Brooks & Sharpe is an online platform that curates the very best in independent, eco friendly luxury fashion brands. They're on a mission to prove that eco friendly fashion is not boring and unfashionable, but simply the way fashion should be done.

Founder Pam comes from an entrepreneurial background and worked in the fashion industry for a number of years before she began selling clothes on eBay and Asos marketplace. Realising that the fast fashion model wasn't for her, Pam decided to pivot and create a brand with products she believed in and an ethos she could proudly shout about.

Today, Brooks & Sharpe curate brands that are passionate about their craft and desire to do better in the fashion industry.

We talk about the challenges involved in building a brand from the ground up, fighting against fast fashion and changing the face of the industry through the power of shopping small and supporting each other.

Find out more and follow Brooks & Sharpe's journey on their website: https://brooksandsharpe.com/

Today's episode is brought to you by Brooks & Sharpe.

Brooks & Sharpe is an online platform that curates the very best in independent, eco friendly luxury fashion brands. They curate brands that are passionate about their craft and desire to do better in the fashion industry.

Although these brands are small and sometimes new to the industry, they are producing fashion in a way that empowers communities, pays everyone involved in the production cycle a fair wage, responsibly sourcing fabrics, produce fashion in limited quantities and make high quality clothes that last.

All of the styles you’ll see on Brooks & Sharpe's site are limited editions, specialist collections, and even one-off pieces, so you can be sure you’ll find something unique to you.

Brooks & Sharpe never promote brands or designers who use real fur in any of their collections for Brooks & Sharpe – or for anybody else. They're animal lovers and stand against animal exploitation. They'll wear the prints, but never the pelts.

Find out more and shop the collections now on Brooks & Sharpe's website: https://brooksandsharpe.com/

If you're interested in starting or growing a business with purpose, you can access tailored training, advice and support inside the #EthicalHour community: ethicalhour.co.uk/our-community/

Eco-Stylist is an online marketplace for eco-conscious and ethically made men's clothing.

Menswear is often unrepresented in the sector, but Founder Garik Himebaugh is committed to bringing stylish and sustainable clothing to the mainstream.

Finding sustainably and ethically made clothes can be hard work, but Eco-Stylist believe it shouldn't be.

In today's episode we discuss start-up life, building an ethical brand, the complexities of the ethical fashion industry, and how Garik is giving back through 1% For The Planet.

Find out more and follow Eco-Stylist's journey on their website: https://www.eco-stylist.com/

Today's episode is brought to you by Green Gathering - a festival ‘beyond hedonism’ powered by wind, sun and people.

Four days of low impact living in an area of outstanding beauty... every nook and corner bursting with music, comedy, creativity, campaigns and natural abundance.

Intimate solar stages showcase up-and-coming acts, legendary festival favourites, DJs, poets, activist comedians and spellbinding raconteurs.

Share wisdom and skills; find friends old and new; weave, weld and tell stories.

Have a party... then wake up and put the world to rights!

Take the festival spirit home with you.

1st-4th August 2019 in wooded splendour on the Welsh border just 18 miles from Bristol.

Be inspired. Make change. Go to greengathering.org.uk

If you're interested in starting or growing a business with purpose, you can access tailored training, advice and support inside the #EthicalHour community: ethicalhour.co.uk/our-community/

Today we're talking all about how creating change requires community action. Cllr Shane Collins is one of the directors of The Green Gathering - a community interest company and the only festival in the UK powered by renewable energy.

Shane is also a long time green activist, district councillor and leader of the Green Party group on Mendip DC. Today we discuss how we can do more as consumers, citizens and activists to bring about positive change within the current political system.

Today's episode is brought to you by Green Gathering - a festival ‘beyond hedonism’ powered by wind, sun and people.

Four days of low impact living in an area of outstanding beauty... every nook and corner bursting with music, comedy, creativity, campaigns and natural abundance.

Intimate solar stages showcase up-and-coming acts, legendary festival favourites, DJs, poets, activist comedians and spellbinding raconteurs.

Share wisdom and skills; find friends old and new; weave, weld and tell stories.

Have a party... then wake up and put the world to rights!

Take the festival spirit home with you.

1st-4th August 2019 in wooded splendour on the Welsh border just 18 miles from Bristol.

