5 Companies People want More Transparency

5 Companies People want More Transparency

5 Companies People want More Transparency

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One of our favorite features of the myTrestle Button, is that you can suggest a company for analysis- where those who want to make informed purchases can tell our team which brands you are most curious about. 

Apparently, we’re not the only ones who love this feature.

On our “How it Works” page, you can see all the features available to you through the myTrestle Button – including the Suggest a Company feature. The best way to request company transparency is to use this feature. 

The main benefit is that I can gauge deal-breakers easily when I shop. I do most of my shopping online, so if I see that a brand scored low on fair labor and cruelty-free, those are red flags for me and I would think twice before supporting them.

– Hilary T.

Even though this tool has been available for just three weeks, we’re already seeing some very interesting trends about how we as consumers want our information.

First, people love this feature! We have already had nearly 200 brands submitted to us for analysis. This tells us people are curious – they want to know how brands they buy from every day are operating across their most important values like environmental impact, labor practices, and animal treatment. It also tells us that people are willing to call out these brands and ask for transparency. 

Before you think “well, the Trestle team sure has their work cut out for them”… and you’d be right, consider this – some brands have been submitted multiple times by different people. In fact, we’re seeing several brands rise to the top of the list simply because more people are curious about them. 

Consumers want company transparency from every day brands.

The five brands most requested are not those who have been forthcoming about their practices already. They’re not the brands that are known to produce ethically or that have wrapped their entire business models around ethical production whether in fair labor or environmental sustainability. In fact, the three brands that rose to the top, were truly the brands that we as consumers are already buying from every day. 

Are you ready for this? The most requested companies are 

1. Nike

2. Amazon

3. Anthropologie

4. Carters

5. H&M

What this means about consumers

While we got requests for brands that are already known for operating with higher ethical practices like Allbirds, Reformation, and PraNa, it was really the convenient companies that we have been visiting and buying from our entire lives that showed up most in requests. 

This shows me that it’s not just the most conscious of consumers who are getting value out of the myTrestle Button. That we, the common consumer, the one who does care about how our products are made but also still highly values convenience and brand recognition, that wants to benefit as well. 

Don’t worry, because you cared most about them, we went ahead and analyzed them first. If you want to find out how Nike, Anthropolgie, Carters, and your favorite fast fashion brands square up, go visit their websites – but first! Make sure you’ve added the myTrestle Button so you can see exactly what these companies are doing.  

A Quick note about a couple brands.

If you’re going to check out these companies, and we encourage you to, please note that Anthropologie showed no evidence of any of the values we capture. Because of this, when you visit their website, the myTrestle Button will appear like we haven’t analyzed them even though we have. Future versions will state this more clearly. 

Also of note: Because Amazon is a marketplace, and we want you to see the values of the brands that Amazon sells, at THIS point in time, we do not show the values of Amazon through the myTrestle Button. But with future features, this will be coming soon! 

We describe our process for analysis in the Frequently Asked Questions page of our website. Definitely familiarize yourself with that so you can get the most out of the myTrestle Button. 

 Curious about privacy? You can read our Privacy Policy here

 

 

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5 Companies People want More Transparency

5 Companies People want More Transparency

      Category Tags  One of our favorite features of the myTrestle Button, is that you can suggest a company for analysis- where those who want to make informed purchases can tell our team which brands you are most curious about.  Apparently, we're...

Business Highlight: Love Bottle

Business Highlight: Love Bottle

      Business Highlights  We’ve been so happy to see the increased initiative to reduce single-use plastic bottles, and this next company provides a super stylish and authentic way to do so. ⁣Enter: Love Bottle, a beautiful, elegant, reusable...

Business Highlight: Love Bottle

Business Highlight: Love Bottle

Business Highlight: Love Bottle

Business Highlights

We’ve been so happy to see the increased initiative to reduce single-use plastic bottles, and this next company provides a super stylish and authentic way to do so. ⁣

Enter: Love Bottle, a beautiful, elegant, reusable glass bottle that is all about bringing Love and Water together. Founder & CEO Minna Yoo says, :

The bottle was created to help the physical and emotional health of our bodies, our communities and our planet … We take 40-60 sips of water every day.  Each sip is an opportunity to change the way we feel and to remember the things that are most important to us.

