Be more green with these handy apps

The world needs us all to start living more sustainable lives but the difficulty is many of us don't know where to start. Luckily we live in the great age of technology. There are 1000’s of apps that want to help us improve our way of life and so I downloaded a few to see what I liked most. They range from battling fast fashion to a social media platform for good:

Supernova (available on the App Store and Google Play)

Social media plays a big part in people’s day to day lives now and for the most part we all know we waste too much time scrolling through content that can bring us down. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t all bad and there are times I think social media can be a very powerful and impactful tool but it can also help spread hate and misinformation and this isn’t good for anyone. Supernova is a new social media platform that wants to change this. 

Supernova calls itself a ‘Purpose Lead’ social network and it wants to give back! Their first claim is that they will give 60% of all their advertising income to charities chosen by their users. So in order to know how to share the income amongst the chosen charities it needs us, the user, to tell them what we want to advocate for. You do this once you've set up an account. Now all you have to do is start sharing good and wholesome content that will get ‘likes’ from your followers. The ‘likes’ work more like votes for your content and the more votes you get the more your chosen charity will get from the advertising income. It’s social media with a difference and I love it!

reGAIN (available on the App Store and Google Play)

Fast fashion is a huge issue in the world right now so many of us are making changes in how we buy our clothes. Something that can also help the world combat fast fashion is making sure that we are responsible in how we ‘dispose’ of the clothes we no longer love. 

Enter reGAIN. You can either recycle your unwanted items by sending them to reGAIN in the post free of charge or by dropping off at a local drop off point. Alternatively you have the option to donate your goods to charity. If knowing you are responsibly recycling your clothes wasn't enough then you have the added bonus of unlocking coupons once you have made a donation. When recycling is made this easy and attractive, you have no reason to send your unwanted items to landfill - it’s that simple!

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Olio (available on the App Store and Google Play)

Olio isn’t new to the scene. It was launched in 2015 and over the last 7 year it has amassed 5 million users worldwide. It had a surge in users during the pandemic and has steadily continued to grow. In a nutshell it is a food-sharing app aimed at reducing food waste. Rather than throwing away food from your fridge or cupboard that you aren’t going to eat, snap a picture of it and upload it to the app. People in your local area can then view what you’ve got to offer and request the item. There are no charges for these items, they are all to be given away for free. If you find people in your local area aren’t taking your excess food and it is still being wasted, then the next app I tried might be the one for you - read more about Kitche below.

Even though reducing food waste was the initial driving force behind the app, it now has the option to advertise free ‘Non-food’ items too. It also includes sections where you can ‘Borrow’ things and also sell your handmade items. It really is an all round little handy app to have!

Kitche (available on the App Store and Google Play)‍

Now this is the app for you if you find that you are throwing away a lot of food week on week. I myself am a meal planner so I will look at my upcoming week and decide what I’m going to cook each evening. This minimises my food wastage as when I do my shopping I am only buying what I need, but if you often go shopping with a vague idea of what you might want to cook but then ultimately end up changing your mind then this app can help you use up the food you have bought before it expires. 

Scan in your shopping receipt and it will log what you have in your fridge and cupboards (you do have the option to manually add items too). When you’ve used an item just jump into the app and swipe it off the list. When the items on your list are coming close to the expiry dates you’ll be notified by the app and you can then make sure these ingredients are used first. Recipes are available within the app to help you find something delicious to make with what you have. If for some reason you find that you have to throw away food this can be logged in the app and you can then track your food wastage and make better choices and create better habits week on week.

Impact Score® Shopping (available on the App Store and Google Play)‍

This app was my favourite of all the ones I tried. Honestly, this app could do with a bit of a revamp in how it looks in my opinion but that doesn’t change the fact I like it. 

Simply scan or search for an item you have in your food cupboard and find out how many badges it has - basically how good/sustainable it is. The scores are collated by looking at these 6 areas: 'Free from additives', 'Better packaging', 'Plant based', 'Healthier option', 'Organic', 'Low carbon footprint'. 

Once you’ve scanned an item, have a look at its credentials! You can see what badges it was awarded and what it missed out on, plus you are provided with alternative options if you aren’t happy with how it shapes up!

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All of the apps I tried have great benefits but as I said before, Impact Score® Shopping app was definitely my favourite. That's simply because I think it will have one of the biggest impacts on how I shop for my food and the items I pick up. By using this app I will be making more conscious choices when at the store, looking for not only a healthier option but a more sustainable one too.

If you have an app idea you want to discuss or a project you want to propel into the next phase, then don’t hesitate to get in touch!