9 Apps To Help You Live More Sustainably

Use A Screen To Help You Go Green

Every day we try and live a more sustainable life, but some ways are harder than others. One of the easiest most accessible ways to become more sustainable is one click away on your smartphone. Apps are here to help make your life easier and fill in some gaps to help you live a fuller life.

Here are some apps we have downloaded to make living a more sustainable lifestyle available at our fingertips. While there are many apps out there, these have been tried and tested to improve your day-to-day. Get inspired to live more sustainably.

1. Flora

Cutest focus keeper & goal/habit tracker that helps you put down the phone and be productive

Price | Free

Why We Love It | We all have trouble logging off from time to time—okay, more times than not—even in my mid-twenties I can hear my parents telling me to get off my phone. Flora is here to make it easy to take a break from screen time. Play by yourself or with friends to grow trees and learn healthy phone habits. Flora even has motivators you can set up so that when you kill a tree in the game you pay to plant one in real life. Let your online garden flourish while taking care of your mental health.

Download Flora

2. Hoopla

Instantly borrow free digital movies, music, eBooks and more 24/7 with your library card

Price | Free

Why We Love It | We all know that when you said you read the newest JK Rowling novel, what you really mean is you listened to it. Hoopla is one of those apps I can’t seem to stop telling my friends about. It offers totally free to access thousands of audiobooks, movies, music, and even read novels on your device—all you need is a library card to have millions of titles. Download and listen offline on the airplane, or stream for long car rides. Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology and Amy Poehler’s Yes Please are some personal favorites to get you started for your ten monthly rentals.

Download Hoopla

3. thredUP

thredUP is the world’s largest online fashion resale shop with over 30,000 brands

Price | Free

Why We Love It | Thrifting is great in theory, but getting myself to go shopping for hours, searching through stacks of clothing for the perfect piece does not happen as often as it should. For those too lazy to leave their apartment, thredUP is here to maintain your shopping addiction, but sustainably. Browse through thousands of pre-owned garments, and even have special gift boxes made up so you don’t have to do the digging. Have some clothes you never wear? Send them to receive credit or cash.

Download thredUP on iOS // GooglePlay

4. OfferUp

The biggest mobile marketplace for local buyers and sellers

Price | Free

Why We Love It | We all have those things sitting in the back of our closet we never use *cough* backpack I accidentally ordered two of. Here is the chance to rid yourself of rarely used items taking up valuable space. Spring clean and make some money while you’re at it, selling your ignored goods to those looking for that specific carpet steamer. On the hunt for something yourself? Seek out OfferUp before buying it new—someone may have exactly what you are looking for.

Download OfferUp

5. Strava

Track your fitness activity with Strava. Record your run, map a cycling route & analyse your training with all the stats—for free!

Price | Free

Why We Love It | Get some motivation to bike, walk or even kayak to work with Strava. Have competitions with your friends to see who biked the most miles each week and set personal goals. Tracking your rides will give you the push to leave your car keys at home, get some exercise and enjoy the great outdoors.

Download Strava on iOS // GooglePlay

6. PaperKarma

Snap a photo. Save a tree.

Price | Free

Why We Love It | It can be easy to unsubscribe from junk mail on your Gmail account, but less so with physical mail. PaperKarma is the ultimate recycling tool. Take a photo of your junk mail and stop receiving all ads and magazines within 1-3 cycles. Subscribe to continue saving trees and time by using PaperKarma.

Download PaperKarma on iOS // GooglePlay

7. Gardenia

Manage your garden in style and discover precious tips on how to take care of your plants!

Price | Free

Why We Love It | Ever forget to water your basil on the dining room table? Or not even know the first step in plant care? Well, Gardenia has got you covered. Not only can you learn about plants before purchasing to see if they would be a good fit for your home or garden, but you can learn about plants you may have been neglecting. Get notifications on when to water and keep up with the weather to give your little plant babies the happiest life possible.

Download Gardenia on iOS // GooglePlay

8. DoneGood

Get cool stuff. Save money. Do good.

Price | Free

Why We Love It | While still in its early stages, DoneGood has done the heavy lifting for you. Select from your favorite sustainable attributes like eco-friendly, or cruelty-free and be supplied with brands that honor these from local stores. They also offer up discount codes exclusively through their app to score some deals on stylish items. Shop from home goods to fashion—whatever you are looking for on the sustainable markets, DoneGood has it for you.

Download DoneGood

9. JouleBug

Discover new ways to go green

Price | Free

Why We Love It | Also a young but promising app, JouleBug makes living a more conscious lifestyle a fun game. By adding badges and socializing with friends, you will be more motivated than ever to turn off the lights in the other room or visit a farmers market. Share your achievements with friends and learn helpful tips along the way.