Thomas Devereux
Beyond Borders
Matthew Mulhern
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Avocado co-op is providing an easy way for customers to live more responsible in their consumption of everyday products and being eco-friendly. They are an online store that sells eco-friendly and environmentally responsible products that have been tested by the employees at Avocado co-op and the companies that make the products. Avocado co-op goes and finds products that fit important criteria set by them, then they sell it on their store so that customers are able to be confident in the fact that what they are buying is the most eco-friendly products you can find. The products also rely heavily on responsible consumption and the value that you only use what you need and nothing more. The values of Avocado coop based on responsible consumption for a more sustainable future fits perfectly with the UN SDG under the same name. Albert O’Connor is who I interviewed and agrees perfectly with the fact that they are working towards this goal.
Avocado Co-op is more than just another company trying to take advantage of a fast-growing socially responsible population but they are also trying to advance and spread the awareness of the problems by getting people involved in the Co-op. Having the company run as a public Co-op allows for more people to get involved allowing for more ideas to be heard from a more diverse group that only benefits the company. This has been a vision since the start of it by Albert O’Connor and it continues to be one of their values that are helping grow the company. The company's image and the way it runs is perfect for the cooperation to reach the UN SDGs and is why they are always working towards succeeding in that goal.
The company's products range from cleaning supplies to storage and water bottles. They cover every kind of household product you could need with every single one reading their own way of being eco-friendly from their competition. Instead of having to put trust in major corporations customers can use Avocado co-op to get past greenwashing and lies to find and use the best products for the environment and our future. They are moving away from a care package and now allowing for a more free shopping experience on their website so more people can easily get involved.
The inspiration for Albert O’Connor came from speakers and leaders around Canad that opened his eyes to the problems that we are facing and he found ways that he can impact the world for good to combat the problems. He and his team have kept to their original values and its what they will always continue to do. It's the backbone of the company and the reason they are in business, it gives them to drive to expand because they know they are doing good in the world.
The impact on a current physical sense is still very small and minimal but I think because they are leading the way it will have a ripple effect and spread the business values and ideas across Canada. The possibility if they were to reach more people would be incredible and could change the way we think about what we buy and where we buy it. If you can make this business model successful enough to be true competition for a big company then they will have to change to match them. They can continue to expand into more cities like Guelph and the surrounding area. If they were to expand we could see people use more eco-friendly products in their everyday lives which would make our environment better and use fewer resources. They can have some great short term and long term effects for locally and nationally. The short term effects come from making a difference in everyday life by offering this service in a retail store to the people of the Waterloo region. Hopefully over a period of time becoming more successful will increase the number of people and the impact they have. They can hopefully show more people how easy it is to change their own impact on the environment by using companies and services like these. They can continue to improve the always changing situation around being eco-friendly as it continues to improve as a trend for the future.
Avocado Co-op is such a unique company with very little direct competition in the area. They are allowing everyone in the area to become more eco-friendly at a very low convenience or big change for the people. This is really setting them apart from everyone else and could very easily become a very big new trend in shopping for household products. They are looking at where they can make the biggest impact and instead of looking at the food industry which is already oversaturated with companies changing it they are taking on household products as they are the only one to do that.
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Albert O'Connor, Web Developer and Co Founder
Avocado co-op is a retail store that is making sustainable living easier for the people living in Waterloo and the surrounding area. They are focusing on eco-friendly, and zero waste products while keeping good morals and leading the way for socially responsible business.