Over a million independent companies from different industries and walks of life use Shopify to create their version of change through commerce.
Here is a list of Shopify stores that can serve as a source of inspiration for those who are embarking on the journey of starting their own company. These companies make a difference by recycling trash into materials, saving heritage varieties of crops, producing cult-favorite beauty goods, removing single-use pieces, and so much more.
Check out these stories to see how companies are using their goods and services to express who they are and what they believe in while still planning for the future.
1. Partake Foods
Denise Woodard created Partake Foods after she couldn’t find safe snacks that were also allergy-friendly for her daughter, Vivane. Partake sells school-safe cookies in flavors like chocolate chip, birthday cake, and ginger snaps that are free of the top eight allergens, as well as artificial colors, preservatives, and genetically modified ingredients.
2. Uppercase magazine
The uppercase magazine has been delivering exciting articles and images focused on craft, fashion, illustration, and design for over a decade, all rolled up in a beautifully printed box. Janine Vangool, the publication’s founder and publisher, uses her platform to highlight fellow creators and, since its inception in 2009, has expanded the publication to include Little U, a tiny journal for the young and young at heart, and Encyclopedia, a collection of books that delve deep into topics including ceramics, quilting, and printmaking.
Read: How To Start An Ecommerce Business (2021)
3. Hiut Denim Co.
Hiut Denim is headquartered in Cardigan, Wales, home to the largest jeans factory in the United Kingdom until 2002. Hiut Denim was created in 2011 to capitalize on the jean-making expertise and know-how that remained with many Cardigan residents, showcase their commitment to craft, and bring manufacturing back to Cardigan. Hiut Denim focuses on data, satisfaction, and consistency to make the best jeans, not the most jeans.
4. Manitobah Mukluks
Manitobah Mukluks, based in Manitoba, Canada, was founded in 1997 by Métis entrepreneur Sean McCormick to preserve and celebrate Indigenous traditions through footwear. The Storyboot Project is a collaboration between Indigenous elders and artisans. On the other hand, there are foreign lines to make the footwear more available to a broader audience.
5. Package Free
Lauren Singer, the founder and CEO of Package Free is on a quest to make the planet a less trashy place by offering packaged-free beauty and household goods. Lauren leads a zero-waste lifestyle and has devoted her life and business to inspiring people to be less wasteful. Her Tedx Talk from 2015, which received millions of views, explained how to live a zero-waste lifestyle and featured a 16-ounce Mason jar filled with three years’ worth of garbage.
6. Florist
Florist displays each of its grains, beans, and freshly milled flours like a new blooming bouquet, just like a quaint flower store. Florist sells freshly stone-milled flours and dried products that are 100 percent traceable, and it has sections on its website dedicated to telling more about the farmers it works with. Florist is a sanctuary for bakers and buying ingredients, and there is an investigation into the differences between freshly milled flours and heritage grains.
7. Allbirds
Allbirds, a footwear business that prioritizes natural materials and sustainability, was founded by footballer Tim Brown and engineer Zoey Zwillinger. With wool and eucalyptus threads, simple designs, and packaging made from 90% post-consumer recycled cardboard, Allbirds is a combination of comfort and consciousness.
8. Naja
Naja is a line of inclusive underwear created by designer Catalina Girald and Golden Globe-winning actress Gina Rodriguez. It comes in a variety of nude colors to fit every skin tone. To empower women through jobs, the organization hires single mothers and female heads of households. Naja also donates 2% of its profits to local charities to fund sewing programs.
9. United by Blue
For every product sold, Unified By Blue removes one pound of garbage from the ocean and rivers. Brian Linton’s clothing and home goods business integrates sustainability into every aspect of its operations. United By Blue is dedicated to eliminating single-use plastics such as poly bags, bubble wrap caps, and plastic tape. It also organizes cleanups, enabling consumers to participate in the company’s mission without buying something.
