Starting a conventional business today is pretty tough – on the one hand, competition is exorbitant, on the other hand, more and more people are sick of being mere consumers. They would rather like to make a long-term difference in their lives, not just purchase more stuff; and they want businesses to help them make that difference.
As an entrepreneur, you’d be wise to cater to the ‘green’ sentiment as the target market continues to expand. Here’re some business ideas to meet the demand for eco-friendly living.
1. Recycling Is Fashionable – Literally
If you have ample funds, you can start up a recycling business. If it’s not yet the case, you still can employ recycling to communicate your commitment to ecology – and to street style.
Big-time fashion brands and designers use recycled materials – why not follow their lead and make reusable fabric or PE grocery bags, or T-shirts (with catchy green slogans for good measure), backpacks and handbags? Just make sure to invest a bit in nifty designs – and customers will love your products, for wearing them will be both cool and environmentally responsible.
2. Promoting Organic and Home-Grown Foods
Highly dubious origin and quality of mass-produced meats, fruits and vegetables are rightly one of the top ecology and health concerns. Animal farms churn out enormous amounts of waste, to say nothing of all the unwholesome things the cattle is fed (and injected with); industrial-grown plants contain probably more poisonous chemicals than nutrients.
As a businessman offering an eco-friendly solution, you can, for instance, start your chicken farm (nowadays, you can get chicken coops of all configurations, some of which don’t even require much space to put up) and sell organic meat and eggs at local markets and to local restaurants. Alternatively, you can become the supplier of such solutions to people – for instance, sell greenhouses and corresponding supplies for home and garden use, as well as design and build rooftop gardens.
3. Eco-Friendly House Cleaning
The Web is rife with tips about non-toxic, bio-degradable DIY detergents; yet many people who’d gladly ditch aggressive chemicals are too busy (or a bit too lazy) actually to concoct them. Why not jump at this business opportunity?
Make and sell green cleaning products – or, if you manage to gather a qualified enough team, provide a full range of cleaning services (including air duct maintenance, as these accumulate unholy amounts of dust and allergens).
4. Environmentally Conscious Gardening
Lush lawns and gardens are many a family’s pride and joy, yet these spots of nature often come under criticism for being too high-maintenance regarding water and energy use. Therefore, it can be a viable idea to offer people consulting services on how to make their gardens more sustainable – as well as sell the necessary supplies or carry out actual reconfigurations.
5. Clean Transport Maintenance and Repair
The popularity of bikes and scooters shows no signs of fading away. With more and more people of all ages opting for these means of transport, a bike repair shop will always have clientele – so it’s a great way to start small. A bigger environment-conscious player may choose to provide delivery companies with alternative fuel technology solutions. Another way to contribute is producing and selling vehicle parts from recycled materials.
For quite a long time, technological progress has been causing our planet more harm than good, and booming production of consumer goods still contributes greatly to environmental pollution. Now, sufficient means of reducing the harm are at the disposal of both individuals and businesses – and for the latter, going green doesn’t mean being unprofitable anymore.