Female Founded Ethical Businesses we LOVE!
I love truly knowing the companies I’m shopping from. It’s one way I can understand the impact our life is having on people, my health, the planet which is what this space is all about. But I often highlight that the companies are “women run”, “female founded”, “black owned” or highlighting something similar. Here’s why I do that.
In my shopping I LOVE the chance to support the companies that are less supported by the system. The companies that have to overcome more challenges, the companies the world needs but is less likely to see. More recently that means too, the ones that have been hit harder by the pandemic: women in the US left the work force at 4 times the rate of men through the pandemic with 2.2 million women leaving the US workforce in 2020, and that’s not unique to the US.
“In 2023, new TUC analysis revealed that Women’s Pay Day (the day when the average woman stops working for free compared to the average man) – was 23 Feb 2023.
[TUC UK]
These days range for different countries and industries and for different subsets within “women” such as age and race, but they mark the day in each year when women hit the earnings of men in the same roles in the year prior. As in, women have to work till (in the case of 2023) February 23rd to earn what an average man earned by December last year. Notably not all women, some women of colour and higher age have to wait longer than average to hit the same pay in 2 years combined than the average man just in a year.
As well as pay, when we’re looking at starting businesses, studies show that female-founded startups receive less venture capital funding male founded startups. And we as we shop can be part of supporting change.
When we’re searching out women owned, or female founded companies, to me it’s also about the world MISSING OUT on brilliant people and companies and innovation and getting to change that! Some of the best solutions I’ve found to problems in my life have come from the women owned or black owned companies that don’t get the most funding, support, or exposure from the system … and we’re all missing out as a result!
Did you know that women are more likely than men to think that social, ethical and environmental considerations in business are important? Yet in 2016, 91 per cent of investment by value in the UK was directed into companies without a single female founder, even though, when firm characteristics (size, sector, age, funding) are controlled for, women-owned firms outperform those owned by their male counterparts.
(Women in Enterprise: A Different Perspective. RBS Group 2012)
So, it’s not about avoiding white male owned companies… but those aren’t hard to find. And it’s statistically less hard to get funding, loans, or publicity if you’re one of those so if I can use my everyday choices to shop items that care for the planet, and my health, and others AND also champion a company that the system is less set up to champion… I’m all in. Especially when they’re the ones that often give me the solutions and values I need.
So in that, here are a few of my favourites I sought out and fell in love with for their solutions and brilliance. But I’m a little bit more dedicated to sharing them for being women founded or led.
My Favourite Women Owned Businesses!
CLOTHING+ APPAREL
MUTHAHOOD GOODS (UK based, worldwide shipping)
For kids and adults alike Gemma at Muthahoood has something for you, but the small curated selection of very thoughtful, educational and empowering gifts for kids is incredible and one I personally shop from regularly. Highly recommend.Eco friendly packaging. Ethically made apparel. Find the collection HERE with local UK and some international shipping.
SANCHO SHOP (UK + worldwide shipping)
Always one of my first stops for gifting clothes. And I know I’m not alone cos Sancho Shop won Highstreet Shop of the year which I think is incredible, to see that go to an ethical, eco conscious brand founded and run by a black woman: YES! That happened because people shopped there (because they build an incredible business we wanted to shop!), but where we shop makes a difference! Shop Sancho Shop HERE.
BEAUMONT ORGANIC
Gorgeous timeless and earthy (but also with style, you know?!) pieces I love. With organic cotton and other materials and all sustainably, ethically made. Their home section is also gorgeous.
ECO OUTFITTERS (worldwide)
This is been the most invaluable resource for us with school age kids! Set up by two mums, they are the BEST source of organic, ethically made school uniform. They have all the standard colours and many more niche items too. Their customer service is fantastic and I can’t recommend them highly enough.
WORKBENCH LONDON (UK)
“What’s the ring place where you made your own ring?” You’ve DM’d me and for good reason – it was one of the most fun things I did in lockdown 2020! You get to carve your own ring in wax, send it back and have it cast in recycled silver. They’re UK based but ship Stateside too! Shop them HERE.
PARACHUTE HOME (US + Canada)
I get asked lots about my pink bath robe (which was a gift from a friend and makes getting ready feel so luxurious as I juggle kids and blow drying hair ha!) and it’s from here. Everything is Fairtrade or ethically made, with GOTS and Oeko Tex certified materials. They’re always climate neutral certified and are introducing circular (reusing things!) programs which I love to see.
