design

10 Simple Ways to Go Green as a Solopreneur

published on May 13, 2019 by Natalie
updated on November 2, 2021

One of the main reasons people decide to go full time as a solopreneur is for freedom and flexibility. Choosing when and where to work, traveling as they please, and yoga pants as acceptable work attire. Another wonderful thing about being an independent business owner is the ability we have to make our own business decisions. We can choose to make eco-friendly decisions for our businesses and to even help educate those we work with. To help you begin making more green decisions, we’ve listed out 10 simple ways to go green as a soloprenuer, below! We know everyone’s eco-living journey is unique, so these are just 10 easy options to begin switching your own methods little by little.

Ditch the Coffee Shop and DIY That Latte
No line, no pants, no waste, no problem. Avoid the wasteful cup, lid, and straw by whipping up your own delicious coffee or tea drinks at home. Not only will you skip out on some waste, but you’ll skip out on the bill too! I love to make my own cold brew at home by letting 1 cup of ground coffee and 4 cups of water sit together in the fridge overnight. Just strain the mixture using a fine mesh strainer and sip away!

Pro tip: Use those coffee grounds for a DIY energizing body scrub! Mix the leftover grounds with coconut oil to desired consistency and let the spa day begin.

Opt for Digital Mock-Ups Instead of Printing All the Things
If you’re a creative of any sort, this one’s for you. You’ve probably seen the gush-worthing photos other creatives share of their work printed on pages and all perfectly laid out. These looks are amazing, but they are also easily doable without printing all that unnecessary paper! Instead of printing your works for that one-and-done shoot, make your presentation photos in Photoshop.

Advertise Digitally
It’s 2019! If you aren’t already advertising digitally, get it together! Choose digital advertising methods instead of print ones. Instead of mailing postcards, build that email list. Instead of ads in the paper, put ads on your local news source’s website. It’s great to have a “paper trail” in your biz – unless it’s your advertising.

Source Locally and Choose Eco-Friendly
I know, I know. Some things just have to be printed. When you can support local businesses. When you can’t, choose eco-friendly choices. Because I’m on the move so much, I decided to get my own business cards printed with Moo. They offer business cards made from recycled cotton t-shirts! When working with clients, do some research and try to source locally for them too.

Psst: If you’ve never used Moo, here’s 25% off your first order!

Turn Off or Unplug Your Tech
When you’re done for the day, turn off or unplug your tech. If you’re not comfortable powering it off, just put it in sleep mode. You’ll conserve energy and save some money on that electric bill!

Donate to Eco-Friendly Organizations
Not only is donating to eco-friendly organizations just a pretty darn good thing to do, but it’s also rather marketable. Every time I book a design client, I donate to a non-profit that focuses on reforestation, and they plant 12 trees in areas affected by forest fires. My clients love knowing that their dollars are going somewhere great and that they’re directly helping in some way.

Opt for Green Web Hosting
Often times, web hosting companies will use renewable energy sources or purchase carbon offsets to help even out their energy use. A great example of this is DreamHost. DreamHost houses their servers in a facility which utilizes high-efficiency cooling that uses partially reclaimed water. They are also partner with state-level “clean wind” programs and only use electricity from renewable sources.

Reuse & Recycle
Now, this one doesn’t need much explanation! Reuse whenever possible and recycle as much as you can. Take notes on the back of printed papers you no longer need, reuse that plastic cup from lunch, and use double-sided printing when you can. Check with your local recycling center to see what they accept – you may be surprised! As someone who strives for a zero-waste lifestyle, I use mason jars for all the things. They’re great for storage, that DIY latte you whipped up earlier, overnight oats, or even for a little herb garden!

Revamp Your Workday Snackage
Buying package-free snacks in bulk help you to avoid a lot of excess food packaging that can’t be recycled! Instead of grabbing a bag of chips, stock up on healthy goodies like nuts, berries, seeds, and dried fruits in your local supermarket’s bulk section. This way, you have snacks that last you longer and are just better for you. That bag of convenient chips only takes a few minutes to grub, but the chip bag can take literal centuries to decompose.

Pro tip: If you bring your own containers, you can use tare on the store’s scale for the container’s weight and skip the plastic bag waste. (Hello again, mason jars!)

