Colour Me Brown: Sustainable Investing Made Easy

Colour Me Brown: Sustainable Investing Made Easy

This article was authored by A. Ashni, strategized by Deepa Sai and was originally published on ecoHQ on February 27, 2023. 

The Battle to Be Good

We like to call a certain kind of audience The Eco-conscious. This group really cares about their part in sustainability – care care, not just cash care.

It’s the kind of person who values social good over personal comfort. This person is willing to go the extra mile to bring good into the world. It takes a unique kind of strength to rage against an inherently selfish system, to think outside of one’s kennel in a dog-eat-dog economy.

The Eco-conscious devotes time and energy towards being a good planetary citizen. So naturally, it’s nice to hope such individual action will compound into effective collective action. But it’s not that simple.

The Catch

Capitalism so often tricks us into being complicit in our ailments.
As much as we’d like to lead perfectly ethical lives, the ripple effect of our money votes is impossible to control. We could put in all the hours, do all the research, and spend on only the most green-presenting products and services—only to find that in two or three degrees, our money ends up with socially irresponsible industries.

Take investing for example.

When we invest in mutual funds, SIPs, and insurance, we should say goodbye to some of the good we thought we put out in the world. These investments redirect our money towards unsustainable industries like fossil fuel extraction, the effects of which far outweigh any composting, recycling, and local shopping that we could individually do.

It’s harsh but it’s true —

More often than not, investing means fueling carbon-hungry capitalism.
Not anymore.
The common consciousness needs a radical rehauling of what qualifies as an acceptable business practice to create a sustainable economic shift. In addition, consumers and investors deserve transparency on sourcing, operations, and secondary investments.
And that’s where Brown Living excels.

Living Brown, Living Well

BrownLiving is a planet-first platform for all things green and a unique investment structure for the everyday consumer. They’ve got you covered—from essentials, food, drink, and clothing to gifting, home decor, and travel—you find it all. But the platform is so much more than a sustainable Amazon!

The Product

A member of the inaugural batch of Google for Startups Accelerator, the company is on set to make sustainable consumption accessible to everyone. With a one-stop shop, consumers no longer need to spend hours researching and looking for quality, earth-friendly products. With doorstep delivery and a wide range of products, Brown Living has revolutionised ease in the green marketplace.

Everything Brown Living offers has been sampled and vetted to ensure you purchase the most responsible and ethically sourced goods. Moreover, each manufacturer’s process is measured against 4 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

The Good Market-certified company is also building a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) mechanism for its products to give customers a transparent understanding of what they’re paying for in the long run. Additionally, a state-of-the-art Carbon Footprint Calculator is also in the pipeline.

Brown Living is so committed to its zero waste promise they’re pushing the boundaries of innovation. All packages are plastic-free and come in an up-cycle box sealed with plant-based starch glue—all recyclable and compostable! Where there is no choice but to generate waste, the company offsets their footprint through afforestation. This action means that for every unit of carbon consumed, the equivalent is absorbed by the trees that Brown Living has planted.

(+1) + (-1) = Net 0

But it’s not just goods. Brown Living cannot achieve its vision of a green and circular economy just by solving consumption choices. So, to support the revolution of eco-conscious living, the company engages and educates audiences on sustainability through workshops, pop-ups, and panel discussions.

The People

Brown Living’s vision is not to monopolise sustainability but to allow everyone to share in this consciousness. You may wonder how small businesses could afford to live up to their strict ethical sourcing code. Brown Living lends its expertise to producers looking to go green, thus assisting in the nationwide shift towards socially conscious production.
And they’re the most qualified to be leading this movement.
Chaitsi Ahuja and Pragya Kapoor are among Your Story’s top 100 women leaders to follow. CEO Ahuja spoke at the 2022 Green Con and won the Indian Women Institutional League India’s TECHVERSIFY 2022. Kapoor is an environmentalist, filmmaker, and founder of Ek Saath – The Earth Foundation, an NGO focusing on waste collection, sanitation, and beach restoration.
The company also has the former UN Economic Affairs Officer and Energy Advisor at Niti Aayog, Dr Kapil Narula, on their Advisory Board.

The Profit

Brown Living is transparent and conscious about the secondary destination of their customers’ money.

The profits from the platform support Grow Trees, Ek Saath Foundation, and ACORN Foundation. Furthermore, the plantations adopted in Odisha, Sikkim, and Maharashtra from Grow Trees alone have secured long-term green impact:

• recharging groundwater
• increasing green cover
• conserving the water table
• minimising soil erosion
• preserving biodiversity
• improving habitats for wildlife
• promoting eco-tourism, and
• generating rural employment

In just four years, the secondary investments from Brown Living’s profits have compounded each customer’s action into significant collective action!

Buying Into the Brown Life

How can you invest in a clean, socially-responsible business?

Shop Brown, Shop Green

When you purchase from Brown Living, rest assured your money goes not to fossil fuels but to saplings, beaches, rivers, endangered species, family-owned businesses, and artisans.

Fund The Revolution

Through their collaboration with Tyke, Brown Living is offering investment packages of ₹20,000 to ₹75,000. In addition, investing comes with the immediate benefit of discounts on the platform’s products and goodies.

Be Their Ambassador

Brown Living is looking for climate enthusiasts, content creators, influencers, and anyone else who’d like to make use of Brown Living’s expert tools to help amplify and monetise the power of their voice. Refer your friends to the platform with an exclusive discount; for every successful referral purchase, Ambassadors receive commissions!

The thing about The Eco-conscious is that all that doom-scrolling, climate gloom-baiting, and general ignorance of the powers that be will depress us but never stop us. Perhaps, it’s hope against hope. Perhaps, sheer responsibility. Perhaps, a missed opportunity fears to have engendered positive change. But there is something in us that never dies.

With Brown Living, may our tribe increase.

About the Company

Brown Living is a one-stop shop for sustainable goods. From manufacturing to packaging to shipping, every stage of your order is green. With a focus on plastic-free and carbon-neutral products, Brown Living is reforesting India while creating eco-jobs and investing in climate action.

About the Founder

ET Now’s Leader of Tomorrow, Chaitsi Ahuja, is on a mission to make sustainability mainstream. Over the last four years, she has tirelessly worked towards making conscious consumption accessible to the average Indian. Her impact includes tons of carbon saved, thousands of trees planted, and hundreds of ecopreneurs empowered.