This easy-to-use app will pay you to make sustainable purchases — download and start earning

While many may want to shop more sustainably, the legwork can be daunting. Cue Commons, the aptly named app working hard to help make shopping sustainably easier and more common. 

What is Commons?

Commons is a free app based on the founders' belief that knowing how to live sustainably is human nature. Commons simply helps us tap into our inner carbon compass and use our spending to shape a sustainable world. 

Commons pays consumers for making eco-positive purchases and is built on the understanding that everyone has their own sustainability journey. It offers rewards for shopping sustainably by giving shoppers cash back or gift cards when they buy items from over 500 Commons-approved brands that cover every aspect of life. 

To get started, all you have to do is answer a few questions, such as how big your household is, how much meat you eat, and what types of transportation you use. Once Commons has an idea of your habits and household needs, it tracks the planet-warming pollution created by your purchasing decisions and gives you real-time monitoring and management tools with customized tips for how to buy less or switch to sustainable brands. 

Commons companies must go through a "rigorous evaluation process" to earn Commons' recommendation, so users can feel confident that their purchases positively impact their wallets and the planet. 

Each time you purchase something or take climate-positive actions, including by secondhand shopping, eating locally, or signing up for community solar — you'll earn "seeds" that you can trade in for rewards. Every month, you can earn up to $30 cash back, $60 in nonprofit donations, or $90 in investments toward conservation projects to offset pollution.

Why is shopping sustainably important?

According to Commons, studies estimate that a typical household's spending contributes to more than 60% of the global pollution causing the dangerous overheating of our planet. 

Making sustainable choices such as limiting single-use plastics, eating less meat, or taking public transportation go a long way in reducing the amount of pollution you personally create. Along with these choices, spending intentionally and strategically can be one of the highest-impact ways to help the environment. 

How Commons helps the planet 

In making shopping sustainably the easy, more common choice, Commons is making a big difference. According to the company, in 2022, the average user's pollution decreased by 20%. Multiply that by the thousands of consumers using the app, and you can see the impact. 

"If every American reduced their footprint at the same rate as Commons users, we'd reduce global emissions by 1 billion tons," the company reports. "That's equivalent to taking 2 million passenger vehicles off the road for a year."

One grateful user wrote, "Commons has turned my climate anxiety and thinkwashing into manageable, meaningful, and actionable lifestyle changes that help me feel part of a communal effort [to] treat our planet with more respect."

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