Be inspired. Make change. Go to greengathering.org.uk

If you're interested in starting or growing a business with purpose, you can access tailored training, advice and support inside the #EthicalHour community: ethicalhour.co.uk/our-community/

Secret Projects are empowering women in India. Founder Fritha was inspired to start the business when she realised that microfinance programmes had increased skills and production, but hadn't created a market for women to sell their products - which was keeping them stuck in a poverty cycle. She already had a product that was selling well in the UK market, so by shifting ethical production to India, she could solve this problem and tackle social issues too.

Secret Projects now partner with NGOs and provide support on a grassroots level to empower women and their communities. Their Prevention Through Production programme supports women who are survivors, or at risk, of human trafficking. By producing Secret Sari Dresses women and girls gain access to an income generating activity in an area where there are little or no such opportunities and are thereby prevented from being trafficked or re-trafficked.

Today Fritha joins me on the Ethical Hour podcast to share her story, the highs and lows of running an ethical business and why she will never stop thinking commercially about social problems. This is a must listen if you're interested in ethical fashion, conscious consumerism or starting a business to make a difference.

Find out more about Secret Projects and shop the collection on their website: https://www.secretprojects.org

And don't forget to follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/secret.projects/

If you're interested in starting or growing a business with purpose, you can access tailored training, advice and support inside the #EthicalHour community: https://ethicalhour.co.uk/our-community/

Today's episode is brought to you by Green Gathering - a festival ‘beyond hedonism’ powered by wind, sun and people.

Four days of low impact living in an area of outstanding beauty... every nook and corner bursting with music, comedy, creativity, campaigns and natural abundance.

Intimate solar stages showcase up-and-coming acts, legendary festival favourites, DJs, poets, activist comedians and spellbinding raconteurs.

Share wisdom and skills; find friends old and new; weave, weld and tell stories.

Have a party... then wake up and put the world to rights!

Take the festival spirit home with you.

1st-4th August 2019 in wooded splendour on the Welsh border just 18 miles from Bristol.

Be inspired. Make change. Go to greengathering.org.uk

CoGo began life as a grassroots scheme in New Zealand where cafes and shops could put stickers in their window to show their allegiance to different ethical causes. Today the app helps customers shop in line with their values, and uses big data to provide a business case to encourage corporations to become more ethical and sustainable.

Every business and consumer has their own set of ethical priorities - CoGo brings everyone’s views together to paint a picture of the most pressing issues and what consumers and businesses are doing about them.

Using the app can help you find more businesses that align to your values and use your voice for change through your everyday spending.

In today’s episode, Ben Gleisner, CEO of CoGo, joins me to discuss ethical consumerism, the attitude/behaviour gap and how we can create change on a bigger scale.

Find out more and download CoGo in the App Store or Google Play: https://cogo.co/

If you're interested in starting or growing a business with purpose, you can access tailored training, advice and support inside the #EthicalHour community: https://ethicalhour.co.uk/our-community/

Today's episode is brought to you by Green Gathering - a festival ‘beyond hedonism’ powered by wind, sun and people.

Four days of low impact living in an area of outstanding beauty... every nook and corner bursting with music, comedy, creativity, campaigns and natural abundance.

Intimate solar stages showcase up-and-coming acts, legendary festival favourites, DJs, poets, activist comedians and spellbinding raconteurs.

Share wisdom and skills; find friends old and new; weave, weld and tell stories.

Have a party... then wake up and put the world to rights!

Take the festival spirit home with you.

Be inspired. Make change. Go to greengathering.org.uk

Today's guest is social entrepreneur Joshua Schukman, co-founder of Impact Business Base, founder of Social Change Nation and host of the Dollar and a Difference show.

Josh has worked with social entrepreneurs all around the world on a whole range of causes for over a decade. He has so much advice to share about the social impact start-up life. He's also a digital nomad, living full time on the road in an airstream caravan!

In this episode we talk about the shift to the "new normal" in business - a world where all businesses have a triple bottom line of people, planet and profit. We discuss lean startup methodology and how social entrepreneurs can get their ideas off the ground to help the causes they care about most.

Find out more about Impact Business Base: https://www.impactbusinessbase.com/

If you're interested in starting or growing a business with purpose, you can access tailored training, advice and support inside the #EthicalHour community: https://ethicalhour.co.uk/our-community/

Today's episode is brought to you by Too Good To Go - an app that lets everyone do their bit to reduce waste, while also getting delicious food and supporting local businesses. The businesses get to reduce their waste and also have potential new customers try out their food. Both contribute to a better environment. Win-Win-Win!