The Love Bottle is also 100% USA sourced and manufactured, supporting over five USA manufacturers, most of them small family businesses. They’re B Corp Certified which means they not only operate to make a profit, but rather they strive to leave a positive impact on their community and our planet. 

Love Bottle’s Values: Sustainability, Social Impact, Locally Made⁣

3 Ways Female Founders Have Brought Power to Society Through Bold Businesses

3 Ways Female Founders Have Brought Power to Society Through Bold Businesses

3 ways Women Have Brought Power to Society through Founding Bold Businesses

International Womens Day

Women have been severely underrepresented in Venture Capital investments, but that is not the end to the story. The part of the story that is not adequately told is what Female Founders have done with the resources they do have:  they have changed the landscape for other women and Founders’ success to follow. This is a story worth telling.

In preparation to write on behalf of the power of women Founders, or rather, Founders who happen to be female, I did a simple Google search. I was looking for strong writing around the power that women have brought to the entrepreneurial space. To innovation. To business leadership.  I expected to see articles highlighting a new dominance that has risen up in women since the #metoo movement with expressions of taking back power in aspects of business that have traditionally required submission. And perhaps, I expected the telling of this story too soon.

What I found instead, even after pushing the little “2”.. “3”… “4”… at the bottom of Google, were lists of “top 10 ways female entrepreneurs can be more successful” and “Women entrepreneurs are optimistic about business and economy”. Titles that left me feeling like the authors who wrote about Female Founders didn’t quite grasp or at least weren’t able to adequately articulate the power that women are bringing to the entrepreneurial space.

Add that to article after article about how women received an embarrassingly low percentage of all venture capital backed investments (2.2%) in 2018 and I was left feeling completely unempowered with the stories that were being told about women in business.

I saw very quickly that the story of Female Foundership has not yet been adequately told. So, on this International Women’s Day, here are 3 ways in which women have brought power to society through founding bold businesses.

1. Challenging the status quo of female sexuality perception. Heidi Zak, Cofounder of Third Love, an intimates company that believes the fit of underwear and bras for women should be priority over hyper sexualized appeal has changed the game for women. She has publicly taken on Victoria’s Secret who has been struggling to keep up in the post #metoo era. She reminded them that in today’s day and age, women have their own right to determine what sexy means, and top executive men no longer have a right to define this. She has built a thriving respected business out of serving women more intimately (… get it?).

2. Solving funding challenges for female founded companies. Danae Ringleman, Cofounder of Indiegogo, a global crowdfunding platform that allows entrepreneurs, creatives, or causes to raise money and test concepts before running productions. They use a democratized system allowing the public to donate to innovative ideas helping to fund and bring them to life. They’ve contributed to the raising of over $1billion in starting capital. In an economy where women hardly have a chance at Venture Capital, crowdfunding has provided a lot more opportunity for Female Founded companies – where in comparison to men founded companies, they dominate.

3. Creating platforms so independent businesses can compete in e-commerce. In an age where one online marketplace giant appears to rule them all, Shopify cofounder, Marcie Murray and her team created an open sourced platform allowing small-medium businesses to have a simple way to operate their online business. This solution has allowed the values-focused brands that we love to highlight like Sudara, Looptworks, and Love Bottle to sell and market directly to their values-based consumers operating a direct to consumer store.

These women have founded companies that have challenged status quo, created opportunity, and moved society in a direction for the better. It’s time to start changing the story about the role women play in society and in business. This is article is just a start.

Here is another article worth reading, The Silent Rise of the Female Driven Economy by Refinery29.

 

Sudara Values

Sustainability
Fair Labor
Social Impact
Female Founded

Looptworks Values

Sustainability
Fair Labor
Social Impact
USA Made.

