Every year, World Environment Day serves as a call to action. Not the echoing shout of a hashtag campaign or a quick fix, but a real invitation to rethink how we treat the planet – and each other. For Not For Sale, that conversation often starts with the question: What if doing the right thing for the planet was also good business?

We’ve never believed in separating environmental health from social justice. They’re inseparable. We don’t just want to rescue people from exploitation. We want to make sure the systems that put them at risk – broken economies, degraded environments, extractive business models – don’t keep cycling back.

Building solutions, not Band-Aids

This isn’t about idealism. It’s about results. That’s why we work with partners like Regenerate Technology and M2i – companies proving that people, planet, and profit aren’t competing interests. They’re ingredients in a future that works.

Regenerate Technology is redefining what we expect from design and manufacturing. Their circular economy model breathes new life into waste streams, making sustainable practices profitable – not just palatable. From upcycling materials to reshaping industry mindsets, they’re shifting the conversation from “how much does it cost to be sustainable?” to “how much are we wasting by not being?”

M2i Global, meanwhile, is pioneering a secure, domestic minerals supply chain rooted in innovation and strategic partnerships. Their integrated approach, spanning mining, processing, recycling, and defense collaboration, isn’t just about meeting today’s needs, it’s about establishing ethically sourceable metals and minerals for a stronger future. They’re not waiting for stability, they’re engineering it.

What does World Environment Day have to do with human trafficking?

Everything.

In communities where environmental collapse has left families with no options, traffickers move in. Poverty, displacement, and climate breakdown feed modern slavery in more ways than one. We see this time and again: where sustainability thrives, exploitation declines.

By supporting regenerative technologies, clean energy, and circular economies, we’re not just saving carbon. We’re empowering as many people as possible to save their own futures, supported by businesses that make a difference.

Our work alongside companies such as Regenerate and M2i helps create jobs that restore ecosystems, not strip them. That changes the equation – people no longer have to choose between feeding their families and protecting their environment. The two become the same fight.

People-centered capitalism

Let’s be clear: we’re not businesses as anti-profit. Read about how we set up businesses that empower people. But we’re dead against profit that thrives on destruction – of land, of dignity, of human lives. Our model champions companies that are bold enough to do both: make money and make change.

Because here’s the truth: if business can’t help fix the mess, it’s just part of it.

World Environment Day for a future worth building

On this World Environment Day – or any day – we’re not just celebrating, we’re working. With our partners, our supporters, and the people we serve, we’re building a world where environmental stewardship isn’t a bonus – it’s the baseline.

That world won’t come easy. But it’s coming – through companies with courage, communities with power, and movements like Not For Sale that refuse to choose between people and planet.

We’re not waiting for the world to change. We’re changing the world.

• Support Not For Sale this World Environment Day.