Did you know, your phone can help you live more sustainably? That’s right, there are tons of sustainable living apps you can download to help reduce your carbon footprint, shop thrifted clothes, find water refill stations, recycling center locators, and even vegan food finders! Sustainable living no longer takes too much time or money. You have everything you need right at your fingertips for free! Check out our list of the best green apps here:
HappyCow
If you’re wanting to practice a more sustainable lifestyle, you’ll want to start with Happy Cow. Happycow is an app to help you reduce your meat intake. It provides information on restaurants, coffee shops, and other eateries that offer vegan food options. Whether you are traveling or dining out locally, you don’t have to guess where you’ll find vegan restaurants or meals anymore. The best part is you could find hidden gems you never knew were in your area.
If you’re looking to eat more plant based meals, be sure to also check out The Zero Waste Vegan Cookbook!
ThredUp
ThredUp is a thrift shopping app where you can sell or purchase used clothes. There are clothes for men, women, children, shoes, accessories, and more. You can even find winter gear or swimwear. Instead of going to the mall and purchasing another shirt, head over to ThredUp to repurpose clothing at a much cheaper price. You will even find your favorite name brands! Shopping secondhand instead of supporting fast fashion brands is a wonderful way to live mores sustainably!
Check out our post all about embracing slow fashion here!
Ecosia Search Engine
This app is a search engine just like Google but makes a positive impact every time you use it! Once you download Ecosia, you use it the same as you would Google or Safari. Ecosia is run by a nonprofit that focuses on reforestation. It uses the ad revenue from your searches to plant a tree every time in an area where it is needed. This is really one of the easiest ways you can live more sustainably!
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This app shows you water refill locations in your surrounding area. Instead of purchasing water bottles or cups at local restaurants, this app allows you to bring a reusable water bottle. You’ll have no problem finding a water station after downloading this app. Say goodbye to single-use cups and plastic bottles. This is a great way to help reduce plastic pollution especially when traveling!
Refresh Go Green
This app was built to help you eliminate the excuse that sustainable living takes too much time and money. It provides 52 steps to help you live a healthier life and impact the planet positively. If helps you stay on track to living a better life without the hassle and harm.
Think Dirty
Think Dirty is an app that focuses on helping you find sustainable personal care products in the beauty, self-care, and household industries. Not only are toxic products harming your body but they are also harming our earth. Many like to use this app each time they hit the grocery store or to have a simple way of ordering sustainably at home. You easily vet household products to see what kind of ingredients they contain.
Oroeco
This great app tracks your carbon footprint while reducing your impact on the environment. If tracking your carbon footprint seems difficult or confusing, this app will guide you through the process. Oroeco keeps track for you so you don’t have the hassle.
RecycleNation
RecycleNation is an app that helps you find recycling locations in your surrounding area. If recycling seems hard or confusing, RecycleNation will be beneficial. No more driving around looking for recycle centers. This app has you covered to conveniently drop off your items.
Check out our post “Wishful Recycling: How We Can Improve the Way We Recycle”
Fat Llama
This app allows users to lend others items such as camper vans, lawnmowers, camera gear, and more for a certain amount of time. You get paid to lend while helping someone not buy the product. This protects our earth by reducing consummation. Next time you’re trying a new hobby, check Fat Llama to lend the gear. It’s better than purchasing gear and finding out you actually hate that hobby.
Falling Fruit
If you love fresh fruit this app is for you! Falling Fruit is an app that helps find fresh fruits and other plants that are ready to harvest in your area. For example, it will have a locator for a pear tree down the road that anyone can pick from. When the pears are ripe, the app will let you know and you can grab yourself some rather than going to the store. Whether you enjoy apples or fresh corn, this app is for you.
BlaBlaCar
How about fighting global warming by driving less? BlaBlaCar is a ride-sharing app so you can reduce the number of carbon emissions from driving. Next time you need to run into the store quickly for a can of beans, use BlaBlaCar. Ride-sharing saves you from buying gas and saves the earth with less emissions. Who knows, you may even make a friend along the way!
Good On You
This app allows you to make informed choices when buying clothes. When looking for a new shirt, you can type in your favorite brand and see how sustainable it is. If it is not sustainable, the Good On You app recommends other options that have the same color and style that are more sustainable. It’s an easy way to shop your favorites sustainable rather than looking for hours. Every fashionista will love downloading this app.