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10. Bailly
Bailly is a vegan all-natural fragrance company co-founded by Ariel Gough and Edwina Govindsamy that donates 15% of every sale from our Girl Power collection to the Just Like My Child Foundation’s Girl Power Initiative. Bailly goods, with their coconut oil-based scents, will not irritate or overwhelm the skin while offering a soft fragrance that is also moisturizing.
11. BLK and Bold
Pernell Cezar Jr. and Rod Johnson created BLK & Bold, intending to assist local communities by selling caffeinated beverages. BLK & Bold uses wholesale and direct-to-consumer marketing to provide young people with the tools they need to live their best lives and conquer adversity. The organization has committed to contributing 5% of income to projects that help youth services, boost workforce growth, and end youth homelessness.
12. Adored Vintage
It’s like traveling to a romantic French countryside by browsing Adored Vintage’s website of vintage clothes and vintage-inspired modern pieces. Rodellee Bas, the owner, curates and designs pieces inspired by vintage silhouettes. Rodellee is a frequent mentor to other women in the industry, and Adored Vintage donates a portion of its profits to local classrooms.
13. Cheekbone Beauty
Cheekbone Beauty is a vegan and cruelty-free beauty brand created by Indigenous owner Jennifer Harper. The lipsticks are wrapped in biodegradable paper and use 85 percent less plastic than conventional lipstick tubes, as part of the brand’s commitment to becoming waste-free by 2023. Cheekbone Beauty founded the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (FNCFCS), which they continue to support by contributing 10% of income to Shannen’s Dream.
14. Meow Meow Tweet
In life and industry, Meow Meow Tweet’s visual artists and founders are Tara Pelletier and Jeff Kurosaki. This organic vegan skincare line is known for its natural-based products and environmentally friendly packaging with Jeff’s whimsical illustrations. Meow Meow Tweet provides a bulk refill service to minimize packaging and waste and a scheme for consumers to return their empty containers for the team to reuse and contribute to and promote organizations that agree with its principles.
15. Bebemoss
A mother of three, Bebemoss, a sustainable children’s toy company based in Turkey, was founded and designed by Izabela Erşahin. Beemoss is proud to hire and reward stay-at-home mothers. The majority of the mothers it employs are Syrian refugees trying to rebuild their lives in Turkey. From cute lions to unicorns to rabbits, each toy is handmade by mothers who are trying to help their families.
16. Kirrin Finch
Kirrin Finch is a clothing line that is inspired by menswear but tailored to suit a wide variety of female and non-binary bodies. Kelly and Laura Moffat, co-founders, source eco-friendly fabrics and enforce pollution-reduction practices while collaborating with fair labor and ethical suppliers to build each garment.
17. Rothy’s
Rothy’s uses 3D knitting technology to transform eco-friendly fabrics into trendy footwear and accessories. It also aspires to be waste-free. Rothy’s has converted over 60 million plastic water bottles into bags or shoes, and its shoeboxes are sturdy enough to ship without extra packaging. They’re also biodegradable, thanks to the fact that they’re made of 85 percent post-consumer recycled materials.
18. MFMG cosmetics
Tomi Gbeleyi used social media to build a beauty industry culture that embraced and celebrated diversity. Tomi developed a line of items specifically for darker skin tones by showcasing talent in the group. Building MFMG is a way for Tomi to change the paradigm in the beauty industry, advocate for inclusivity, and encourage the culture to think outside of the box and build with diversity in mind.
19. Suta
Suta, a fashion house based in Mumbai, India, was founded by sisters Sujata and Taniya Biswas to employ weavers and artisans from underserved communities and use sustainable fabrics. Suta’s designs combine one-of-a-kind handmade materials with classic saree silhouettes, dresses, and blouses, resulting in a blend of tradition, creativity, and innovation.
20. Beneath Your Mask
Dana Jackson has Lupus, a severe type of disease. Dana started looking for pure, all-natural products to rejuvenate herself after the disease affected her hair and skin. Beneath Your Mask, Dana’s beauty line is committed to using non-toxic, pure, all-natural ingredients to nourish and cure beauty routines.