Digital Gifting
Client gifts are such a lovely way to let your clients know they’re appreciated and to make a memorable mark uniquely. Instead of sending the usual goodie box, opt for digital gifting. Gift boxes are beautiful, but there’s a lot of unknown variables – where were the products sourced from? Were they ethically made? What’s the shipping process? What’s the packaging situation? Personalized emails and thought out gift cards to your clients’ fav places show you care just as much as a mailed gift box would!

BONUS: Educate Yourself and Discover More Ways!
There are so many more ways you can make little green changes in your day to day that are individual to your needs! Take some time to educate yourself and discover those ways. Recyclebank is a fun educational website that teaches you all about recycling and rewards you as you learn. If you’re interested in learning more about the zero-waste lifestyle, check out Going Zero Waste.

Some of these options may take a bit to work into your business! If you’re unsure of where to start, pick one that resonates most with you and begin focusing on it! It all starts with habits. Making new habits is key to working your way to more eco-friendly living! Before you know it, you’ll be running a greener, more sustainable business.

Photo by Charity Hestead Kubena

What it Means to be a Creative Designer with a Zero Waste Lifestyle

published on April 30, 2019 by Angela Hamilton
updated on November 2, 2021

If there’s one question that defines our generation, it has to be this: how do we align our lives with our work, so that we’re doing work that represents our desired lifestyles and values, while supporting ourselves and our families? Natalie of Natalie Hands Studio is one business owner doing just that.

I’ve seen a few freelancers who have branded themselves in a way similar to what I do in my business—targeting small brands and organizations that are committed to environmental and social responsibility in their work. I get a little spark of hope with every new website I see that makes it loud and clear that they’re here to support positive change.

When I saw Natalie’s website, I noticed how different it was. It was gorgeous. It had personality. Scrolling to the bottom, I saw this headline: Book your project with us and we plant 12 trees.

It wasn’t long before I connected with Natalie, asking her what it means to be a designer focused on a zero waste lifestyle. As I got to know her, I learned that she lives in Portland, OR, working toward zero waste in her personal life and in her studio, and is gearing up for a minimalist, mobile lifestyle spent traveling the continent with her husband, beginning this July.

As we chatted, I could sense that many things in her life was done by design. This idea of intentionally designing your life so that your personal and professional sides align, and so that you align with the needs of your environment hits on that burning question.

Tell us a little about your personal commitment to low impact living and how that came to be:
So, my low impact living journey actually began about 4 years ago. I was super broke and looking for ways to achieve these beautiful looks I had conjured up for my first apartment on a tight budget. That’s when I stumbled upon zero-waste living online. I had always been a DIY type of woman, but I immediately became enamored with the zero waste lifestyle and knowing that it had such a positive impact! From there, I dove headfirst into doing everything I could to minimize my waste, reduce plastics in my life, and reduce my impact. I’ve been working over the years to further reduce my impact, and my excess as a whole, in ways that work best for my life. My next step in that is going vegan!

Was there a time when your professional life didn’t mesh with your commitment to green living? Was there a turning point or more of a gradual shift to running a “green” business?
Absolutely. I was the Art Director for a wholesale candy company in Kansas City, MO for a while. While working there, I was overseeing all product development and packaging needs. I realized how much waste was happening in my department and for some reason that had never clicked with me as a designer. All those candy wrappers from product photo shoots, baggies from mockups, hardly used paper, etc. It really clicked one day, and I ended up developing a recycling program for the company and implementing more eco-friendly methods of product development. Soon after, the company was bought, and the entire staff was let go. This was when I jumped into the full-time independent creative life and brought those methods over to my own business.

In what ways has your eco-friendly lifestyle influenced the ways you run your design studio?
It’s really affected my business in many ways, but some of the main ones are how I work in general. I’m just overall more conscious of my decisions and their impact. I do 99% of things digitally, I rarely ever print, and I skip the coffee shop waste and make my own cold brew and nut milk. Every decision I make in my business always comes with the question “But, what’s the impact of this?” For example, I love the current trend of laying out your work all beautifully and getting great shots of it, but what do I do with that paper I printed out for that one photo shoot afterward? What do I do with the product my client sent me for portfolio photos after the shoot? Instead, I just avoid all of that and make mock-ups in Photoshop. Another thing that really crossed over was how I utilize tools. Everything in my workspace has multiple purposes and will last me a very long time.