Love Bottle Values

Sustainability
Social Impact
USA Made
Female Founded

Third Love Values

Social Impact
Female Founded

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5 Companies People want More Transparency

5 Companies People want More Transparency

      Category Tags  One of our favorite features of the myTrestle Button, is that you can suggest a company for analysis- where those who want to make informed purchases can tell our team which brands you are most curious about.  Apparently, we're...

Business Highlight: Love Bottle

Business Highlight: Love Bottle

      Business Highlights  We’ve been so happy to see the increased initiative to reduce single-use plastic bottles, and this next company provides a super stylish and authentic way to do so. ⁣Enter: Love Bottle, a beautiful, elegant, reusable...

10 Conscious Valentine’s Day Gifts for Her and Some for Him

10 Conscious Valentine’s Day Gifts for Her and Some for Him

10 Conscious Valentine’s Day Gifts for Her …and Some for Him

Valentines Day

Let’s make 2019 special and give a conscious gift this Valentine’s Day from an ethical company that does more. If you’re like me, you’ve probably been too busy living life and as a result, you are now realizing that you don’t have much time to find that perfect memento that professes your love. Well you’re in luck! This year I sought out to find Jennifer a conscious gift from an ethical company and, as a result, found some amazing gifts from inspiring ethical companies. With that, I wanted to share what I found with you!

Why a “Conscious Gift”?

As you might guess, I am busy and still tend to default to that one marketplace that rules them all. However, In January, I pledged to become a more conscious in my shopping habits and I know that if I just take a little more time to actually find a gift beyond a cheap trinket or bad chocolates, one that has a deeper story, Jennifer (my fiancé and Trestle cofounder) will treasure the gift much more!

Giving a gift with a deeper story not only swells you and your bae’s heart with fuzzies by knowing that you took an extra step in finding a perfect gift, it also shows that you really know what your significant other cares about!

Fortunately for me, Jennifer has publicly stated that she cares about fair labor practices, social impact (companies who really give back to society), and environmental sustainability. But don’t worry if you don’t know exactly what your loved one values, even being conscious about giving a gift from a company who does something more, like uses eco-friendly practices, gives back to communities, or harms no animals in its processes, shows that you are supporting something more with your loving gesture and that action will not go unnoticed!

PS, I will let you know what I am getting Jennifer after Valentines Day. I can’t ruin the surprise just yet!

Ok, Let’s get started!

Here are 10 conscious gifts for her and some for him

A necklace that fights human trafficking in India

$30

Sudara: hope plate necklace

Sudara has teamed up with Mulxiply to create some beautiful jewelry. Not only is the jewelry stunning, every purchase through Sudara invests in job-creation and skills-training programs for women in India who are at high risk or are survivors of sex trafficking.

A necklace that gives women in Uganda work to save for college

$60

Sseko: bar necklace in black

Sseko’s mission is to help talented young women in Uganda to continue to University. Throughout a nine-month term, these women receive life skills training and are matched with mentors while getting real world work experience. Also, at the end of their work term, Sseko matches their savings by 300%. To date they have sent 131 women to University!

A personalized necklace that promotes economic change

$48

ABLE: mini tag necklace

ABLE is setting out to end generational poverty by providing economic opportunity for women in areas of need. They are setting out to be transparent with their manufacturing practices including publishing the wages they pay in Nashville. They will also publish the wages of their manufacturing partners starting with Ethiopia this fall, and Mexico, Peru, and Brazil to follow.

A hair clip that gives a headband to a child with cancer

$13

Sevenly: lotus top hair clip

This beautiful hair clip will also give a headband to a child with cancer. Sevenly has partnered with Headbands for hope, an organization that gives headbands to children with cancer and funding to research! Sevenly has a model that donates 7% of their proceeds to many different social causes.

A teddy bear that gives a child another teddy bear

$45

Bears For Humanity: sherpa bear

A teddy bear for Valentines Day can be Cliché unless it comes with a story that means so much more. Bears for Humanity are hand sewn in the USA with 100% organic cotton and for every bear you buy, they’ll give a teddy bear to a child in need!

