What is Canopey? (And Why It's Not Canopy)
By Canopey Team
We’re excited to share the news that Canopey has now officially launched!
And yes, that’s right – it’s Canopey, not Canopy! We were so focused on creating an inclusive home for buying better, that we let in an extra ‘e’ to the party, and now we’ll forever be plagued by Google autocorrect.
What's Canopey/Canopy all about?
We’re here to simplify the sustainable shopping journey and empower shoppers of all ages to buy more consciously.
Bringing together a wide range of environmentally sustainable and eco-conscious retailers at launch, our wide 'canopy' of product categories range from beauty and skincare, clothing, food & drink, through to homeware and cleaning products.
We're proud to count household brands among our roster, including KeepCup, Wild deodorant, Ocean Bottle and Serious Tissues.
A Place Of Trust
Shopping on Canopey means you’re buying from a place of proper trust and transparency.
The idea of a canopy's protective umbrella, keeping you safe from the rain (or perhaps the greenwashing?) is key to how we see
We get hard evidence for each of the accreditations we show on our products, and you can read up on the types of evidence we accept on our Accreditations page.
Accreditations include things like Vegan, Plastic-Free, Home Compostable and Recycled Materials – so you can shop based on the things you care most about.
Track Your Impact
Unique to Canopey is our industry-first Canopey Calculator which highlights the CO2e, plastic and water savings for each product, compared to the ‘mainstream’ alternatives.
We use trustworthy academic analysis for the impact of different materials, and bring it all together to compare it to the leading brands you might otherwise buy in high street shops and supermarkets. So rather than just seeing the impact of a product, you can see what you’re saving!
When you’re logged in, you can see your impact total on the menu, and on your account page. You can also see the total savings from the whole Canopey Community – to date we’ve saved thousands of kilograms of CO2e and plastic waste, as well as hundreds of thousands of litres of water!
You can check out the full total on our Impact page, and in your account page when you're logged in.
We’re also proud to have planted more than 10,000 trees as part of our commitment to reforestation and rewilding – you can head to our Sustainability page to find out more.
Learning And Educational Features
Our educational guides, blogs and shop by space feature takes you through swaps you can make in your day-to-day life – making it easier than ever to get started and make an impact today.
There are lots of small swaps that can save you money. From reusable cups that earn you discounts in coffee shops, to our huge variety of durable, well-made products like in our cleaning and cosmetics which are made to last, and clothing which is made to be worn again and again.When you consider the full lifetime, many of our sustainable alternatives end up being cheaper over time.
No one is perfect – living more sustainably is a journey. So we’re not here to judge! We want to encourage everyone to make the choices that are right for them, one step at a time.
Fighting Greenwashing
We wanted to understand how people in Britain felt about greenwashing, so we commissioned some research* to ask them directly. Haven’t heard of greenwashing before? Check out our blog post about greenwashing and how to avoid it.
What did the research find? It revealed that more than 2 in 3 (68%) British shoppers feel angry that brands and retailers’ green claims could be intentionally misleading them into making a purchase.
This anger is something we always felt – which is why we made it our mission to guide you through the growing minefield of ‘green’ claims and greenwashing.
It’s no wonder that shoppers find it difficult to tell which brands to trust and which are simply jumping on the bandwagon. As big brands and retailers are increasingly trying to mislead shoppers who care about sustainability, we absolutely need a trusted hub for sustainable living.
Our mission with Canopey has always been to streamline this process of buying better, with one platform that not only makes sustainable shopping convenient for everyone, but importantly gives you the information to learn and take action – in a tangible and non-preachy way.
*The research was conducted by Censuswide with 2,002 UK nationally representative general respondents (18)+ between 21.08.2023 to 24.08.2023. Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles and are members of The British Polling Council.
The Origins Of Canopey
Canopey was literally founded in a field. The brainchild of two friends and entrepreneurs with a shared passion for sustainability, the lightbulb moment struck three years ago when Thomas Panton – after the better half of a decade campaigning for Greenpeace and working in the events industry – was working with Hugo Douglas-Deane at a music festival.
The pair stood in a sea of plastic waste at the end of a festival, angry that not enough was being done to stop the world filling with junk. This marked the beginning of their Canopey journey.
They have since brought on a new founding member, Abrar Rauf, an avid climber and developer who gave up his job in the finance sector to build a company that values sustainability.
You can read more about the Canopey team on our about us page.
We’re proud to have had the backing of globally-renowned startup ‘accelerator’ Techstars, Virgin StartUp, and senior level executives from companies like Mars, ContentCal, Fresha and Experian.
Now the real fun begins. Thanks for reading and here’s to a better future, now complete with The Home For Buying Better.
*The research was conducted by Censuswide with 2,002 UK nationally representative general respondents (18)+ between 21.08.2023 to 24.08.2023. Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles and are members of The British Polling Council.