Leune is a female founded, mission-driven cannabis brand dedicated to amplifying voices of equity in the cannabis space. From it’s inception, Leune has centered restorative justice as a critical pillar of the brand’s mission. Leune creates seasonal SKUs throughout the year where all proceeds support long-term partnerships with organizations such as Last Prisoner Project, Eaze Momentum and Broccoli’s Florette Coalition.
| Excerpts from Leune’s Honestly Grown Magazine, Issue 1 |
| Leune also recognizes that showing up for restorative justice means more than just writing a check. Founder Nidhi Lucky Handa was walking the walk long before Leune was in a position to make large financial donations. Recognizing the strength of Leune’s creative team, Handa reached out to Last Prisoner Project and offered any resources she had available. The result? The creation of three viral videos whose impact and exposure contributed to the exoneration of Michael Thompson. Leune continues to focus their creativity and design on advocacy through the creation of Honestly Grown, a self published magazine centering the narratives of individuals and communities of color who have been disproportionately impacted by the inequitable nature of the war on drugs. |
Stone Road believes that cannabis is nature’s best unifier, bringing together people from every place, background, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religion. Stone Road is a queer-run brand, and celebrates it with its diverse, inclusive, and provocative brand imagery that resonates especially with women and the LGBTQ+ communities, paving the way for a more inclusive cannabis industry.
Stone Road emphasizes diversity in every aspect of the business, ensuring a diverse cast and crew and partnering with queer and BIPOC artists to create the brand’s unique image. Stone Road has partnered with creatives such as Billie Black, a queer LA-based photographer; Anderson Martinez, a Hispanic, queer NY-based photographer; Kate Sweeney a queer Ohio-based photographer, Ruth de la Cruz aka Ruth Fruit, a Mexican-American LA-based photographer and Amanda Picotte, a queer NY-based photographer, to name a few.
Women, trans men and non-binary people with gyne organs are 5x more likely to feel ignored when sharing concerns about their reproductive health. As a survivor of rare reproductive cancer and endometriosis, Nicole Skibola and her mother Christine Skibola, PhD founded Cosmic View after experiencing this gender based gap in healthcare firsthand. Cosmic View offers science backed, holistic health care options and free educational resources for those underserved by traditional Western medicine.
Their independent, peer reviewed research focuses primarily on links between cannabis and gynecological health, with a focal point of their work targeting the disproportionate incidences of uterine fibroids in Black and Brown communities. To ensure their work reaches the communities Cosmic View is aiming to help, Nicole and Christine share their research freely.
Founded by grandson of legendary ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, SeaWeed Naturals believes that sustainability is no longer enough—brands looking to make an impact need to actively contribute toward healing the planet. World renowned environmental conservationists Ashlan and Phillippe Cousteau created SeaWeed Naturals as a way to merge business with their passion for protecting the planet and commitment to building a mutually beneficial relationship with our oceans and support the emerging blue economy. With a goal to restore the ocean, combat climate change, provide habitats for ocean life, and provide sustainable jobs in coastal communities, every SeaWeed Naturals purchase helps achieve that goal. 5% of all proceeds goes toward marine life conservation organizations including EarthEcho International, founded by Philippe Cousteau, and AltaSea.
SeaWeed Naturals exclusively practices regenerative land and sea farming practices, partnering with Atlantic Sea Farms to sustainably source seaweed and kelp ingredients. Atlantic Sea Farms uses practices which aid in sequestering carbon, de-acidifying the sea, providing habitats for ocean life, as well as sustaining jobs in the local fishing community up and down the New England coastline. SeaWeed also partnered with Algorithm, a company in Canada that sustainably cultivates plant-based, ocean-friendly Omega-3 DHA ingredients derived from micro-algae to bring the benefits of Omega 3’s to customers without harming ocean habitats.
Superette is first and foremost a community, and creating a positive social impact is integral to the brand. What sets Superette apart from other brands and cannabis retails is how they bring the Superette team, community partners and small businesses together to give back to important issues. 1 in 8 households in Canada face food insecurity daily and Superette is doing their part to help take care of those in the community that rely on food banks, local farm, and other essential organizations. As part of their community commitment, Superette host’s in-store food drives, plant fruits and vegetables to give people access to clean food, and helps sort non-perishables to support local food banks.
Superette’s team commits to being a part of the communities they are in, incorporating hyperlocal elements into their store designs and partnering with local businesses on collaborative initiatives that encourage customers to support neighborhood businesses through creative content and community partnerships. Superette’s Munchie Phones have collectively raised $10,000 in customer orders to date. Superette also has longstanding partnerships with both the Toronto and Ottawa Food Banks.
