The shortage of clean water in many parts of the world is a critical problem. According to the World Health Organization, 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water. As a direct consequence 1.6 million people die every year from diarrheal diseases (including cholera) attributable to lack of access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation and 90% of these are children under 5, mostly in developing countries.

Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) describes an estimated $209 billion U.S. marketplace for goods and services focused on health, the environment, social justice, personal development and sustainable living. The consumers attracted to this market represent a sizable group in this country.

The problem of e-waste: Between the breakneck pace of technological progress and our voracious appetite for gadgets, we're accumulating piles of obsolete computers, cell phones, and other electronic junk. This stuff is hard to dispose of because it's full of many different materials and tends to contain toxins like mercury, lead, and arsenic. This junk is often shipped overseas where it's "recycled" with very little oversight and becomes an environmental and public health disaster.

Urban agriculture is the practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in, or around a village, town or city. Social benefits that have emerged from urban agricultural practices are; better health and nutrition, increased income, employment, food security within the household, and community social life.

What would you give for someone or something to helps you find safe, healthy, and sustainable products while you shop? How about simply scanning the barcode of the product and immediately see detailed ratings for health, environment and social responsibility for more than 50,000 products and companies.

What chemicals are in your baby shampoo? Was sweatshop labor used to make your t-shirt? What products are the best, and what products should you avoid?
Increasingly, you want to know about the impacts of the products you buy. On your health. On the environment. On society. But unless you’ve got a Ph.D, it is almost impossible to find out the impacts of the products you buy. Until now…

Almost all consumer electronics (mobile phones, computers, monitors, printers, etc.) contain toxic materials such as lead, mercury, arsenic and a broad variety of other materials that pose a threat to the environment and health. The challenge is to extend device usage to end-of-life, safely mine existing eWaste for materials, and design new devices with planned reclamation using reclaimed materials where possible.

Finding a convenient, healthy snack can be difficult in workplaces and schools where fruit trees are long gone and the best on offer now comes from a vending machine stuffed with junk. In this troubled economic times, many schools are forced to shut down their cafeteria services and replace them with rows of vending machines.

In the US alone, consumers spent hundreds of billions of dollars in fast food alone. Modern consumers have an ambivalent relationship (characterized by guilt) with fast food, particularly in relation to children. This guilt is projected onto processed food, where bizarre tales of contamination and lax standards are widely believed. Trans fats which are commonly found in fast food have been shown in many tests to have a negative health effect on the body. Excessive calories are another issue with fast food. A regular meal at McDonald's consists of a Big Mac, large fries, and a large Coca-Cola drink amounting to 1430 calories

The local food movement in which sustainable food production, processing, distribution, and consumption is integrated to enhance the economic, environmental and social health of a particular place and is considered to be a part of a broader sustainability movement. Urban farming — the art of growing vegetables in cities has become increasingly trendy in recent years, led by health-conscious foodies coveting just-picked produce, as well as hipsters who dig the roll-your-own vibe.