The Beagle Button is a sustainability tech start-up. We have designed an online tool that helps you shop more sustainably online. Whether it's plastic free, recycled, vegan, ethically sourced or any other of our carefully selected metrics, we'll find you recommendations for better alternatives when you shop online. We aim to make sustainability accessible and affordable for everyday items, from furniture to shoes. It might seem difficult to switch to a more sustainable lifestyle, but that is not necessarily the case. You simply need the right tools and a little inspiration.
We have decided to share with you our sources of inspiration, in the hope that they will do the same for you. We have chased up the people and companies that inspired the us to create the Beagle Button, and are revolutionising sustainability. We are very grateful that Tara Button agreed to be our first interviewee.
Tara Button
Tara Button is an entrepreneur, author and sustainability champion. Her book A Life Less Throwaway is a groundbreaking insight into our relationship with possessions, and how we can change our lifestyles. In our interview, Tara concedes that she was not always focused on the environment; sustainability only caught her eye in 2016. A birthday present saw her reroute her career and revolutionise her mindset.
For her birthday Tara received a Le Creuset casserole dish. We asked her why this everyday piece of kitchenware changed her life. She stated that Le Creuset offer a lifetime guarantee. This means that if her gift ever malfunctioned or broke the company would fix it for no extra cost, and if needs be they would replace it. This service is designed to minimise waste; it encourages people to invest in durability. Tara was stunned that such guarantees existed, and thereafter started looking for other products with similar guarantees. Her birthday present inspired her first company: BuyMeOnce.
BuyMeOnce is an online platform that has brought all the best, high quality long-lasting products together. On this website you can find cast iron pans that will outlive you, and last for generations. Tara’s favourite find is Darn Tough Socks. These socks are pioneering in durability. Unlike high-street socks that are prone to wear and tear, and seldom last more than a year or two, these socks can be worn for decades. She has owned hers for years, and they are still her comfiest and softest softs. These socks and every single product on Tara’s website share a common denominator: each and every product is long lasting. You will only need to buy them once! As long as you don’t lose them, you will not need to replace them.
The Le Creuset pot sparked Tara’s eco-piphany, she had a moment of revelation that kick-started her sustainability journey. We love the idea of an eco-piphany. It is the sustainability version of Eureka. This moment of clarity saw Tara move away from her career at the time in advertising. Since 2016 Tara’s company, BuyMeOnce, has gained impressive media attention and has grown significantly. The website’s Instagram page boasts of over 16,000 followers, and her website is stocked with products and endless articles.
Tara is nowhere near done. She has written a book and is in the process of launching another website. You might have heard of it: The Beagle Button. She is one of the co-founders of this new sustainability start-up. We are proud to say that we are growing everyday, and hope to have success similar to that of BuyMeOnce. Feel free to check out our Instagram or Facebook page (@thebeaglebutton), and don’t forget to sign up online for the Beagle Button tool. We are currently in the beta phase of our product launch, so if you install our browser extension please let us know if you stumble upon something you think could be improved!
Our interview with Tara is the first in a series of interviews. In this series we plan to ask each interviewee what their eco-piphany was. How did that moment change their life? And what is their top sustainability swap? We look forward to sharing other interviews and blog posts from this series soon.