Happy Friday!

This week we cover:

Need a freelance climate academic? ScholarTribe can help.
How Wild are championing natural deodorants, and partnering with On A Mission.
In case you missed it: Why Good Hemp think communication is key when you’re trying to “Unf**k the Planet”, featuring Head of Brand Ben Cooper.

> Good News This Week

🎯 Kaffe Bueno has partnered with Go Cirkulär AB, a Swedish sustainable personal care brand, on their coffee body care line.

🎯 Vestiaire Collective achieved B Corporation certification, becoming the first fashion resale platform to do so.

🎯 Pandora have had their Science Based Targets approved, announcing plans to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2040. This follows previous pledges to be carbon neutral it its own operations by 2025.

⭐️ Tesco and WWF have launched a climate-friendly cattle feed scheme for dairy farmers. They will receive an 80% seed subsidy for plants and herbs claimed to boost animal health, water and soil quality whilst also cutting emissions.

⭐️ JustEat announced their partnership with CLUBZERO, a reusable packaging service. Together, they’re aiming to tackle plastic pollution from food delivery sector.

⭐️ Morrisons has announced plans to launch six “zero waste” stores in the UK, which aim to recycle all packaging and unsold food by 2025. If trials in six Edinburgh stores are successful, they will roll the format out to all 498 stores across the UK over the next year.

⭐️ Wagamama confirmed that 50% of their menu will be plant-based by October.

⭐️ Mammut has committed to phasing out fossil fuels and switching to 100% renewable energy to power the manufacturing of its products by 2030. They’ve also committed to ship goods on zero-emissions cargo ships by 2030, along with other key reductions.

⚡️ Sourceful, an ‘all-in-one platform for sustainable sourcing’, announced a $12.2 million seed fundraise. They aim to help businesses slash the environmental impact of their supply chains.

> Click on each link to read more.

> Quick Take

Need a climate academic? ScholarTribe can help.

Ever needed an LCA whizz to measure your impact? An in-the-know expert to write content for your site? Someone who can step in and help you ace the Environmental Impact Area of your upcoming B Corp application?

Look no further than ScholarTribe. Their goal? To connect you with the ~200 academics that sign up to their platform each week, so you can hire the perfect freelancer for your business. After launching in May 2021, they’ve already connected brands such as Wild and Dropless with the perfect PhD students and professors.

We caught up with ScholarTribe’s founder, Hamish Richardson.

Let’s start with the basics - how can brands get involved with ScholarTribe?

Brands can get involved by emailing me at hamish@scholartribe.io. If you have a project in mind, that’s great, but if not, we’d still love to hear from you. Alternatively, get in touch - and find out more info - through our website: www.scholartribe.io

What are the benefits for brands looking to connect with academics? Why would they do so through you?

The three buzzwords we like to use are:
Value - access to expertise at an affordable price.
Flexibility - no long contracts.
Specialism - we’ll find you the perfect researcher for your project.

*Wild’s glowing review. Source: scholartribe.io*

Wild have spoken highly of your services - what was that partnership, and what was the result?

Wild Cosmetics were an early client of ours - they’re awesome - and not just because they’re a client. What they’re doing with the bathroom is amazing, it’s sadly been full of single use plastic for too long. Wild wanted to write a blog about consumer behaviour and sustainability. We sourced a brilliant PhD student from the University of Cambridge, with a relevant background in this field, to write the blog article. The result was a happy customer and a happy academic.

Can you give an idea of what it could cost for a brand, for an average LCA for example?

It’s hard to give an estimate for the cost of an LCA, there are too many moving factors. What I can say is that doing an LCA through ScholarTribe with an LCA academic will be significantly more affordable and academically rigorous than with a commercial consultant.

Interested in partnering with PhD student, a postdoc or a professor? Get in touch with the ScholarTribe team.

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> Brand Spotlight

*Three Wild cases. Source: wearewild.com.*

Going Wild for Natural Deodorants? Read on…

Growing research shows that household aerosols are contributing to the London smog, and bathroom products are frequently forgotten about when consumers recycle. Launching in August 2019, these are just two environmental issues that Wild aims to tackle.

Wild claims to be the world’s first zero-plastic deodorant refill, delivering sustainable and natural deodorants straight to your door. They’re 100% vegan certified by the Vegan Trademark, and their refills are cruelty-free, paraben and aluminium free.

So, how does it work?

The Wild case is made from anodised aluminium and recycled plastic, and is infinitely reusable. Each refill is compostable and plastic free, and small enough to fit through your letterbox. Read more about their packaging here.
Once you’ve selected your case, and your scent, your Wild deodorant is delivered.
After that - it’s up to you how frequently you receive the refills!
Rather pick Wild up...in the wild? They’re stocked at Sainsburys too!

In May 2020, Wild partnered with On A Mission to offset their carbon emissions via reforestation projects (read more about that partnership here). For each Wild deodorant bought, a percentage of profits go directly to compensating 1.5 times the amount of emissions produced. How do they know their carbon impact? Wild worked with On A Mission to calculate that too:

ON A MISSION calculate our emissions by taking into account all of our activities such as the extraction of raw materials, the production of our deodorant and its packaging, transport and emissions produced by our headquarters and employees.

Wild are going from strength to strength. They secured a £2 million investment in October 2020, led by JamJar investments, after selling 300,000 units in just 7 months. They’ve even secured a listing in Sainsbury’s, and recently launched their Mini Deo range too. Still, they have time to give back as a team - supporting charities like Ocean Generation by cleaning beaches in Brighton for plastic-free July. Currently, they’re working towards B Corp certification, and hope to have achieved it by the end of the year. Watch this space to find out!

Interested? Read Wild’s most recent Sustainability Statement, addressing the inclusion of RSO certified palm oil in their products.

Support Wild via their shop:

Shop Wild

> In case you missed it

💥 #3 - Impact Initiative: Why Good Hemp think communication is key when you’re trying to “Unf**k the Planet”.

Featuring Ben Cooper, Head of Brand.

Read the Full Story

> Follow up with…

Article: 5 Carbon Reductions That Will Actually Save You Money
Article: Can product-level change solve fashion’s sustainability issue?
Podcast: Climate Rising by Harvard Business School
Event: How business can tackle GHGs in the supply chain (27th - 29th September 2021)

Following the Footprints

🌱 Going Wild for ScholarTribe, On A Mission…