For nearly every aspect of modern life, there exists a mobile phone application meant to make things simpler - from ordering food to managing finances, booking health appointments, and connecting with friends.
Amongst these, there is a growing subset of apps which help people seeking to meaningfully reduce their environmental impact.
Climate change is a rising concern for over three-quarters of Australians, and a significant number of people experience anxiety associated with government inaction and helplessness about their own ability to make a difference.
These mobile phone apps encourage practical mindset and behaviour changes, and empower individuals to make more eco-conscious decisions on a daily basis.
1) Good On You - Sustainable Fashion and Beauty Brand Ratings
Keen to know how different brands compare in terms of labour, environment, and animal considerations when making purchasing decisions? There's an app for that.
Good On You is "creating a world where it's easy for anyone, anywhere to buy better." They research brands, provide users with accurate ratings of how well their favourite brands are performing on environmental and ethical measures, and use the power of consumer choice to compel governments to enforce effective mandates and brands to improve.
The concept of Good On You was born in 2015, and the app was launched one year later. Founder Gordon Renouf knew something had to change after at least 1,138 people were killed and thousands more were injured in the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh. The disaster exposed illegal construction, use of substandard materials, and unsafe working conditions, bringing worldwide attention to unethical practices within some global fashion brands.
Australia has surpassed the US as theworld's largest consumer of clothing and textiles per capita, with Australians purchasing an average of 56 new items annually. This high consumption is driven by fast fashion, leading to over 200,000 tonnes of clothing ending up in landfills every year. In 2024, Good On You expanded to include beauty industry brands - of which Australia is also a leading worldwide consumer.
If you would like the stats to help make ethical fashion and beauty purchasing decisions, the Good On You app available on Google Play and the Apple Store is an invaluable resource.
2) Too Good To Go - Save Food From Going to Waste
Picture your fridge: is there a wilted carrot, a container of days-old leftovers, and a soggy bag of spinach sitting in the bottom drawer, all of which will inevitably end up getting thrown out? You're not alone.
In this current cost-of-living crisis, many are acutely aware of hiking grocery shop costs. Yet wasted food is one of the biggest expenses to Australian households and our planet. Studies show that Australians waste around 7.6 million tonnes of food per year. Food loss and waste generate more greenhouse gas emissions than the aviation industry, plastic production, and oil extraction combined. And at an individual level, we are throwing out roughly one-fifth of our household food shop every week.
Too Good To Go was founded in 2015 by a group of young entrepreneurs in Copenhagen, who were committed to solving the issue of food wasted by buffet restaurants in Denmark. They partnered their app with local food businesses and worked to expand their reach - now operating in 21 countries and with 120 million registered users worldwide.
Depending on your location, you could snag a surprise bag of buns from Bakers Delight, groceries from Harris Farm, or leftovers from your local cafe. The bags are typically of at least double the value of the purchase price.
To help reduce food waste, save money, and rescue food that is simply too good to go, check out the Too Good To Go app, available at Google Play and the Apple Store.
3) Recycle Mate - Waste and Recycling Made Easy
Can I recycle this? Let Recycle Mate help.
We all try to recycle and dispose of our waste thoughtfully. While recycling rates are slowly increasing nationwide, research suggests that 'wish-cycling', the practice of putting non-recyclable items in recycling bins, hoping they won't end up in landfill, is also growing. More than one-third of all items disposed of in recycling bins are not recyclable, and contribute to contamination and more waste ending up in landfill.
Recycle Mate was developed to counter the contributing factors to waste contamination, by increasing recycling awareness, targeting greenwashing and misinformation, and making it easy for consumers to make informed decisions.
The app uses AI technology to detect hundreds of items, by name, barcode, or keyword, to help individuals anywhere in Australia determine which bin their item needs to go into. They also list local vendors who will accept items for recycling - such as ink cartridges, vehicle tyres, and coffee cups.
Depending on where you're located, councils have certain rules for how to dispose of different household items and materials. Including those fridge leftovers - and the containers they're in. Download the Recycle Mate app on Google Play or the Apple Store and let it help you as your handy, localised recycling guide.
4) Ecosia - The Search Engine that Plants Trees
Imagine a world where an internet search could make a positive environmental impact, rather than consuming energy. The team at Ecosia have created just that - developing the world's first not-for-profit search engine.
Ecosia uses their ad revenue profits towards taking climate action, and since its 2009 inception, they have planted over 231 million trees in more than 40 countries. Alongside native tree-planting done in partnership with local communities, they also invest in renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, and grassroots activism.
For users browsing with Ecosia, the company has made it even easier to make eco-conscious decisions. They place a green leaf next to websites of planet-friendly organisations, and a fossil fuel plant icon next to websites of companies promoting coal mining and banks financing fossil fuels.
Using Ecosia is simple, accessible, and doesn't require you to make any significant lifestyle changes. And it stems from one individual's drive to do good in the world, with founder Christian Kroll passionate about the next generation's ability to protect the planet.
Ecosia is available as a web browser extension and a dedicated mobile app at Google Play and the Apple Store. Happy searching, happy planting.
5) One Small Step - Green Living
The team at One Small Step get it - they know climate change can feel like a lot, and that it's hard to work out what actions will actually have an impact. So they have created a behavioural science-backed, personal sustainability coach in an app, allowing you to understand your carbon footprint and how to build eco-friendly habits to reduce it.
Their mission is to support millions of people to lower their personal carbon footprints to the United Nation's sustainable development goal of 2 tonnes of carbon emissions per person per year by 2050. Through footprint tracking, tailored programs and courses, and challenges around food, energy, transport and consumption, this is a clear example of how technology supports sustainable behaviour change towards the greater good.
As Lily Dempster, founder of One Small Step attests: "We think what we're doing as individuals doesn't matter, but it actually does when we're acting together with a larger community." You can join the larger community through downloading the One Small Step app via Google Play or the Apple Store.
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Living ethically, being informed, and making everyday choices to lead a more environmentally-conscious life can all feel overwhelming, especially amidst growing climate anxiety and rising living costs. Small, consistent actions matter, and whilst no app alone can solve the problems affecting our world, they offer a tangible path forward - one step at a time.
Written by Rachel Viaje
Note: There are no affiliated links in this blog and this is not part of a partnership with any of the mentioned apps.