Self Care

10 CBD Brands To Know About

published on July 28, 2021 by Mindy Chung

Last month we came out with a blog debating the sustainability of the CBD industry. And as heavily hinted/promised, this month we have a list of 10 #ecoclubapproved CBD companies that emphasize sustainability within their business models! Each brand has its own set of priorities when it comes to sustainability (and as with all things small business, no single bran can do it *all*), but today we’re focusing on sustainable packaging, Black female owned brands, and those with an emphasis on local sourcing. Let’s get into it.

cbd brands with sustainable packaging

I’m going to be 100% with y’all—finding companies that were dedicated to and implementing sustainable packaging was unexpectedly difficult. Which is why I applaud these brands all the more for taking that extra step to reduce their impact on Mother Nature.

Floramye
First up is eco club directory member, Floramye. They were instrumental in the creation of my original blog on CBD, and base their brand mission on practicing sustainability with all their products. Floramye stresses the importance of ethical and sustainable packaging; utilizing recyclable Italian glass with wood lids, and excluding any paper products while minimizing the use of plastic.

Daughter of the Land
Founded in 2017, every aspect of member Daughter of the Land focuses on sustainability, from their organic and fair-trade food grade ingredients, to their biodegradable and fully recyclable packaging. All of Daughter of the Land’s CBD products are packaged in compostable, recyclable, or reusable containers.

Plant People
While Plant People does source its ingredients globally, they are exceptionally transparent about where each component comes from. They also avoid plastic and dyes in their packaging, using 100% recycled and 100% biodegradable cellulose tissue in their shipping cushioning.

Black female-owned cbd brands

There is something especially beautiful about the Black community reclaiming an industry they have been disproportionately victimized in. These bad-ass boss babes have all shown up in different ways, but are still creating equally important impacts for their community and the environment.

Frigg
Created by the former CMO of Papa & Barkley (another CBD company), Frigg is a female-founded company. The company stresses transparency in all aspects of its business; their site provides easy access to their product philosophy, sustainable practices, and ingredients used, with blurbs about each of their benefits.

Buena Botanicals
Family-owned and founded by twin sisters, Buena Botanicals products are organic, hand-harvested, eco-responsible, and ethically grown in full sun and organic soil at a cooperative out of Colorado.

Undefined Beauty
Sh(EO) Dorian Morris founded Undefined Beauty with the intention of democratizing wellness. Undefined Beauty is sustainably sourced, cruelty-free, and accessibly priced; an element that’s hard to come by with niche commodities like CBD.

locally sourced cbd

9 times out of 10, it’s easier for US businesses to cut costs by outsourcing production to overseas factories where workers are under paid and subject to unsafe conditions. That’s why these companies—with their dedication to eco-friendly and U.S. sourced hemp—are truly changing what it means to be a sustainability-minded business.

Charlotte’s Web
Anyone who knows anything about the medicinal properties of cannabis and cannabis by-products has probably heard of Charlotte’s Web. What originally started out as a family venture to help one special needs child, has developed into a full-blown business that now grows its hemp on certified organic U.S. family farms.

Hollingsworth Hemp
This Washington-based CBD company truly emphasizes its family-owned and operated beginnings. All Hollingsworth Hemp CBD hemp is grown on their family farm in small batches and “Grandma Dorothy Approved”.

Verma Farms
Inspired by the Hawaiian islands, Verma Farms products are organic and made with pesticide free, unadulterated American-grown hemp. (P.S. they have a pet CBD line for any of you with fur children!)

Dazey CBD
Dazey CBD may be the paradigm of what locally sourced CBD should look like. As they put it on their website, “happy cows may come from California, but happy hemp comes from Oregon.” Dazey grows their CBD hemp open-air, and has the drone footage to prove it.

Hopefully, this list has given you all a few ideas if you’ve been curious about CBD brands. There’s many reasons to try and seek out sustainable brands, but first and foremost is the unavoidable reality that CBD is a consumable good. If you’re opting for a holistic health product, you probably don’t want to skimp on quality.