21. Tentree
Dave Luba created Tentree and Kalen Emsley to positively impact the world through commerce, inspired by their time spent immersed in Hawaii. Tentree plants ten trees for every item sold, with a target of producing over a billion trees by 2030.
22. Beauty Bakerie
One of the sweet things about Beauty Bakerie is that their beauty items are branded and named after baked goods. Cashmere Nicole, the founder, has had her share of ups and downs in her entrepreneurial career, from becoming a single mom to fighting breast cancer. Her beauty routine, on the other hand, has always given moments of sweetness. Beauty Bakerie, now a coveted beauty brand and manufacturer of cult-favorite products, formed Sugar Homes in 2016 to support and sponsor orphanages by providing funding and supplies.
23. Artisire
Artisaire exemplifies a company that has honed and dedicated itself to a craft, in this case, wax sealing. Artisaire has reinvented an ancient tradition with personalized wax stamps and premade wax seals. Artisaire owns every phase of the manufacturing process and produces all of its products in Canada. Artisaire’s owners, the Thomsen family, also enjoy handwriting thank you notes and sealing them by hand.
24. Bésame Cosmetics
Gabriela Hernandez, a designer, and makeup historian channels the glitz of her grandmother’s beauty routine into fantastic vintage-inspired beauty items. Bésame Cosmetics’ whole range is cruelty-free, formulated for delicate skin, and manufactured in California, with everything from 1920s-inspired cake mascara to long-wearing classic color lipsticks.
25. Terre Bleu
Terre Bleu’s founders, Ian and Isabelle Baird, moved to Milton, Ontario, to escape the city life’s hustle and bustle and start a lavender farm. Many tourists come to Terre Bleu to soak up the atmosphere, which gives a slice of Provence to Canada. The Bairds have also added a line of lavender-infused beauty, food, and household products to their business.
26. Tsuno
Roz Campbell created Tsuno with the aim of creating period pieces made from environmentally friendly materials. Disempowered women may also benefit from Tsuno’s recycled bamboo fiber sanitary pads and organic cotton tampons. Tsuno donates half of its products to charities that promote education and menstrual hygiene.
27. Ketnipz
When cartoonist Harry Hambley was a teenager, he began using the handle @Ketnipz on Instagram to post his character Bean. Harry was able to collaborate with art festivals and Instagram and produce his merchandise, thanks to Ketnipz’s positivity, puns, and satire, which drew the attention of millions. Bean’s cuteness and positivity can be seen on a variety of sweaters, t-shirts, and accessories.
28. SUGAR cosmetics
Vineeta Singh, the company’s founder, and CEO decided to make cosmetics for fellow Indian beauty fans that were tailored to their skin tone and weather conditions, such as humidity-resistant foundations and bright lipsticks. This Mumbai-based beauty business evolved from a concept to become a retail and direct-to-consumer behemoth in India.
29. Tofino Soap Company
Angela L’Heureux modernized her family recipes to produce candles, soaps, and body care items under the brand Tofino Soap Company, inspired by Tofino’s moss-draped trees, lush greenery, and ocean waves. Tofino is dedicated to using only natural ingredients, some from Angela’s greenhouse, others foraged in the wild, or bought from fair trade suppliers wherever possible. Tofino’s packaging is made up of 80% glass and biodegradable paper stock, and each item is made in small quantities and packaged with sustainability in mind.
30. Velasca
Enrico Casati and Jacopo Sebastio founded Velasca as a direct-to-consumer approach to reduce the layers of distribution for handcrafted leather shoes, allowing them to be sold at more affordable prices. Its products showcase Italian shoemaking, and the company is committed to providing jobs in the Marche region. Velasca now employs over ten families of shoemakers and operates over a dozen retail stores across Europe.
