It sort of seems like "sustainable" means something different to every person who uses the word. Sometimes, it seems like "sustainable" doesn't really mean anything at all.

The way we see it, sustainability, like a lot of other things we often treat as binary, is a spectrum. Here's a real life example: we know that electric vehicles are the way to go in the future, but making more of them requires doing a lot of mining to source the lithium needed for electric vehicle batteries. There's some good there, but also some challenges. It's not cookie cutter simple, or picture perfect, and we're justifiably wary of brands who pretend sustainability can be condensed into a hashtag, a certification or an easy peasy stamp of approval.

Even our best options for a sustainable future are nuanced, which is why we gravitate towards the model of a spectrum, rather than using binary definitions like "good" or "bad" for the environment. 

We think sustainability is a spectrum.

As much as our (very human!) brains want to make things black and white, sustainability is incredibly nuanced. There are so many factors that don't meet the eye, or learnings we can only gather after the fact!

Our spectrum system allows us to define sustainability in a finite, easy to grasp way-- even if it's still beautiful and complicated.

We have some pretty strict sustainability requirements we ask our brands to meet before we feel comfortable selling their stuff. Once a product does make its way onto Goldune, we give it a rating on our sustainability spectrum.

At the minimum, everything here is safe and sustainable. At the maximum, a lot of the products we carry go so far as to actually drawdown and sequester carbon from our planet, achieving actual carbon negativity. We did the homework so you wouldn't have to.

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We do things differently around here.

We're strict AF

We vet + test everything (from product to packing tape!) to make sure we can actually call it "sustainable" in earnest. Once a product makes the cut and we're ready to sell it on Goldune, we give it a ranking on our sustainability spectrum, so you don't have to do all that extra homework. Want to dig deeper? We made an "End of Life" and "FAQ" section on each product page, just for that.

It's just good business

We work with lots of businesses, but we prioritize partnering with woman and BIPOC lead sustainable brands. On Team G, we think inclusivity starts with representation where it matters most: where the $$$ flows. We want more $$$ to flow to female + BIPOC business leaders driving sustainable innovation. Each quarter, we give you a fully transparent update on what % of our makers are women and BIPOC.

We *can* do hard things

We're really picky about how we offset our emissions-- not all carbon offsets are created equal! Our #1 goal is always carbon negativity achieved through the reduction of emissions and not the purchase of offsets (the latter is sorta just throwing money at the problem, but it's a necessary evil until there are some major innovations from shipping carriers like USPS, UPS, and FedEx). We prefer to offset by funding projects with quantifiable carbon drawdown rather than planting a random tree.

Goldune and #goals

We're a 6-month old biz, so we've got a lot of hopes and dreams when it comes to sustainability and carbon negativity, and how we'll get there (you can read about 'em here!). For now, if there's a way to be more sustainable, you can bet we're working on it-- and powering other sustainable small businesses with our growth while we're at it, for a better future for all.

Community

Shopping sustainably is inherently more expensive and less accessible-- and Goldune (and the 75+ small sustainable businesses we work with) can't afford to take big losses like the retail giants to keep price and shipping artificially cheap (nor do we think that's a sustainable business model).

Instead, we focus on making free resources for our community-- customers or otherwise. You can find them on our Instagram or join our members-only community for folks who want a shame-free, judgment-free, inclusive place to talk about climate + sustainability. (We also host a mean book club with sustainability focused reads that you'll actually enjoy.)

As we grow, so does our ability to help our community! We've partnered up with some of the brilliant brands we work with to give away sustainable essentials and care packages to victims of climate-related catastrophes and climate refugees in need. Know a community struck by climate change we should help? Drop us a line at hi@goldune.com.

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Circularity

The best kind of economy is a circular one, which is why we hustled to launch a circularity and buyback program less than 6 months after we opened up shop. When you're done with eligible products, you can shoot us a note at hi@goldune.com-- we will buy back select products after you've used 'em and give them a second life for sale at a discounted rate on our site, or you can mail us back used products in our circular collection so we can responsibly dispose of or upcycle them. Once you pop 'em in the mail, we'll send you a code for $15 off your next order.

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