Let us know down below what you look for when choosing a CBD brand!

The Most Important Lesson I Learned from Marie Kondo

published on March 2, 2019 by Angela Hamilton

It’s gratitude. You can all click out now. You’re welcome.

(Did I just kill this post?)

I did watch a few episodes of Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up on Netflix. It was cute. The families were sweet. I did tear up a bit, when watching during PMS. I also realized, god forbid, that it could use like 5% of the drama that Hoarders had. Maybe a few flashbacks, you know? What I’m saying is that I didn’t learn a ton from it, though I do think her methods are effective for keeping things organized, if you stick to them. Which is her MO. My heather gray sweatshirt collection thanks you, Mrs. K.

(Photo by Charity Hestead Kubena)

But the most important lesson I learned came from one of the very first lessons in the very first episode, and thankfully again and again afterward. It was to thank your belongings. This is not new, if you followed Marie Kondo before, you’ll know that she’s always promoted this idea of gratitude.

Upon tidying up some weeks afterward, I literally thanked a rock. It was a pretty white rock I’d gathered from who knows where, but that I added to my crystal collection, even though (as it knew) it was just a lowly rock. I said, “Thank you, rock.” But then. What to do? Unlike her clients, I wasn’t about to toss everything I own into some big white trash bag, and it wasn’t because I had that big of an attachment to any of it. It was because I didn’t want to waste. (And a rock is kind of a weird thing to throw away. I’ve also had this issue with pennies in the past. Like, I don’t need you, penny. You are a silly form of US currency. I would need 99 more of you to get anywhere.) My aversion to sending things to the landfill is as strong Ron’s love of baseball cards in episode 2. Also my affinity for rocks.

Like so many green living bloggers, it was a constant eye-roll moment for me, seeing people get rid of stuff in less-than-mindful ways. (We don’t really know what happens to it all, we can only shudder at the thought.) I think it was a little shocking for a lot of us, honestly, because it revealed the tension between movements like zero waste and minimalism.

Generally speaking, minimalism concerns itself more with the idea of peace of mind via detachment, which can sometimes (yet not always) come with a decreased carbon footprint. Meanwhile, zero waste is pretty pointedly about environmental impact, but doesn’t necessarily focus on the emotional benefits of less. Neither of them really address a person’s innate desire for creative expression—neither the visions of stark white walls nor neatly lined mason jars spark joy in an artist’s heart.

But both movements, and yes, even the KonMari method, evoke some degree of care, whether mindfulness toward earth, toward your mental state, or toward your belongings and how they surround you. And so no matter which speaks to you most, it seems most important to remember: say thanks.

Thank you, clothes, for I loved you once (inside a fluorescent department store dressing room).
Thank you, modest apartment, for you allow me a nice, warm space to snuggle pets.
Thank you, trash, for at one point you were treasure.
Thank you, clearance-Target ottoman, because you’re the ultimate scratching post for my cat.
Thank you, empty candle jars that I haven’t found time to clear, yet can’t bring to throw away.
Thank you, desk dad built, that I hope he doesn’t find out I don’t sit at.
Thank you, rock, because the memory of a second grade geologist wannabe gives me joy.

No matter if you trash it or keep it, recycle or upsycle, donate or sell. No matter if you’re for her or against, prefer to fold or to hang. We have to agree: She’s right. We should all be grateful for our stuff. For the lives we have and the privileges we enjoy. Thanks, Marie Kondo, for the reality check. I needed it.

Oh, and as for the rock: anyone know the right way to donate such a thing? Or should I release it at my local park? I couldn’t find a space for it inside, but I figured, I’d just put it on the patio and let it enjoy another spring.

