The Best Social Impact iOS App of 2017

Why should I use TradeMade?

TradeMade offers a new, fun, and mindful way to get all that you desire. It’s a way for you to get value out of your stuff and your many talents, all the while you are helping to reduce waste and your carbon footprint.

There’s NO money, NO waste, and NO carbon emissions. You’ll also have fun searching and trying to make a deal, and will likely meet a few awesome people along the way!

What kind of things can I upload and trade?

1. Items. You can upload everything from: clothing + fashion accessories + jewelry + shoes + phones + laptops + tech. gadgets + gaming devices and discs + furniture + home decor + office supplies + sporting and athletic equipment + books and textbooks + baby toys + homemade or handcrafted goods + tickets + gift cards…there’s more, but I got tired. Simply, there’s a lot of cool stuff you can upload and trade!

2. Services / Tasks. You can also upload tasks: tutoring + lessons + consulting + graphic design + web development + delivery + cleaning and organizing + moving help + quick errands + cooking + transportation + handcrafting + photo and video production + laundry + online marketing…and, yup, there’s more!

You can trade an item for a service, three items for two services…the combinations are endless.

How does the trade process work?

Step 1. Upload an item or service by snapping a photo and writing a description.

Step 2. Browse and filter by anything from categories, distance, value, others desires, and Facebook Friends.

Step 3. Pick an item or service you like and propose a trade by mix and matching to find the ideal offer.

Step 4. If you get a TradeMade notification, chat with that person, meet-up, and make it happen! We guide you through the process and make it as simple and direct as possible. And remember, as you trade, you accumulate carbon savings points!

How does the carbon badge system work?

We’ve partnered with a few incredible organizations to build a diverse and abundant carbon metric database. We’ve also spent years doing research to find and calculate carbon footprint metrics to make TradeMade not only a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, but a great way to learn about the true, environmental cost of goods.

Carbon badges are automatically assigned to items when you upload them (we’ll do all the work) and tell you what that item’s carbon footprint is, and, since you’re not buying new stuff, you’re preventing new carbon from entering the atmosphere. So, when you see a carbon badge on an item, when you trade and get it, you’ve just increased your total carbon savings by the amount seen on that item. Check out your, and your friends’ profiles, to see how much you’ve saved!

What’s the big goal for the TradeMade app, and what social impact do you aim to have in 2017 and beyond?

We desire to TRANSFORM the current ‘throwaway’ and ‘buy new’ culture into a self-sustaining community-culture, whereby people are not only connected with the ‘haves’ and ‘wants’ of those around them, but also with tangible ways to create environmental betterment.

We hope to generate a large-scale behavioral change in the way our culture consumes material goods, and impart a resource saving ethic that builds on the vitality of the ‘Sharing Economy’.