7 Food Companies Saving The Earth
Eat, drink and protect the planet
In the words of our favorite muppet, sometimes "it's not easy being green." And anyone who's begrudgingly abandoned their car for an eco-friendly bike on a chilly January morning or hand-washed a dinner party's worth of dishes to save water knows exactly what we mean. Compromise, no matter how noble, can be a tough pill to swallow.
Luckily, there are a few easier—and more delicious—ways to shrink your carbon footprint by simply picking up a fork and knife. We found some of the most eco-friendly food products, so you can eat and drink your way to helping Mother Earth stay pristine.
① Salty Girl Seafood
Salty Girl Seafood sources its albacore, black cod and Pacific rockfish only from small-scale fisheries. And, believe it or not, each package comes with a code you can use to trace where it came from, right down to the name of the fisherman and his boat.
Photo: Lauren Lear Photography
② Reduce. Reuse. Grow.
Coffee runs might be our favorite morning ritual, but our addiction to flat whites translates to 58 billion landfill-bound cups a year. Reduce. Reuse. Grow. provides coffee shops with completely compostable cups made from 100 percent recycled materials. And, as if that wasn't enough, for every cup composted, the company plants a tree at one of its select restoration sites.
③ Endangered Species Chocolate
Aside from being fair trade certified, Endangered Species donates 10 percent of its net profits to organizations working to protect endangered species native to the areas where it sources its cocoa beans. Though, to be honest, when it comes to dark chocolate bars studded with cranberries, orange and cinnamon, preserving the earth is basically just an added bonus.
④ BottleCloth
A necessary upgrade to the vinyl tablecloths and disposable napkins of yore, BottleCloth's textiles make for a contemporary and stylish addition to your kitchen, as well as being a breeze to clean. The best part? These modern fabrics are entirely made from recycled plastic bottles.
⑤ Grounds for Change
Not only does this Pacific Northwest-based coffee roaster run entirely off renewable energy, it also donates by-products, including coffee chaff, burlap bags and freight pallets, to local farmers to use for compost, weed control and building material. With Southern Hemisphere varietals like the Quetzal, featuring hints of butter, apricot and nougat, and the Segovia, with notes of caramel apple and roast nuts, these beans are sure to please even the most persnickety of coffee drinkers.
Photo: Courtesy of Grounds for Change
⑥ Loliware Edible Cups
Made out of all-natural seaweed, these ingenious edible cups come in flavors like tart cherry and yuzu citrus, and we're drooling over the infinite cocktail and dressed-up dessert possibilities. An ice cream sundae nestled in a vanilla bean cup means you can now have your cup and eat it, too.
Photo: Courtesy of LOLIWARE
⑦ Fetzer Wines
As the first California winery to rely solely on renewable energy and one of the world's first zero-waste wine producers, Fetzer has been at the forefront of industry sustainability. And with bottles ranging from a classic, robust Cabernet Sauvignon to an almost-too-easy-to-drink cherry- and strawberry-scented white Zinfandel, we're more than happy for the excuse to get a little tipsy while also benefiting Mother Nature.