Almost all of the bra companies on my ethical bras post are female founded too!
SKINCARE
EVOLVE BEAUTY (worldwide free shipping)
I’m in love with this! Evolve Organic Beauty is one of the brands I’ve discovered on my search for skincare I love in the UK, but it’s available in the US too. It’s packaged in glass, recycled and recyclable plastic and they are eco conscious all through what they do. They also have the ingredients I want, leaving out all the things I don’t want on my skin but including the things I do like peptides, Bakuchiol, and vitamin C. Shop Evolve HERE in the UK (the bio retinol bundle I’m loving is HERE) and find it in the US via Credo Beauty HERE.
FROWNIES (US/UK/Australia/Canada shipping)
These were a new addition for me in 2021! They’re small patches you can stick on your face overnight to relax and retrain muscles causing wrinkles
COCOKIND
Priscilla Tsai is a goldmine of knowledge on skin and skincare and business and launched her line about 5 years ago. It’s a radically transparent customer focused business which I LOVE seeing. I loved the Matcha Stick and Chia face oil and they got me started on good skincare!
Find a few pieces in the UK HERE and in the US more widely in stores and HERE.
BEAUTYCOUNTER
You know I love this one and how l love a B Corp! Beautycounter was started by mom of three Gregg Renfrew. It’s a California based B Corp that set out to change the skincare industry reality that’s lacking in options and regulation on safety. It’s a company with a mission far beyond its own products and has helped to change 9 laws on safer cosmetics since its 2013 beginning.
Shop Beautycounter HERE in the US/Canada
WHOLEMAKER CO
Wholemaker is my go to for lip balm ever since she sent me a sample 5 years ago! For people who love extra simple skincare, find her simple and wonderful, eco packaged skincare range HERE.
GUA SHA TOOL + EDUCATION: SU-MAN (UK and online)
Gua Sha comes from traditional Chinese Medicine and means “to scrape away pain”. It has so many benefits to the face! Both the shops below have great instagram accounts with helpful videos!
The tool I’d recommend in the UK (the one I have) is HERE
GUA SHA TOOL + EDUCATION: TREATMENT BY LANSHIN (US and online)
This is the US option I’d recommend! Founder Sandra Lanshin Chiu, L.Ac., M.S.T.C.M. is a wealth of information and free education on instagram and also offers online classes as well as treatments in New York.
CURATED ONLINE STORES:
CLOTHING, GIFTS, LIFESTYLE (with international shipping)
I love stores that do the work for me and where I can shop lots of needs in one go. All three of these ship widely and do just that, from clothing to razors, candles to skin care, gifts to jewellery… I love them all and all female founded.
KNOW THE ORIGIN (worldwide shipping)
London UK based, I found KTO for clothes and then found out they stock and incredible range of a bit of everything and so many brands I love. They also have a female founded selection and 80% of the brands are female founded and owned! Shop them HERE with worldwide shipping!
PACKAGE FREE SHOP (worldwide shipping)
The Package Free Shop is a personal fave and one of those places you can add anything to your cart and know it’s a good choice in terms of caring for health, people and planet. They have plastic free, minimal shipping, and I would love basically anything in the shop as a gift so it’s a GREAT one to scroll and knock out lots at once! Shop them worldwide HERE.
YARD + PARISH (worldwide shipping)
I can’t get enough of the things Yard + Parish find and stock, they’re all stunning, and well sourced. In their own words: “Yard + Parish is an online marketplace that seeks out the chicest, most eco-conscious, independent brands of the African Diaspora to curate an offering that champions a natural, conscious and colourful lifestyle. Indulge in an array of Black-owned brands offering clean beauty, handmade jewellery, fashion accessories, homeware, and much more. Discover the Diaspora with us!” Shop Yard + Parish worldwide (woo!) HERE.
SANCHO SHOP
Another fantastic curated shop of ethical, well sourced, thoughtful items. Sancho Shop went won Highstreet Shop of the year which I think is incredible, to see that go to an ethical, eco conscious brand founded and run by a black woman: YES! Shop Sancho Shop HERE.