Find out more and join the food waste revolution! https://toogoodtogo.co.uk

Download Too Good To Go on the App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/too-good-to-go/id1060683933?mt=8

Get the App on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.tgtg&hl=en

Follow Too Good To Go on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toogoodtogoUK
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toogoodtogo.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/toogoodtogo_uk

Maria and Charlotte have been friends since they were 16 years old, when they met on an exchange programme at school. Now they run an award winning ethical accessories business across International borders as Charlotte is in the UK and Maria is in Brazil!

From Belo are committed to feeding kindness into the world - giving opportunities to Brazilian artisans, creating beautiful accessories with waste materials and using their profits to support an organisation that helps those in need.

In today's episode we discuss how stylish ethical fashion can be, the importance of kindness and how to start a social impact business.

Find out more about From Belo on their website: https://www.frombelo.com/

Today's episode is brought to you by Too Good To Go - an app that lets everyone do their bit to reduce waste, while also getting delicious food and supporting local businesses. The businesses get to reduce their waste and also have potential new customers try out their food. Both contribute to a better environment. Win-Win-Win!

Find out more and join the food waste revolution! https://toogoodtogo.co.uk

Download Too Good To Go on the App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/too-good-to-go/id1060683933?mt=8

Get the App on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.tgtg&hl=en

Follow Too Good To Go on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toogoodtogoUK
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toogoodtogo.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/toogoodtogo_uk

If you're interested in starting or growing a business with purpose, you can access tailored training, advice and support inside the #EthicalHour community: https://ethicalhour.co.uk/our-community/

The food industry has a massive impact on people, the planet and animals. Through the Food Heroes Podcast, Katie Jones shine a light on the good guys going down the more difficult road of ethical sourcing and production to show that ethical food production can be done!

We don't always talk about where our food comes from or how it's made, but there are so many issues from labour rights, to climate change, packaging, animal welfare and more. Katie has talked to everybody from Fairtrade producers through to animal welfare certified farmers.

She aims to highlight the wide range of food problems and potential solutions - including the potential future of food production, such as eating insects!

Food is such a part of everyday life and community. Analysing it might mean a difficult change in our habits or giving up the food we love, so Katie promotes small changes towards sustainability.

In today's episode we discuss the importance of food in our everyday lives, the range of ethical concerns in food systems, convenience culture and more.

Find out more and tune into the Food Heroes Podcast: https://foodheroespodcast.com/

Today's episode is brought to you by Too Good To Go - an app that lets everyone do their bit to reduce waste, while also getting delicious food and supporting local businesses. The businesses get to reduce their waste and also have potential new customers try out their food. Both contribute to a better environment. Win-Win-Win!

Find out more and join the food waste revolution! https://toogoodtogo.co.uk

Download Too Good To Go on the App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/too-good-to-go/id1060683933?mt=8

Get the App on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.tgtg&hl=en

Follow Too Good To Go on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toogoodtogoUK
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toogoodtogo.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/toogoodtogo_uk

If you're interested in starting or growing a business with purpose, you can access tailored training, advice and support inside the #EthicalHour community: https://ethicalhour.co.uk/our-community/

Today's convenience driven world has changed the way food is produced and consumed - often at a cost to the planet.

Did you know that if food waste was a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases after the USA and China?

Each year, over 10 million tonnes of food is thrown away, that’s the weight of 190 Titanics! This waste is estimated to be worth £17 billion a year. That's £700 per family per year spent on food that ultimately just ends up in the bin.

One third of all food produced goes to waste, making food waste responsible for 8% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, which is bad news for the environment!

Too Good To Go are on a mission to rescue meals that would otherwise go to waste. They connect consumers with restaurants, cafes and food outlets, to create 'magic bags' full of all the delicious, perfectly edible food that stores and restaurants have to throw out at the end of the day.

When you become a 'Waste Warrior' through Too Good To Go, you can rescue a meal that would otherwise go to waste. You get a tasty surprise and get to do good for the environment too.

In today's episode we discuss the fight against food waste, how to engage more consumers with ethics and sustainability and the power of tech for good.

