Business
Looking for positive and inspiring business stories? From green operations to employee rights, from innovative corporate structures to diversity and inclusion, the Business section at The Optimist Daily has got the latest innovative solutions from the corporate sector.
Cow-free leather typically relies on plastics. This company could change that
A brand by the name of Natural Fiber Welding has come up with technology that can make plant-based leather without the use of any plastics. That's a big deal. You see, plant-based leather typically uses plastic resin or glue to hold the material together. And while some companies work on Read More...
Toms made the buy-one, give-one business model famous. Now it’s reinventing it
When Toms launched in 2006, it popularized the one-for-one business model by giving away a free pair of shoes for every pair sold. The model has been popular with consumers and inspired many other brands to adopt it, but critics have questioned how well it works, asking whether it could disrupt Read More...
Airbnb launches new initiative to help displaced people find temporary housing
Airbnb wants to help people find places to live, whether it’s someone on vacation or someone who needs refuge. That’s why the home sharing company announced a new initiative designed to help displaced people find housing solutions. The company launched a new Donations tool that will let Read More...
This startup creates new affordable housing—without constructing new buildings
Affordable housing is expensive to build–and that means construction is happening far too slowly to meet demand. In Atlanta, a startup called PadSplit is adding new affordable units more quickly by reusing rooms in single-family homes instead. Rather than building new buildings, PadSplit works Read More...
New Unilever brand donates all proceeds to give the homeless access to showers
While we usually think of food and shelter as being the main challenges homeless people face, Unilever is bringing awareness to the importance of cleanliness for all people with the announcement of a new brand called The Right To Shower, which believes, as its name implies, every human deserves Read More...
Fairbnb is the community-oriented alternative we need to Airbnb
The problem with Airbnb is that more and more full-time, short-time rentals are on the market in major cities, which means that housing can’t be used for someone who actually wants to live in the city. This is only encouraging mass tourism in cities like Amsterdam, Venice, and Paris, and makes a Read More...
This new online store is the eco-friendly antidote to online shopping
The convenience of online shopping is unparalleled, but unfortunately, it comes at a major cost to the environment as nearly everything gets shipped in plastic packaging. That’s what inspired a French-Slovak couple living in Luxembourg to create a new online marketplace called Zwoice that will Read More...
Startups are helping the city of Flint turn the tide after the water crisis
Whenever the city of Flint, Michigan, finds itself in the headlines, it’s rarely for anything good. The city has long suffered from divestment and exodus, and the water crisis five years ago didn’t help fix the national image of Flint being a site of intractable poverty. But all of this fails Read More...
Beyond Meat is going public. That's a good sign for the alt-meat industry
Companies that offer plant-based meat alternatives are becoming increasingly popular nowadays as the concept shows great potential in fixing many problems associated with our food system. For instance, Beyond Meat – the company that has managed to produce vegan burgers that look, taste, and even Read More...
This company is out to save our oceans by reprogramming microbes to eat CO2
In our complex, interconnected world, solutions to our biggest problems can come from the most unexpected places—such as a company that makes fish food for fish farms. The feed used for fish farms is made up of the ground-up bodies of tiny fish such as anchovies, and it’s the biggest cost of Read More...