Today is Earth Day, which means there’s no better time to take some time out of your day to enjoy the world around you. It could be anything, like a walk through the park or even just a few moments kicking back in your yard and enjoying the warming weather of spring.

It’s also a great time to remember that every purchase you and I make can potentially impact the environment, and seeking out companies with sustainable, Earth-friendly approaches is one way we can all help to do our part to keep the planet from falling apart. Here’s a few that I’ve come across.

Soma

 

Soma makes durable, long-lasting mugs and bottles out of glass and ceramic — like the awesome Brew Bottle ($40) for coffee and tea — which helps to keep your drinks free of potentially harmful pollutants associated with certain plastics. The materials the company uses are responsibly sourced, and packaging is made from recycled material as well, but it’s the charity work that Soma engages in that really makes the company shine. Soma donates a portion of all water filter purchases to charities that help provide clean drinking water in areas where there is none.

FairTrip

Want to just get away from it all, but worried your vacation plans are contributing to social and environmental injustices that you can’t even see? FairTrip (iOS) is a first-of-its-kind app that focuses on fair and sustainable tourism, with thousands of locations, rooms, restaurants, and activities that have been vetted by travel experts as not only enjoyable, but fair, authentic, and socially responsible. The app is totally free and every listing has been verified by FairTrip before being listed, giving you peace of mind while you enjoy new sights, sounds, and people.

Carbon Trim

Most of us want to do whatever we can to help planet Earth, but it’s often frustrating when you just don’t know where to start. Carbon Trim (iOS) tracks your “carbon footprint,” which is a measure of how impact you’re having on the environment. It’s packed with tips and reminders of easy-to-swallow lifestyle changes that add up to and overall more sustainable way of living. Everything from ditching the car for short trips to choosing grocery store produce based on the negative impact that farming certain foods can have on the Earth.

Kaep

You might not imagine something as simple as making candles can have a lasting impact on the environment, but Kaep wants to change that. With a zero-waste approach to candle making, Kaep’s candles are responsibly made, with zero plastics in its packaging, and even the candle holders themselves are designed to be reused once you’ve used up each candle. The candles are made using coconut wax for a clean flame, and they start at under $40.

Orro

One of the biggest energy saving habits you can adopt is turning off lights when you’ve left a room. It sounds so easy, but in practice it can be pretty difficult to get the hang of. Orro is a smart home lighting system that takes care of that for you. Using advances sensors to sense your presence in a room, the Orro Switches (starting at $150) can automatically adapt your lighting to your lifestyle, turning off lights if you forget and saving you money and energy in the process.

Nebia

Water is another major resource we could all learn to appreciate better, and shorter showers would do the planet a service, too. But what if you just can’t sacrifice your precious shower time? Nebia’s Spa Shower ($499) won’t make your shower any less enjoyable, but it will make it a lot more efficient. It maximizes the warmth and speed of the shower spray, covering your body better than an ordinary shower and it does it all while using only 35% of the water that a normal shower head spits. The result is a major cost savings to you and a much happier Mother Earth.