Facebook Marketplace
When you think of sustainable apps, you may not be thinking of Facebook. After downloading this app, find Facebook Marketplace. This area of Facebook is where people sell or give away items for free that you may be looking for. Instead of buying a new halloween costume for your child, hop on Facebook Market place and get one. Not only will it save you money but it will also reduce your purchases. Giving an item another life is so beneficial to our earth. You can find almost anything you’re looking for on here.
No matter what app you choose to download, even one will make a huge difference in your impact on this earth. Having apps ready to go makes sustainable choices easier. Instead of running to the store for a new shirt, you can shop sustainably for one on your couch. You could even make a folder on your phone with all of these apps for quick and easy access. This will make it even easier for you to choose sustainable options. Sustainable living no longer takes too much time or money. We have all the resources we need at the tips of our fingers.
Too Good to Go
The Too Good to Go app helps prevent food waste! The app shows nearby local businesses, bakeries, grocery stores, and restaurants that have a surplus of foods. These foods would most likely go to waste so the businesses in your local area can sell them at a steep discount. You get to keep food from going to waste while also saving some money. Help fight climate change, one day old pastry at a time 🙂
Too Good to Go is available in limited cities, but if you live in a larger city, you might find it works in your area. Unfortunately for me, this awesome isn’t available in my town in Georgia. Hopefully, we can spread the word about this wonderful resource so it’ll be available in other places soon!
Olio
The Olio app is a food-sharing app that allows individuals and businesses to share surplus food with their local community instead of throwing it away. The app connects users with their neighbors and local shops, enabling them to share and exchange excess food items that might otherwise go to waste. What a simple and great way to reduce your environmental impact!
Olio currently has over 7 million users and their community is growing. You can give or gift, lend, or sell all sorts of secondhand, used goods.
Offer Up
The OfferUp app is a mobile marketplace where app users can buy and sell a wide range of items locally. The app allows users to browse and list items for sale, negotiate prices, and make transactions with other users in their area.
OfferUp is similar to other online marketplaces like eBay and Craigslist but with a focus on local transactions. It offers a simple and convenient way for people to buy and sell items within their own communities. Users can search for specific items or browse through categories such as electronics, home and garden, fashion, and more.
Paper Karma
The Paper Karma app is a mobile application designed to help users reduce unwanted junk mail. The app allows users to easily unsubscribe from unwanted mailings and catalogs by simply taking a photo of the mail and submitting it through the app.
Paper Karma uses a combination of technology and human verification to identify the sender of the mail and remove the user’s address from their mailing list. The app can also be used to stop unwanted credit card offers, insurance promotions, and other types of direct mail.
In addition to reducing clutter and waste, Paper Karma can also help protect users from identity theft and fraud by preventing sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands.
Poshmark
Poshmark is an online marketplace where users can buy and sell new or used clothing, shoes, accessories, and beauty products. The platform allows individuals and businesses to set up their own virtual boutique and sell their products to a community of buyers.
Poshmark is known for its social aspect, where users can follow and share items with each other, creating a highly engaged and interactive community. Sellers can also host virtual shopping parties and participate in themed sales events to help promote their products and connect with buyers.
Joule Bug
The JouleBug app is a mobile app that aims to encourage and reward sustainable behavior in users’ daily lives. The app provides a variety of challenges related to reducing energy consumption, water usage, waste reduction, and other sustainable actions.
Users can earn points and badges for completing challenges, and they can compete with friends and other users to see who can achieve the most sustainable behavior. The app also includes educational resources and tips to help users reduce their environmental impact.
HowGood
The HowGood app is a mobile application that provides consumers with information about the sustainability and social impact of food products. The app rates food products based on their environmental and social impact, and provides users with a simple rating system to help them make more informed purchasing decisions.
Cleanfox
The Cleanfox app is a mobile application designed to help users manage and reduce unwanted email subscriptions. The app allows users to easily unsubscribe from newsletters, promotional emails, and other unwanted email lists.
Cleanfox works by scanning a user’s email inbox and identifying recurring senders and newsletters. The app then provides users with the option to unsubscribe from these senders and lists with a single click. Cleanfox also provides users with information about the environmental impact of their email habits, including the carbon footprint associated with storing and transmitting emails.
Love Clean Streets
The Love Clean Streets app is a mobile application designed to help users report and resolve issues related to their local environment. The app allows users to report problems such as litter, graffiti, fly-tipping, and other issues in their community, and provides a simple and streamlined process for reporting these issues to their local authorities.
Users can use the app to take a photo of the problem, provide a brief description, and submit it to their local council or municipality. The app also allows users to track the progress of their reports and receive notifications when their issues are resolved.
Written By:
Molly LaFontaine (Certified Nutritionist and Co-Owner of Tyler + Molly)
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