31. Satya
Satya founder Patrice Mousseau began researching and testing the development of effective, nontoxic, and fragrance-free skin products in response to her daughter’s skin conditions and eczema diagnosis. Satya’s line is a simple alternative to traditional skincare, made with only five certified organic ingredients. Satya is proud to be Indigenous and female-owned and being carbon neutral, cruelty-free, and using recycled materials in its packaging.
32. LastObject
LastObject was created by Isabel Aagaard, Kare Frandsen, and Nicolas Aagaard to create substitutes for single-use objects. The LastObject team developed reusable swabs and tissues through popular crowdfunding projects with at least ten (10) times the actual environmental impact of their single-use equivalents.
33. Verve Coffee Roasters
Mike Eyre, Ryan O’Donovan, and Colby Barr founded Verve Coffee in 2007 with a single neighborhood café in Santa Cruz. Since then, the company has grown to include over a dozen retail locations in the United States and Japan, a wholesale distribution arm, and an online store. Through its Farm-level program, which maintains heirloom coffee varieties, manages nurseries, and pays fair prices, Verve has prioritized its commitment to sustainable growing practices and helping farmers above all else.
34. Unwrapped Life
Arden Teasdale and Hayley McKenzie founded Unwrapped Life to provide goods that eliminate the tension between sustainability and effectiveness. Their shampoo, conditioner, and soap bars are all covered in compostable packaging, making them almost waste-free. Unwrapped Life took this waste reduction philosophy to all aspects of its market, establishing a large network of wholesalers to help minimize shipping costs while targeting more consumers, as well as launching a liquid product refill program with a retail partner in Calgary, Alberta.
35. Chocolate Alchemy
John Nanci created chocolate Alchemy to provide cacao beans and his wealth of knowledge to those interested in learning how to make bean-to-bar chocolate. The art and science of making chocolate are intimidating, but John and his team take away some of the mystery. Chocolate Alchemy is a school for those enchanted by chocolate’s beauty, with classes on beans, nibs, and molds.
36. KOTN
KOTN was founded by Benjamin Sehl, Rami Helali, and Mackenzie Yeates to create simple closet staples that were both affordable and of high quality. KOTN’s parts are made with Egyptian cotton, which is more acceptable, softer, and more breathable than other cotton varieties and is sourced directly from the Nile Delta. KOTN buys directly from farmers at guaranteed prices while also funding the construction of schools in the area to increase literacy rates, thus helping the local economy and farming families who have seen a massive decline in business after larger companies moved away.
37. TPMOCS
Maria Running Fisher Jones formed TPMOCS, intending to carry on her mother’s tradition of honoring and giving back to her Indigenous roots. The baby footwear created by TPMOCS is a meaningful way to alleviate poverty by providing jobs and services to Indigenous communities in need. TPMOCS currently operates with The Blackfeet tribe and has teams in California, Washington, and Montana.
38. Made In Cookware
When Chip Malt and Jake Kalick launched Made In Cookware to disrupt the kitchenware market, their vast e-commerce experience complemented Jake Kalick’s third-generation Cookware manufacturing expertise. Made In Cookware collaborates with multigenerational manufacturers and renowned chefs to bring high-quality pots, pans, and knives to culinary enthusiasts at affordable prices, bypassing the layers of conventional distribution.
39. Fresh Heritage
During a trip to Africa, brothers Jamil and Gamal Codner were inspired to bring back common grooming practices and oils to the United States. Fresh Heritage’s items are formulated especially for men of color to nourish and improve their hair. Fresh Heritage caters to a demand that has been underserved with grooming kits, beard oils, and combs.
40. Then I Met You
Charlotte Cho, the founder of Soko Glam and the skincare and beauty curator, thought it was time to launch her skincare collection. Then I Met You is a film that celebrates the concept of “Jeong,” or empathy and love for people, places, and objects. The line of cruelty-free skincare products was developed after a decade of research, bringing to market transformative experiences for consumers created by leading chemists and manufacturers in Korea.