Bears for Humanity partners with organizations like Toys for Tots, Children’s Miracle Network, World Vision, and others.  Trust me, she’ll love your genuine gesture even more with this bear!

A spa day that gives back to those in need

$25

Soapbox: bath bomb kit

She loves to be treated to a nice relaxing bath. So, why not give her a spa day that not only allows her to relax but also gives someone in need the dignity that comes with hygiene! For every Soapbox product you purchase, they will donate a bar of soap to someone in need either state-side or abroad. Even better, these bars of soap are eco-friendly because they are made from recycled bars from hotels that have been shaved down, sanitized and reformed to make a brand new bar.

Soapbox donations are also paired with hygiene lessons by working with nonprofits who not only make and distribute the bars, but also teach hand-washing etiquette through their hygiene ambassador programs. To date over 3 million lives have been impacted by soapbox purchases!

Fair Trade chocolates

$8

Alter Eco: dark sea salt truffles

MMMMM… Chocolate. The first true love of Valentines Day… Here are some Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Truffles to gift (maybe you’ll even get a bite!).

Savor the subtle crunch of Ecuadorian dark chocolate studded with mouth-watering fleur de sel de Guérande. Then melt away with a smooth-as-silk creamy chocolate center made with nourishing coconut oil. 

Alter Eco is a B Corp with a mission to pioneer a full circle approach to eating, farming, doing business, and to inspire others to do the same. They have also worked hard to become pioneers in compostable packaging – These truffles are wrapped in plant-based, non GMO, compostable wrappers!

Sustainable and sexy lingerie

$30-80

Sokoloff Lingerie: amelia bra

You already know how much she likes feeling sexy. Lingerie is a Valentine’s Day staple. What’s one way to make an already intimate gift even more attractive? Make it good for the planet, of course!  

Sokoloff Lingerie designs and manufactures fine lingerie that is 100% made in Canada. The designs are delicate, confident, and comfortable, and Sokoloff uses an ethical production model. Sexy and sustainable!

The conscious subscription box that keeps on giving

$50 / quarter

Causebox: quarterly subscription box

Why just give her one gift when she can receive many conscious gifts throughout the year? CAUSEBOX is a B Corp that curates items from the biggest socially conscious companies, emerging brands, and designers that not only look good but also do good!

Inside each CAUSEBOX, you’ll find jewelry, homewares, skincare products, accessories, and more each season. They’ll always tell you the stories behind each brand. Many of the products are exclusive CAUSEBOX collaborations that you can’t get anywhere else!

A handmade Guatemalan clutch

$190

EverMaya: huipil envelop clutch

EverMaya’s handbags are handmade and imported from Guatemala. They purchase huipiles, a style of weaving native to the local areas, from the artisanal markets and repurpose them to create beautiful bags. The indigenous women from Guatemala will often support an entire family from weaving and selling huipiles in the local markets. EverMaya’s local workshops are committed to safe and pleasant working conditions including fair wages for all employees.

Additionally, they donate a portion of every sale to Education for the Children, a school in Jocotenango, Guatemala which provides education, nutrition, healthcare, counseling, and career guidance to local children from disadvantaged upbringings.

And now some gifts for him 

A watch that give 50% back

$119

Crux Watches: brushed black sojourner

Crux first began in 2011 out of a passion for watches and social enterprise. The wanted to see how we could create positive change through designing and producing stylish watches and giving a significant portion of their profits (50%) to people in need through non-profit partners and NGOs!

An upcycled wallet made from recycled and excess leather

$48

Looptworks: hill black & burgandy bifold

Looptworks is a B Corp has made an entire company by finding and sourcing materials destined for the landfill and transforming the scraps into new and useful product – a process known as upcyling. All of their products are limited editions. Looptworks is well on their way towards a long term goal of an entirely closed-loop manufacturing solution!

Didn’t see the right gift? That’s where we come in.

Our expert conscious shoppers at Trestle will help you find your perfect gift!

