Want a place to get coffee, shop for hiking gear, and get something for your dog? Look no further. I’ll see you at United By Blue. 

I love the outdoors and experiencing nature and United By Blue keeps me hiking but allows me to protect the world in which I love to hike! United By Blue was founded in 2010, started in Philadelphia and quickly spread into New Jersey and New York. Their stores feature clothes and accessories for men and women, bags, outdoor gear, and items for your home...including but not limited to pet gear! I love that I can get a Canoe Paddle here, but my more practical go-to is the Ryde Maxi Dress in Heather Green. It may not be ideal for hiking, but it’s got pockets and is 100% organic cotton!

So what happens when you give go-getters who are passionate about world change and protecting the environment a really great cup of coffee? They get to work, and this is what they get done:

1. From their buildings to their waste practices, everything at their retail locations create the smallest of carbon footprints. Another great perk? Buy yourself a coffee and shop for anything...all in the same store!
2. Their production is always done in fair-wage and eco-friendly locations. Each product lists materials used, why, and from where. If it’s not made in the US, it is imported from Asia where the necessary materials and skills are best sourced.
3. They host workshops, events, and classes to better their communities, their patrons, and themselves. This can range from yoga classes bettering your body, to clean up projects bettering waterways.
4. It’s not donations and checks that they want. They want bodies and minds working with them. How often do you go into a store and buy yourself part of a clean ocean?
5. On that note, United By Blue removes one pound of trash from our world's oceans and waterways for every product sold. So far, that is 312,402 pounds of trash, 155 cleanups, in 25 states.
6. By joining the #BLUEMOVEMENT, you promise to shop, scout, volunteer, and be aware. UBB doesn’t want you to limit yourself or your change. So shop with them, find other retailers and businesses willing to partner, take time out to actually act on your promises, and continue to raise awareness with other brands you encounter!
7. UBB is a B-Corp, and that means they are certified by the nonprofit B Lab because they meet serious social and environmental standards.
8. Because of all of the above, they provide Lifetime Guarantees for their bags. They believe in their materials and manufacturing so much, and they want you to believe, too...forever!
9. The Resident Wolf Pack: Meet the entire team - great people I’m sure - but most importantly (to me), scroll down to the bottom where you find the most precious and photogenic team members, especially Atlas.

As a for-profit business, they see their success in being a healing power to sustain and maintain the water that unites us all. Find them in hundreds of stores worldwide via their Store Locator or check out their own stores in New York, New Jersey, and their flagship in Philadelphia! 

Though the classes seem limited to PA for now, keep updated through their main Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram for cleanup project opportunities and other great events!

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Every effort is made to verify the accuracy of these external resources; however, Diana Mao and Nomi Network cannot guarantee or control the content, usefulness, or appropriateness of these sites or that their products are 100% slave free.