41. GiveMeTap
GiveMeTap sells water bottles that provide five years of safe drinking water to an individual in Ghana. After struggling to find a water refill station in his hometown of London, Edwin Broni-Mensah formed GiveMeTap. Edwin created an app to highlight restaurants and businesses that provided free water refills in order to minimize the use of wasteful bottled water. As of late 2019, Give Me Tap had supported over 50,000 people with safe water for life and reduced over 45 million single-use plastic bottles thanks to its dual dedication to reducing single-use plastic bottles and providing water to those in need.
42. Beefcake Swimwear
Beefcake Swimwear, a line of sustainable and ethically made suits influenced by 1920s fashion, took Mel Wells more than two years to create and launch. These thoughtfully crafted androgynous pieces are made in Portland, Oregon, by people earning a living wage. Mel has freely revealed how the expense of making a piece for Beefcake Swimwear breaks down to be as straightforward as possible.
43. Silk and Willow
Silk and Willow is a green wedding decor boutique that caters to those who care about the setting. Shellie Pomery, the company’s founder, started her career as a graphic designer before discovering her passion for creating fabrics using natural dyes. Silk and Willow sell plant-dyed silk ribbons, table linens, and handmade stationery, and it’s a great place to get lost in all of the lovely details of wedding planning.
44. Taza Chocolate
Taza Chocolate was created by Alex Whitmore and Kathleen Fulton, who are life and business partners. Taza stone grinds its ingredients for a gritty and intense flavor, inspired by the rustic taste and texture of Mexican chocolate. Taza Chocolate has established a third-party direct-trade certification and works directly with farmers to ensure equity and ethical treatment. Payments, farming associates, and impacts are all detailed in the company’s annual disclosure reports.
45. SmartyPits
Stacia Guzzo started studying cancer risk factors after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer after finding a lump in her armpit. Stacia decided to make her own deodorants after learning about the association between aluminum in antiperspirants and breast cancer. SmartyPits was created to provide a cleaner alternative to conventional deodorants and antiperspirants by removing parabens, phthalates, talc, and aluminum, as well as being cruelty-free and packaged entirely in recyclable materials.
46. MakerGear
Rick Pollack started experimenting with 3D printing in the early 2000s while working full-time and repairing homemade printers in his spare time. Finally, Rick created MakerGear in 2009 to supply parts and eventually develop his line of 3D printers. Since then, MarkerGear has won several awards, provided local jobs in Ohio, and, most importantly, assisted creators in developing their goods.
47. Parkland
Parkland, which was established in 2015, recycles plastic into backpacks and accessories. Its exterior fabrics are made entirely of recycled water bottles, and its “leather” highlights are wholly made of apples. Every item is a way to buy better and waste less by combining practical design with intent.
48. The Honey Pot
The Honey Pot is an all-natural feminine care business that is backed by science and fueled by herbs. Bea Dixon, the company’s founder, decided to support other women suffering from bacterial vaginosis for months. The Honey Pot offers natural ways to ease itch and discomfort and manage menstruation with items tailored for particular use cases such as expecting or current mothers, those on the go, or those looking to soothe, cure, or rejuvenate.
49. Good fair
Topper Luciani created the good fair to offer clothing intended for landfills a second chance. Good fair, unlike other antique and secondhand clothing stores, does not list each piece individually. Customers instead purchase mystery packs. This method saves the company time and money, which is passed on to the customers. This low-carbon initiative is changing the way people buy pre-loved fashion items, combating quick fashion culture.
50. Lunchskins
Kristen Quigley created Lunchskins to avoid using plastic wrappers, packets, and containers while preparing lunches and snacks for her children. Dishwasher-safe and oil- and moisture-proof reusable bags are available, while unbleached and compostable paper bags are available. Any online order benefits the Oceanic Preservation Society, and since 2015, Lunchskins has also crafted a cause bag, with 10% of proceeds going to environmental groups, including the Sea Turtle Conservancy and 5Gyres.
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