Can We Trust Sustainable Shopping?: Canopey

In this live episode of Virgin StartUp Changemakers, Natalie Pearce sits down with Canopey co-founders Thomas Panton and Hugo Douglas-Deane to explore how startups can make sustainable choices easier for customers without expecting them to be perfect. From tackling greenwashing and verifying sustainability claims to building a marketplace designed around trust, Thomas and Hugo share the thinking behind Canopey and the realities of building a purpose-led startup. They also explore co-founder relationships, hiring, customer feedback and why founders need to keep questioning and evolving their ideas as their businesses grow. Whether you're building a sustainable brand, developing a marketplace or trying to embed purpose into your business, this episode offers practical founder lessons on earning customer trust, building the right team and making sustainability more accessible. In this episode: Making sustainable shopping simpler and more accessible Why greenwashing is damaging customer trust How Canopey verifies sustainability claims before products reach its marketplace Why being better matters more than trying to be perfect Choosing co-founders with complementary skills Building a healthy culture as your founding team grows Why customer feedback should continually shape your product Using accelerators strategically at different stages of startup growth Why founders should talk about their ideas instead of fearing they'll be stolen Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about. Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business. Looking to start or grow your own business? Find out more at virginstartup.org Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.