So, you grow your own veggies, compost your scraps and take your own cotton shopping bags to the grocery store with you. But lately, you’ve been itching to get more involved in saving our planet and are stuck for ways on how to make time for your sustainable crusading AND your job. Why not think about combining the two, and better yet, making money out of something that you love and that is good for the environment? There are so many options when it comes to green businesses, and there are probably thousands that you never even knew were options in the first place! Here are a few novel concepts to get the ball rolling…
Sustainable Fashion
Green is the new black, and Eco-chic is the new sexy. In a market dominated by cheap, poor-quality synthetic materials, there is a big opening for those creative types who want to find high-quality recycled or sustainable materials to make clothing and fashion accessories from. If you’re sartorially-inclined, you might want to have a think about opening a business in sustainable fashion. This could be anything from sourcing sustainable materials, to making or recycling the fabrics yourself, to designing the clothes–there are limitless opportunities to become involved at every stage of the game, depending on where your skills lie!
Eat Local
The ‘Think Global, Eat Local’ movement is gathering steam, and operates on the concept that by reducing the distance our food has to travel (do you know the average Melbourne food basket travels three times the distance of Australia’s coastline before it gets to your plate?) the better it is for the environment. There is more and more demand for locally sourced and grown products, and again your business could be involved at any stage–an organic, local, seasonal cafe perhaps? What about becoming a grower or buyer? As they say, the world’s your oyster (if you live on the coast, that is…)
Play the Stock Market
Perhaps you’re less of a start-up business kind of person and your talents lie in playing the stock market? There are still plenty of opportunities for you to turn green into…well, more green! Invest in a carbon credits scheme, a green energy alternative or a green company you feel passionate about—our environmental issues aren’t going anywhere soon, and more and more people will be sitting up and taking notice as the situation worsens, so get in now and make a difference!
These are just three of hundreds of ideas you could adapt for your own business-model. It could be anything from starting a recycled paper factory to simple selling re-useable promotional bags to raise environmental awareness. If you’re a business person then rest assured–there’s some way you can help.