The red alert for climate change has sounded. If corrective actions aren’t taken, the damage to the planet will be irreversible. By choosing to purchase environmentally responsible products, we can all help contribute to a better future. That’s why we’re introducing you to five sustainable Mexican companies that are working to make a difference in the fight against climate change.
Buen Rollo
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Buen Rollo is committed to environmental conservation with its 100 percent bamboo toilet paper. Every year, millions of healthy trees are cut down to produce toilet paper. Bamboo, in contrast, is a grass and one of the fastest-growing plants on the planet, making it a renewable and easily replenished resource.
Although not trained biologists, Buen Rollo founders Jerónimo Sánchez and Emiliano Rosell researched bamboo until they had become masters in the subject. Their commitment to the planet runs so deep that their packaging uses soy ink and has a Forest Stewardship Council certification, which indicates that the packaging of the product that carries it was made with resources from forests managed in an environmentally responsible way.
Today, Buen Rollo’s business model is e-commerce through its website. Compared to other bamboo-based toilet paper companies, one of its major distinguishing features is its subscription program. To tackle the common problem of running out of toilet paper in homes or offices, this tool allows customers to receive their products every four, six or eight weeks.
Gebak
This family brand is committed to sustainable and ecological cleaning products in the form of effervescent tablets that significantly reduce the environmental impact and carbon footprint of the usual liquid products thanks to efficient transport and storage. Gebak’s product range includes laundry detergents, hand and dish soaps and all-purpose cleaners.
All of their products are designed to dissolve in water, ensuring effective and environmentally friendly cleaning. Ingredients are selected using strict biodegradability criteria. Gebak favors locally sourced ingredients and ensures that each product is not only effective but does not harm the environment.
Commons
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Adaptogens are plants used in herbal medicine to help the body maintain balance. Commons creates Mexico’s most potent and concentrated adaptogen products to prevent and cope with physical, mental, and emotional stress. All of their extracts are 100 percent organic, plant-based, non-GMO, dairy-free, gluten-free, and free of harmful artificial substances such as dyes or preservatives.
Their glass packaging is earth-friendly and reusable. On their website, you can find a glossary of products and their function and a list of health professionals who work with adaptogens.
Someone Somewhere
This brand integrates craftsmanship with innovative materials to create functional and sustainable products. The brand’s mission is to provide fair and consistent work to artisan communities in Mexico while protecting the planet by ensuring a responsible supply chain. Each product carries a label signed by the artisan and a QR code that allows you to learn their story and send them a message, creating a meaningful interaction between artisan and consumer.
Someone Somewhere offers a wide range of products that combine functionality, design and impact. Their clothes use sustainable materials such as recycled cotton and polyester and artisanal techniques like pedal loom weaving and hand embroidery. They have implemented innovations in their design process, using AI technologies to create concepts and validate designs, as well as incorporated textile waste to close the loop and reduce their environmental impact. Their focus on circularity and sustainability has been recognized with B Corp and Climate Neutral certifications.
Muyme
Muyme focuses on the personal care market, developing solid products such as shampoos, conditioners, creams and, notably, its innovative toothpaste in tablets. Its products are certified by Cofepris and the FDA, complying with quality and safety standards and promoting responsible and conscious consumption. None of its products are tested on animals and all are designed to minimize environmental impact, from raw materials selection to packaging. In addition, the company has recently adopted an effective online marketplace model that allows other Mexican brands with a sustainable philosophy to join its platform and reach a larger number of potential customers.
Sustainability has become a fundamental pillar for modern companies, not only as a means of social responsibility but also as a key strategy for long-term growth.
Organic production processes improve the care of our natural environment, thus avoiding contamination of land, water and soil. Investing in organic food ultimately improves the well-being of our planet, in addition to the numerous short and long term benefits of organic products for you.
Camila Sánchez Bolaño is a journalist, feminist, bookseller, lecturer, and cultural promoter and is Editor in Chief of Newsweek en Español magazine.
How cool — thanks for posting!
Environmental Pitfalls
That’s not to say that bamboo is a perfect solution. The NRDC points out in its 2019 report that hardwood forests are now being destroyed just to make room for bamboo plantations, so it’s important to buy only bamboo products that are FSC-accredited.1 The fact that most bamboo is imported from Asia adds to its environmental impact, too.
Let’s hope that Mexicans are smart enough to grow their own bamboo rather than import it, but indeed the article doesn’t say.
Admirable no question (really worthwhile) but I really wonder about the actual difference it will make on a planet that will optimistically top out at 9•5 billion
We would need more that 3 earths (yes, three habitable and exploitable planets) if all lived to Western standards
That’s my sentiment every time I hear about “Climate Change” rather than population cancer (of the earth), but we are alive irregardless.
Yes, and help these businesses! I posted this on Facebook.