At only $10 a month, we’ll find the items and companies that match the ethical values you care about most. We’ve even partnered with Cardcraft allowing you to send a free valentines card with every conscious search during this season of LOVE!

Note: Some (not all) links are affiliate, meaning some companies may pay us a small commission for any sales through our links. Thank you for choosing to support our business by using our links! 

Read More

5 Companies People want More Transparency

5 Companies People want More Transparency

      Category Tags  One of our favorite features of the myTrestle Button, is that you can suggest a company for analysis- where those who want to make informed purchases can tell our team which brands you are most curious about.  Apparently, we're...

Business Highlight: Love Bottle

Business Highlight: Love Bottle

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Valentines Day: Three Portland Startups Combine Forces

Valentines Day: Three Portland Startups Combine Forces

THREE PORTLAND STARTUPS PARTNER TO EASE VALENTINE’S DAY SHOPPING STRESS

Valentines Day

You may know that Portland has a thriving startup scene but what you probably didn’t know, is that several of these startups are primed to help Portlanders make a big impression this coming Valentine’s Day.

Even good gifters need help from time to time. Valentine’s Day, the day of celebrating the love we have in our lives, comes just a few weeks after the biggest gifting holidays of the year. Creative gifting juices may be running dry by the time people are expected to make grand gestures that demonstrate adoration for a loved one, family, and friends.

Three Portland Startups are set out to make Valentine’s Day simpler in creative ways that don’t break the bank.

For the socially conscious person who wants a gift from companies they can trust

Trestle makes giving socially conscious gifts easy. Like most Portlanders, Founders Jennifer Johnson and Carl Hickerson care about where their products come from, but find themselves buying from value-dry companies out of convenience all too often.  Trestle is a team of conscious personal shoppers finding great gifts from companies that operate with the values people care about most: from using Earth-friendly practices, to causing no harm to animals, and caring for humans across the globe. What match.com did for the dating world, Trestle is doing for the commerce world. For a special Valentine’s rate of $10 research fee, the Trestle team will help you buy with your heart this Valentines day.

For those who need a starting point

Ribbn was born out of a desire to consistently give great gifts to loved ones. Founder, Damola Omotosho, personally struggles to think of gift ideas and knows he is not the only one. He created Ribbn, a gift suggestion engine mobile app to provide great gift ideas through both curated lists and a concierge personal shopping service based on the likes and dislikes of the gift receiver.

For the loved one who lives out of town

CardCraft makes it easy to show love to anyone in any part of the world. It brings back the magic of sending hand-written cards without the effort of shopping, writing, and sending it yourself. CardCraft allows you to find a card you like, type the message, pick your handwritten font style, and send it – all over your phone. That’s correct – CardCraft uses a hand-writing machine to create beautiful handwritten messages bringing a nostalgic sweetness to any card you send.

“I used Trestle’s conscious personal shopping assistance to help find a Valentine’s Day gift for my girlfriend” said Nick Nedelisky, a Portland-based customer of Trestle. “I knew the kind of gift I wanted to get for her, but I wanted to make sure it came from a company who operates by my values. What’s most important to me is supporting companies who use their profits to have a social impact – giving to organizations that provide training and education in low income communities providing opportunities for financial attainment and relieving poverty.”

These three startups have made it their goal this season to help make heroes out of Portland gift givers. You can learn more at each of their linked sites or by contacting their Founders directly.

The partnership intends to provide gift givers benefits from multiple businesses within one transaction. “We are very excited for Cardcraft and Ribbn’s partnership with Trestle”.  says Damola Omotosho, founder of Ribbn. “This is an opportunity for us to help people show love in an effective and efficient way while also supporting their local startup community.”

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5 Companies People want More Transparency

5 Companies People want More Transparency

      Category Tags  One of our favorite features of the myTrestle Button, is that you can suggest a company for analysis- where those who want to make informed purchases can tell our team which brands you are most curious about.  Apparently, we're...

Business Highlight: Love Bottle

Business Highlight: Love Bottle

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