From equal rights, criminal justice reform, to the environment and beyond, there’s a myriad of pressing concerns and cannabis users spend on products that support their cause.
When making purchasing decisions, the focus tends to be on price, aroma, structure, terpenes, and THC content. These are absolutely important, but we have to remember our dollar is our voting power. When everyone went to the dispensary seeking the highest THC %, it triggered a race for the highest THC %. Endorsing the brands that uphold the same values as you or just supporting conscientious brands can help shift the paradigm that these businesses operate under as well.
A few things to consider
- The packaging the product comes in
- The environment the plants are grown in
- How or if brands manage their footprint.
As talks of regulatory bodies forcing CPG companies away from single-use plastics heats up (for the record, it’s probably lukewarm at best), cannabis brands seem to be putting single joints into dube tubes at an alarming rate. As a budtender handling hundreds of packages per day placed in plastic “childproof” bags, I often wondered why companies were choosing to place a natural product into something unnatural?
“How can you sell something from the earth and put it in an object that’s harming the earth?” asks Didier Cohen, Founder of Life Cannabis Co.
The answer is clearly reducing the end pricepoint, which begs the question for both brands and customers…Would we rather pay now - or later?
In an industry built by cultivators and hippies in California, I somewhat stereotypically felt it was going to be very eco-driven. What I quickly realized is that these cannabis businesses are clinging to extremely tight margins and, while they aren’t exactly wasteful, many also aren’t able to afford sustainable growing practices or sustainable packages. At the end of the day, this is a CPG-driven business. For consumer packaged goods making decisions on whether or not to contribute to the issues plaguing the planet, anything that can be done is at the cost company.
In other words, it’s important to reward the companies who are putting in the steps to better the industry and limit their carbon footprint.
3 Brands That’ll Justify Spending the Extra Dollar
LIFE CANNABIS CO. - I recently got to sit down with the CEO of Life Cannabis Co, Didier ,and I have to honestly say that sustainability is not just his side project. He cares equally about the cannabis he grows and the positive effects he can have on the planet as a business owner. He’s a firm believer that, “our future depends on Sustainable Choices.” Life carries out its mission in 3 ways:
Giving Back
- 💚 5% of profits go back to charities
- 🗑 Biodegradable Packaging
- 🌱 Sustainable Farming Practices
Lifecycle Conscious
- ♻️ Recycled, recyclable, and biodegradable packaging
Sustainable Growing
- ☀️ Organic nutrients, full-spectrum energy
- 💡 Efficient lighting, and recycled water.
WYLD - Both environmentally sustainable and ready to fight for social and racial justice, Wyld has made it its mission to protect the wild. As a carbon and climate neutral brand, they’ve chosen to take a multifaceted approach to being an eco-champion. They plant trees to provide future generations with cleaner air, filtered water, and more biodiversity. They’ve launched packaging in Canada that is fully compostable, meaning if it comes to CA, it can go in the green bin and not the black! Finally, they’re letting their dollars do the talking, by working with several eco-charities to clean up and heal the earth.
- 🌎 Carbon Neutral Company
- ♻️ Fully Compostable Packaging
- 🌱 Committed to Planting 50k Trees
CANNDESCENT - For those who didn’t know, a typical grow facility is anything but sustainable. They require tons of artificial lighting as well as air conditioning, ventilation, and dehumidification. Canndescent’s grow facility, on the other hand, embraces renewable energy with its commercial-scale solar project. Canndescent’s facility offsets the same amount of carbon per year as a 430-acre forest Did I mention their flower is amazing?