Today's episode is brought to you by Too Good To Go - an app that lets everyone do their bit to reduce waste, while also getting delicious food and supporting local businesses. The businesses get to reduce their waste and also have potential new customers try out their food. Both contribute to a better environment. Win-Win-Win!

Find out more and join the food waste revolution! https://toogoodtogo.co.uk

Download Too Good To Go on the App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/too-good-to-go/id1060683933?mt=8

Get the App on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.tgtg&hl=en

Follow Too Good To Go on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toogoodtogoUK
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toogoodtogo.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/toogoodtogo_uk

Join our free Ethical Hour Facebook community to connect with like-minded people and learn more: www.facebook.com/groups/1807868079472084/

If you love the Ethical Hour podcast and want to help us tell even more inspiring stories of social impact, you can now become a patron! Find out more and support us here: https://www.patreon.com/Ethicalhour

Palm oil is a complicated issue which has dominated recent headlines. This week on the podcast I'm joined by Ruth Strange from Ethical Consumer to unpick the issues involved.

Ethical Consumer is an independent, not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder co-operative with open membership, founded in 1989 and based in Manchester. For over 25 years they have been the hub of the ethical consumer movement, helping consumers to shop ethically, campaigners to challenge corporate power and businesses to improve their supply chain. Their mission is to make global businesses more sustainable through consumer pressure.

Each day we all make choices according to our personal ethics. Ethical Consumer provides the tools and resources you need to make these choices simple, informed and effective. They've developed the world's most sophisticated and simple to use, personal ethical rating system to give you the information you need, based on detailed research of over 40,000 companies, brands and products.

Consumers can access this data via their unique product guides, on their website and in a bi-monthly magazine.

In today's episode we discuss what makes the palm oil issues so complex, whether you should boycott or buy responsibly sourced, and how you as a consumer can have a voice against exploitation and deforestation.

Find out more about Ethical Consumer here: https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/

Find their resources on palm oil here: https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/food-drink/palm-oil-and-consumers

Read my thoughts about the Iceland Christmas palm oil campaign here: https://ethicalhour.co.uk/icelands-orangutan-do-we-really-need-a-cuddly-toy-to-remind-us-to-care/

Sabine from From Scratch shares her advice on how to challenge brands effectively using social media here: https://ethicalhour.co.uk/how-to-challenge-brands-on-their-use-of-plastic/

If you're interested in starting or growing a business with purpose, you can access tailored training, advice and support inside the #EthicalHour community: https://ethicalhour.co.uk/our-community/

This week I'm joined by vintage expert Kate Beavis who went from a career in corporate marketing to turning a vintage blog into a successful business and starting two other ventures too! As a vegan vintage lover, Kate is passionate about living ethically, and like many of us in the #EthicalHour community she's turned her passion and hobby into a full time business. Now, based on her own PR success, Kate also runs The Indie Practice - providing PR and marketing support to small, independent creative businesses to get them seen in the media.

Kate and I first met at Facebook's HQ in London at an exclusive event for community builders, and we hit it off right away discussing ethical marketing - so I felt it was time to get her on the podcast so you could listen in! In today's episode Kate shares her business journey, we talk about confidence, fighting comparison and, of course, Christmas ads and the ethics behind them!

Find out more about Kate here: http://katebeavis.com/

Follow The Indie Practice here: http://theindiepractice.com/

This episode is brought to you by Ethical Holiday.

Looking for a life changing holiday? EthicalHoliday.com is a new online directory of ethical places to stay, matched with short term volunteering opportunities. Each and every listing has been handpicked for their ethical values, from paying fair wages and reinvesting into communities to caring for the environment and helping conservation efforts, so you can rest assured you’re changing lives for the better just by having a great time.

There’s something to suit every interest and budget with award winning glamping breaks, cultural homestays, luxury safari camps, jungle cabins or beachside hotels. And if there’s an opportunity for you to get involved during your stay ethical holiday will suggest optional volunteering nearby, so you can experience new cultures, learn new skills and reconnect with nature.

Join the ethical holiday community today to get exclusive special offers, gifts and even your own blog space to share your life changing experiences. Just head to ethicalholiday.com and Join The Community!

If you're interested in starting or growing a business with purpose, you can access tailored training, advice and support inside the #EthicalHour community: https://ethicalhour.co.uk/our-community/