You plant trees with every project you book. Tell us about your partnership with OneTreePlanted, and how that came to be an integral part of your business:
Yes! Every time a client books a project with me, I donate to OneTreePlanted to plant 12 trees in areas affected by forest fires. It was something I was doing for quite some time, without talking about it. Once I began letting clients know it was happening, they were intrigued and happy knowing their dollars went somewhere great. Now, it’s just something I put out there in hopes of other independent creatives seeing it and doing something similar in a realm that they’re passionate about.

As a business owner in a creative industry, what advice do you have for others about finding work or clients that align with your passion for sustainability?
When a client doesn’t directly align with your passion for sustainability—which is often—it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work together. It’s an opportunity to educate and help them align a bit more. You have the chance to chat with your clients about these things and to help implement them into their business. Everything from merely talking about why you provide digital mock-ups instead of traditional or sourcing local-to-client, sustainable goods all add up and leave an impact! Also, just put it out there. People love knowing you’re doing something good and aren’t just another independent creative trying to get that money and go.

Love this perspective. Find Natalie nataliehands.com at and follow her on Instagram.

(First three graphics by Natalie Hands Studio)

Fashion & Textile Designer Sivan Ilan: What It Means to be a Value-Driven Designer

published on March 18, 2019 by Angela Hamilton

Introducing our new friend, multidisciplinary designer Sivan Ilan based in Philadelphia. Art, fashion, and textile design all intersect in her work, which ranges from weavings made from textile waste to a collection of hand-embroidered fashion made from upcycled designer denim and so much more. As an artist and designer, she’s driven by her values of mindfulness, community, and environmental responsibility, and considers them from beginning to end in her process. If you’re looking for insight on how to incorporate your core values more fluidly into your own work, we think her words will resonate in a big way.—Angela

Before running your own creative studio, you worked with some larger fashion brands. How does your process differ now that you’re running your own business?
Working for big fashion brands has taught me lessons that are so incredibly fundamental about the how-to’s of building and running a successful business. I learned about the things that work, and more importantly about what doesn’t work. It allowed me to fail and make mistakes with multiple safety nets, something that’s not as safe to do when you’re running your own show.

The greatest privilege about being my own boss is that I set and follow my own values: mindfulness, community, environmental responsibility. When designing for a bigger organization, especially in the fashion industry, some personal compromises might have to be made for the greater good of the company. A designer’s job is ultimately to be attuned and adapt to a market and a consumer, and that might not always align with your own creative vision.

Being a value-driven designer is gratifying and gives an immense sense of purpose that may not be easily attainable when working for a brand that’s motivated by sales and numbers more than making a positive impact.

Another big plus about being a small business is how much more personable it gets. Getting to know customers, hearing their stories and understanding their needs and interests. Aside from the fact that it helps me greatly to fine-tune my work, it’s so rewarding to know there’s a real person who I’m creating for, rather than ambiguous data in a chart.

You’ve mentioned “recycling as a last resort”. What role does waste and recycling play in your business?
Problem solving is a fun exercise in creativity. It’s so important to me that I give thought to what materials I’m using and their impact on the user, the work and the environment. Rethinking purpose or end-use is a resourceful tool to optimize those materials and make sure they’re not being mindlessly discarded. It’s also a way to differentiate the product and offer an unusual or surprising element to aspects of design we might take for granted like merchandising, packaging and more. By upcycling and repurposing I’m eliminating the need to use virgin materials, and at the same time extending the lifecycle of the ones that I do choose to reuse.

Eliminating waste is also a key component of staying sustainable, and actually starts at the beginning of the creative process, way before considering to upcycle or repurpose.

Being mindful is huge for me as a designer as well as an individual, and it often means being aware of a project’s needs and sticking to a plan. Upcycling, repurposing and recycling are all symptom-based design tools. They address the issue long after it originated. What we all really should be doing in the first place is act with intention and pay attention to generating any excess we may at later encounter as a by-product of the design process.

How many fashion brands think about the waste issue before they even begin? That’s what we need to be doing. See more of Sivan’s work at sivanilan.com and on Instagram or Etsy.