FOOD + DRINK
RITUAL VITAMINS (UK/US)
“Simple, clean, and backed by science.” Another female led B corporation doing great things. They’re making well formulated, third party tested vitamins with a transparent and traceable supply chains. All the things that are so hard to do, but matter so much.
Find them HERE in the UK, HERE in the US and HERE in Canada
BEBAMBU COLLAGEN (UK)
I searched for so long for a collagen I was happy with. Not in plastic, sourced well, tested for heavy metals. All the things! And I found it in Bebambu. It’s marine collagen and my favourite is the strong one which has a slightly sweet taste – I pop it in my black coffee at 5am to give me some protein while I’m working before breakfast!
Black owned. Small business. Low waste. Great ingredients. Find it HERE.
LUCACAO (UK/EU)
Fairtrade, well packaged chocolate is hard to come by and I loved coming across this London based, black owned, female founded brand. Amarachi founded the company in 2015 and sweetens all the chocolate with lucama or coconut sugar. Highly recommend! It’s a great one for gifts – look at the Haiti hot chocolate, and small lollipops for kids!
Find the range HERE for the EU/UK
FREELAND SPIRITS (US)
Jared’s aunt came to visit for a weekend a few years ago and brought a selection of gins for a tasting (yeah, she’s the best) and this was one of them from Freeland Spirits, one of very few women owned and run distilleries in history. Did you know women have more taste buds and more cells in the olfactory bulb in the brain?!
Find them HERE if you’re in the US (they ship to most states)
HOME + LIFESTYLE
BETTER COMPANY (worldwide shipping)
My friend Ruth started this wonderful company in 2020 right as lockdown started and the buy-one-get-one Better Cup has done so well. I didn’t try a menstrual cup for years but I highly recommend trying a silicon menstrual cup if you’re able to! Much cheaper than any other option, it needs less changing than any other option and with being reusable and requiring no machine washing, it’s the most eco friendly option out there. Find Better Cup HERE with worldwide shipping.
GOOD FOR THE SWOLE
My absolute favourite for at home workouts that challenge me in regular life and during pregnancy and post partum. I specifically like the workouts that are safe for Diastasis Recti (ab separation) that affected me twice post partum (read more HERE) and took a lot to heal. I do the app subscription but have done them all and love them all. Very very worthwhile money for what you get!
SPRUCE CLEANERS
I never thought I’d veer away from my go to vinegar water and essential oils cleaner until… Spruce appeared in my DMs. It’s really well priced compostable sachets you empty into a forever bottle, and add water. They have great ingredients, no artificial fragrance, and they clean really well. It also means they’re not using any fuel for shipping basically water, which is something I increasingly think about. LOVE. It really is the best of the best and I’m not sure what would sell me on a different cleaner.
Shop them HERE locally in the UK and internationally.
STASHER BAGS
We love stasher bags and I use them for lunch boxes every day. They’re a lot stronger than plastic sandwhich bags so that last forever, and even if and when they do get trashed, they don’t break down to microplastics the way plastics bags too so their environmental impact is lower.
Find Stasher Bags HERE in the US and HERE in the UK!
ROSANNA MORRIS ART
…is honestly currently the only art I have in my home along with my sister!
Find her beautiful and poignant, award winning artwork HERE
KIDS
ECO OUTFITTERS
This is been the most invaluable resource for us with school age kids! Set up by two mums, they are the BEST source of organic, ethically made school uniform. They have all the standard colours and many more niche items too. Their customer service is fantastic and I can’t recommend them highly enough.
HAZEL VILLAGE
I’ve researched dolls more than I’d care to admit and this is the one item I couldn’t bring myself to get second hand. These are the winner for me with organic materials, ethical production, a reasonable price (for this kind of item, trust me), they look gorgeous instead of a bit odd like so many I found, and they have multiple skin tones. And even better, you can buy matching sets of clothes for children and the doll which is amazing.
Find them HERE in the US (and for shipping to Canada and beyond see the “where to buy” page and for the UK see HERE) and you get 10% off for signing up to their email so do that!
OLLI ELLA
This is the other doll brand that we have, a B corporation with beautiful dolls and accessories. These ones can sit and stand which is a pro maybe for older children, and are a bit larger than Hazel village. They do though come with (BPA and pthalate free) plastic shoes and acrylic clothing so that is a draw back for me. They all have neutral expressions to encourage creativity and imagination.