It’s Time We Prioritized Experience as a Form of Self Care

published on March 1, 2019 by Angela Hamilton
updated on March 4, 2019

When I moved to Seattle last year, I knew I needed to commit to forming new creative connections. Having a solid personal community in the PNW was the #1 reason we left California—I mean, it wasn’t the beaches—but I knew I needed to put myself out there and find “my people” if I was actually going to build my empire (AKA copywriting biz), here in the land of trees and fresh air and water. A friend invited me to join her at a Social Creative workshop, so I signed up to create a macrame plant hanger surrounded by strangers at a venue downtown.

(Photo by Laura Marchbanks)

It was my first new social experience in Seattle and almost a year later, I still keep up with a few acquaintances from that workshop, the only plant I can seem to keep alive and flourishing is weaving its way down that macrame in my apartment window, and I’m still in touch with Amy, the founder of Social Creative, who you see in the following photos by Jess Flagel:

Last fall, I also started exploring a form of therapy called acceptance + commitment therapy, which is rooted in mindfulness. Self care took on a whole new meaning. Yeah, I’d been taking baths in my less-than-glamorous tub and had memorized the script to UCLA’s guided meditations, but this idea of embracing experience as a form of self care was a little different. For a socially anxious introvert, it was a push. It meant committing to an experience that I know might cause some discomfort in the beginning: not only investing money in an experience rather than a product, but simply showing up to an event where I knew maybe one or two individuals, and trusting that I’d value the outcome so much more.

Thinking back, I’ve actually put myself out there in this way many times in the past. And even when they didn’t turn out as amazing as my time with Social Creative did, I still took something from it, I still committed to doing something for myself just because I wanted to.

A few months back, I got the chance to chat with Amy about this very thing, about how some of the best forms of self care look a bit different than what Instagram might have you believe. It might just be committing to a meetup for the sake of good conversation. It might just be a couple hours crafting with new friends in a beautiful space, which is what Social Creative is all about.

We discussed how experience can be a form of self care, and here’s Amy’s take:

Self care is huge.

It’s one of the most nourishing, loving, responsible things we can do for ourselves. And it doesn’t have to come in a lotion, or a scrub, or any product purchase for that matter. It’s the gift of time. Time to be replenished, time to reflect, time to be excited, pampered and engaged, to be silly, to express yourself, and feel carefree.

Whether it is work, home, kids, the fast pace of life, or the constant face-down swirl of technology, we all deserve to take a pause in the form of self care experience. This means time set apart to experience joy, relationships, relaxation, creative freedom, and something for just you. This could a bath drawn with your favorite soak enhancements (by candlelight and with wine, of course) or hours blocked out on the calendar to explore and experience, at your leisure, all the things that spark joy.

It may also be an experience that provides a creative outlet, and fills your tank with warm conversation, delicious tastes, and thoughtful gestures. That is what Social Creative aims to do. We are an experience-based creative workshop that cultivates relationships, offers a space for life-giving, carefree fun, and provides some self care by way of food, drink, atmosphere and creativity. I wholeheartedly believe in the power of moments, creating memories, and dazzling all the senses. This is what experiences are about—and fond memories never expire. Exhale, experience, enjoy.

Photos from Jess Flagel Photography above are a peek at Social Creative’s upcoming jewelry design workshop with Ruth Ryan Jewelry on Sunday, March 24th at the Marian Built Loft in Seattle, WA. Locals, click here to save your seat.

Other upcoming spring experiences:
Cooking Elevated | April 18 with Not Without Salt
Floral Design & Watercolor | May 11 with Teressa Johnson Studio and The Mint Gardener
Social Engagement: Spirits | May 26 with Mischief Distillery

Social Creative is an elevated creative workshop experience: party meets workshop. Each workshop is created to be more of an experience. It is an event with cocktails, wine, good food, and ladies coming together in a hip Seattle venue with elevated touches everywhere. We partner with top Seattle creatives, artisans and local businesses to curate a one of a kind experience. Find us @socialcreativeworkshops www.wearesocialcreative.com.