Women’s History Month is a great time to take stock of what we’re supporting with our dollars.  A quick look in your closet, cosmetics drawer, or pantry will confirm what a lot of us fear – most of the businesses from which we buy, eco-conscious or otherwise, are not owned or led by women. But now, there are options available to change that!  Take our challenge this month, and when possible, buy from women owned companies.

To make things easier, we’ve compiled a list of six fabulous woman owned and sustainable businesses to shop from this month.  They’ve got you covered whether you need hand sanitizer, sunscreen, or even something a little sparkly. You might just find the brand you’ve been waiting for.

Why Shop Woman-owned?

Even though they make up more than half of the population and incredible products are coming from women-owned businesses, they’re still getting a very meager amount of financial backing. In fact, in 2018, only 2.2% of venture capital investments went to women-owned businesses.

And while their representation at the CEO level is rising, as of May 2020, “only 7.4% of Fortune 500 businesses” are led by women .

Finally, women held more jobs before the pandemic, and then were disproportionately impacted by job loss, especially young women and women of color.

What can we do about that? Vote with our dollars.

Woman Owned Sustainable Fashion

Emily Phillips

Emily Phillips learned the ugly environmental truth about most fashion labels during her earliest days in the industry.  She spent years learning from the brands and magazines she worked for. Then Phillips set out to create a high quality label that bucked those trends, committing to ethical fashion from day one.

Emily continually seeks and finds the most sustainable fabrics; hemp, linen, organic cotton, and tencel.  Next, she found an exceptionally talented woman to map her designs on these fabrics with as little scrap waste as possible, frequently turning those scraps into ribbons and dress tags. Producing clothes in small batches minimizes waste, but also makes it possible for all of her clothing to be American-made.

This woman owned fashion brand also makes it easy to reduce your closet to a capsule collection. Her cute and comfy button down shirts and dresses make the transition from daytime to dinner out…seamless.

Stella McCartney

Started by a woman bearing the name (yes, that McCartney), this fashion label remains true to its initial sustainable values.

Beginning with a commitment to refrain from using any fur or leather in collections, McCartney has evolved to using recycled cashmere, nylon, and polyester. She also is championing the transition to spider silk and mushroom leather throughout the industry. Offering customers a transparent environmental report every year called the Environmental Profit and Loss statement (EP&L), McCartney analyzes their performance each year, finding new ways to improve sustainability practices. Recently, McCartney started using renewable electricity in her U.K. stores.

She achieves all that and her clothes are still drop dead gorgeous – every bit as luxurious as those less sustainable fashion labels. McCartney makes slow fashion something to run for.

Aurate

Want some new bling? Aurate founders Bouchra Ezzahraoui and Sophie Khan have you covered with a clear conscience.

These women started a sustainable gold jewelry line to offer 100% recycled gold jewelry for less. Their gems are thoughtfully sourced as well, with sustainably farmed pearls and ethically sourced diamonds and gemstones all adhering to the Kimberley Process. All Aurate jewelry is made in New York, standing up to the highest workplace safety standards.

The Aurate ladies add to all of that very fashion forward designs, and a fresh, young appeal to fine jewelry. The icing on these tiny treasure cakes is that each item you purchase benefits The Mastery Charter School.

AND, in honor of Women’s History Month, you can get 20% off any purchase on Aurate with the code: FORHER

Woman Owned Sustainable Beauty

BeautyCounter

Gregg Renfrew is a woman owned business shero. Moving from house cleaning to the wedding industry before deciding to change the skincare and beauty world, Renfrew creates clean ingredient products that set the industry standard.

The results are a killer, cruelty-free women’s make-up and skincare line that won’t break you out, and expanding men’s and baby/children’s lines that together add up to better beauty.  BeautyCounter has lobbied for tighter ingredient regulations, recyclable packaging, and sustainable pigment while continually improving product results.

Woman Owned Sustainable Household and Hand Sanitizing

Black and Berry

Sometimes, small businesses are born out of need.  Sister duo Cindee Black and Jordan Berry did just that with their food safe, organic cleaning line.

Packaged in recycled and recyclable aluminum containers, the organic apple cider vinegar-based products are tough on grime, but gentle on home surfaces, you, and the planet. Have you ever had a food-safe cleaner that can scrub off soap scum?

Also, we thought it was impossible, but they also make THE MOST luxurious hand sanitizer. It’s light, nearly odorless, and packaged with none of the plastic guilt.

Package Free

For anything else you might need this month, check out Package Free. Created by Lauren Singer (@trashisfortossers) after she went zero-waste for four years, Package Free is exactly as it sounds.

Nearly any household good can be found on her site, sans plastic.  Everything from silicone food storage bags to cat toys and shaving kits can be found on this eco friendly business woman’s site.

You might want to check out her inspired interviews and blogs, too! While we’re not at the point of zero-waste ToDey, she has us excited for tomorrow!