which contributes to the plastic waste crisis in our environment, oceans, and landfills. However, a barrier is that their products are sold primarily through their eCommerce platform, meaning that the small business has a lack of brand recognition and shipping times may be inconvenient for consumers. Although EcoRoots’ products are affordable, a trade-off is that they are more expensive than mass-produced plastic products. Consumers may be attracted to the lower price point of leading competitors (Colgate, Crest) at $9 for a set of 4 plastic toothbrushes, as opposed to the $19 for a set of 4 bamboo toothbrushes.

https://ecoroots.us/products/natural-bamboo-toothbrush

Submitted by: Kelly Wu

MEC does not waste water and solar energy on the earth, but uses recycling programs to create an economy that uses renewable energy to produce products. Calculated by weight, 50% of MEC's materials come from recycled resources, which reflects MEC's emphasis on social responsibility. Now, the challenge for MEC is how to create a safe regenerative natural system during covid-19, because we know that MEC will recycle used materials.

Katherine Zhao

Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream is committed to a plethora of different CSR activities, mainly sourcing, and purchasing of fair-trade ingredients to ensure fair compensation and treatment of workers. This entails things like fair wages, safe working conditions, fair treatment of smaller firms in business negotiations and so on. Although the company was founded in 1978 they began using fair trade inputs in 2005 and in 2010 shared plans to be completely fair trade by 2013. 

Another way that Ben and Jerry’s in involved in CSR is through numerous grant programs and initiatives, to name a few:
 - The Grassroots organizing for social change program
 - The National Movement Building Grant Program
 - The Vermont Capacity Building Grant Program
 - The Vermont Capacity Building Grant Program
 - The Vermont Economic Justice Grant Program
 - The Vermont Community Action Teams Grant Program
 - The Employee Matching Gift Program

Additionally, Ben & Jerry also donate some of their pre-tax profits to corporate philanthropy as well as anon-management employee-led philanthropy division called the “foundation” that awards ~2 billion USD annually.

2. How is this signalled on the packaging (if it is signalled, if there is packaging!)
 For a business that is so involved in CSR, it is done effectively in secret as far as signalling on their products goes.

3. What else do you know about the company/product CSR policies (brief Google search)?
 See point #1

4. What are the barriers to purchasing this product, if any? Any trade offs a consumer would make? Compare your product to a similar not-so-CSR product

Trade offs come in the form of price, availability, and quality of inputs. Typical ice creams found in the frozen isle of grocers use non fair-trade ingredients and are more likely to use cheaper more readily available inputs as well as less eco friendly packaging and production practices.
 Ex. Western Family vanilla Ice cream

-          Brando Riley

https://www.benjerry.com/flavors/chunky-monkey-ice-cream

The running shoes are recommended because they are waterproof and especially in Vancouver it would be a good to buy since it is raining all year.

They are also breathable, since they have a specific design to make this possible and lastly, they are lightweight, so compared to rain boots or other running shoes they are the best option.

As I said before these shoes apart from being CSR, the design they have is made to meet the needs of the population of Vancouver (People who go out for a run and do not want to get their shoes wet). Also, something important to add is that these shoes have an approximate cost of 130 Canadian dollars, compared to other brands such as adidas whose shoes are around 180 or 200 dollars.

- Kevin Santana

Let me introduce you to a company you should consider supporting.

Enter Terra Thread: these handcrafted goods are made with 100 percent organic and Fairtrade cotton that are colored in dyes that are Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) certified.

 

The Company: 

Using exclusively Fairtrade America Certified Organic Cotton, Terra Thread ensures that their farmers have access to a safe working environment, gender equality, a living wage, and much more. Terra Thread’s cotton is not only GMO-free but is also grown using practices that are conscious of the environment and safe for surrounding ecosystems.

 

The Product: 

All Terra Thread products are handcrafted in their Fair Trade Certified factory, ensuring safe, democratic work environments for their skilled knitters and sewers. Through their Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) certification, Terra Thread also guarantees that their cotton is dyed without harsh chemicals and with 88% less water and 62% less energy than generic cotton production.

 

Direct impact: 

For every bag or accessory sold, Terra Thread donates meals to underprivileged children, families, and seniors through Feeding America. The number of meals donated increases with the item’s price.

 

Terra Thread delivers high-quality products that are both accessible and socially-responsible. 

 

I recommend checking out their website for backpacks, tote bags, laptop sleeves and face masks: 

 

The focus for this assignment is on their reusable and sustainable mesh produce bags made from recycled plastic bottles. These produce bags are used to carry fruits and vegetables, but can be used for other small items such as small laundry items. They come in a variety of sizes and three different color coded tags to distinguish between different items. These bags are lightweight , durable, and can scan bar codes easily through mesh. Their product CSR policy is for the bags to be made BPA free. Their products are constantly being evaluated for toxicity and safety by Bureau Veritas. The packaging for this item is eco-friendly because it is made from recycled paper. 

 

Some barriers to using reusable produce bags are customers knowing they will receive a free bag, people re-using plastic bags at home for other purposes, low availability of reusable bags in shops, less comfortable to carry and reusable bags perceived as less hygienic. These reusable produce bags can be easily bought at the online Amazon store and are machine washable. Trade-offs to using reusable produce bags are protecting the planet and eliminating plastics in oceans.  

 

-Monika Bednarz

Aside from their logo which either says Tentree, or a number ten with a tree inside the zero, this brand does not label their CSR on their products aggressively. Lastly, Tentree prices their products equal to most brands within the market, sells their product in many major retail stores, and therefore creates a lower barrier to purchase.
https://www.tentree.ca/