Ethicul UK
Hi there! We’re Charlie, Matt & Ryan and together we set up Ethicul UK.
Ethicul is an app which rewards customers who buy from the ethical stores which are signed up to the scheme.
Having all moved to Brighton from Portsmouth back in 2016 to attend University; we were staggered to see how many fantastic, ethically minded retailers there were in and around the city. We could certainly see why its among the greenest of cities in the UK, but we still found ourselves shopping with the retail powerhouses that often ‘greenwash’ their reputations.
This is where we recognised the problem. We didn’t know where these ethically minded retailers were, nor what they had to offer. To us this was crazy, as these are the retailers that are fighting for the sustainability of our planet, enhancing our communities and improving our well beings. For that reason, we established Ethicul to be entrenched within those three core pillars.
These pillars are a reflection of the wider impacts associated with our purchasing behaviour. Firstly, one major issue at the forefront is the sustainability of our planet. Just one example that highlights this issue is the uphill battle against plastic, with much of this coming from our daily purchasing habits. Staggeringly, since 1950; 91% of all plastic waste has NOT been recycled, accompanied by the fact that there are currently 8 million tonnes of plastic entering our oceans each year. This is detrimental to our marine environment as it results in the ingestion, suffocation and entanglement of hundreds of marine species. Not only this, non-recyclable plastic that is incinerated contributes towards the alarming level of carbon dioxide entering our atmosphere. Highlighting the fashion industry, a whopping 85% of textiles end up in landfills or are incinerated when most of these materials could be reused!
Secondly, there are BIG impacts on our communities, for both yours and ours as well as communities around the world. 1 in 10 children globally are forced to work to financially support their families. This is equivalent of around 150 million children, with almost half of these forced to work in dangerous or exploitative conditions. Just because we are not seeing this directly in our own communities, it does not mean that we do not contribute towards it. Many of the world's biggest brands have been found to be exploiting this, and I think we are probably all guilty of purchasing from at least one of those. A recent BBC article shined the light on the well-known Boohoo, who also own Pretty Little Thing as they faced a backlash after a report claimed that workers at a Leicester factory were paid just £3.50 an hour (under half the minimum wage), while being offered no protection from Coronavirus. This is simply has to change.
This takes us nicely onto the third impact that is of our social well-being. An area that has seemingly become more relevant than ever. Aspects such as mental and physical health are now much more talked about, which is fantastic. So, the idea of support mechanisms for employees are now crucial. However, 2 million workers in the UK were paid at or below the national minimum wage as of April 2019, which can often cause difficulties in upholding social stability.
It is now time to take matters into our own hands as we have continued to demand the products that directly contribute to so many issues, but we tend to forget this is our choice! Unless we change as individuals, we cannot turn the tide towards a fairer and more sustainable world for ourselves and future generations.
In response to the wider issues outlined above which includes the detrimental climate crisis we find ourselves in; as a trio, we decided to take direct action by forming Ethicul. We have created the UK’s first online platform that informs, encourages and rewards individuals for making more ethically minded shopping decisions. Simply sign up, shop and get rewarded; it really is that easy. Ethicul bridges the gap between ethically minded individuals and retailers by facilitating transactions between the two. When someone purchases with any of our partners, they receive Ethicul Tokens for doing so. As you continue to shop, these can then be redeemed for a variety of rewards that have generously been offered by our fantastic partners. We introduced this platform to help turn the tide towards positive purchasing.
From our own experience, we know that factors such as convenience and price often get in the way of shopping ethically and sustainably. We are also well aware of the individuals who are sat on the fence and do want to shop for the better; yet, need that little nudge. Through gamification and rewarding people for making conscious purchasing decisions; we are tackling these obstacles. We think it is fair to say that all of us are well aware of the climate crisis we find ourselves in. At Ethicul; we are facilitating change and revolutionising the way we shop. We are giving the ethically minded businesses the exposure, visibility and credit they deserve for all the amazing things they do. We understand that no one is perfect; but as a collective we can all make a difference together. We saw the positive impacts on the climate crisis during lockdown. This goes to show how much good we can do for the sustainability of our planet in such a short space of time!
Our key struggles and obstacles:
As a new start-up focused on tackling sustainability and encouraging more of us to shop ethically; we have encountered struggles on the way. As briefly mentioned, a key issue for us and so many others have been operating amongst COVID-19. We were simply unable to go and meet partners face-to-face and reach out to any brick and mortar businesses. We had to adapt our business model and focus predominantly on e-commerce brands who are tackling the issues associated with our modern day purchasing habits. Given the struggle our local, independent and ethically minded businesses are facing; we are determined to support them and ensure they come out stronger as we start to transition back towards normality. This also leads us on to our second key obstacle; focused around changing people’s purchasing behaviour. This is extremely difficult, as people are very set in their own ways! That is why we have devised the platform to inform, encourage and reward; to make it less of a burden for people to break free of the current and very often unsustainable shopping habits.
What we’ve achieved (so far):
As a trio, it’s really interesting to look back on the past few months since we officially incorporated in March and see all of the progress we’ve made. Like a lot of people; we are guilty of thinking about what we haven’t achieved, about what we could have done and about opportunities we have missed. This mindset is certainly something we need to alter and the support we have got from our partners has helped us to do this. They remind us of not what we haven’t achieved BUT what we have.
We graduated in August, so I think we sometimes forget that we built Ethicul firstly whilst sitting our final year University exams and secondly during a global pandemic. We are also very proud to say that we achieved three First Class Honours degrees. By forming Ethicul; we have managed to support over 40 ethical independent retailers and counting. This has meant that businesses who operate thoughtfully, sustainably and ethically have had more business driven their way in what is obviously a challenging economical period.
For instance, one of the great businesses we have been able to support is Mintie. Mintie are committed to reducing the amount of plastic waste that goes into our landfills from children’s packed lunches – they have done this by bringing out their very own range of stainless-steel lunch boxes that are completely free from BPA and other plastics. Businesses like Mintie and many others we work with are driven by a real passion for change, their purpose goes much beyond profit but to inspire others to live a more sustainable life and support them in doing this.
Our mission at Ethicul is to alter people’s purchasing habits to switch to ethical local shopping, supporting our planet, community and well-beings. We have already seen many people do this by using our Ethicul platform to shop with local independents, but this is just the start. A number of our community have messaged us about how special it has been to receive hand written notes from the people who make the products. This experience is both personable and unique when compared to the global corporations treating each order as a number, not a person. We hope that in the future many more people make the switch to ethical shopping where they can have a clear conscious and support the communities that they live in – and we are here to make it happen!
If you live in the Brighton area sign up at our website!
