In March, Grove Collaborative became the first and only plastic-neutral retailer in the world committed to becoming 100 percent plastic-free by 2025. The company recently released a full line of plastic-free products as a part of its Beyond Plastic cleaning initiative. In October, it also launched personal care brand Peach, which offers waterless, plastic-free, and effective plant-based solutions. In under a year, Peach is expected to save an estimated 100,000 pounds of plastic that would otherwise enter the environment. The company's subscription model allows households to easily make a permanent shift to less harmful chemicals and packaging.

The average consumer buys 68 items of clothing per year, but wears each item only an average of seven times before it is discarded--and 60 percent of discarded garments end up in incinerators or landfills within one year. This year, Cuyana has stayed true to its mission of minimizing the impact of the fashion industry on the environment by creating staple apparel pieces that consumers value and wear longer. This female-led company also continues to support global craftsmanship by honoring its production commitments to small factories around the world, even amid the pandemic. The company recently launched the Zero Waste collection program, in which scraps from its production supply chain are used to create new products.

Kendra Scott entered the pandemic with a history of substantial philanthropic giving —having donated more than $30 million to local and national causes since 2010. To pitch in on Covid-19 relief, the company gave 4.1 million meals through Feeding America, created and donated more than 4,500 masks for frontline workers, and donated close to $500,000 to hospitals. Its Care @ Home program helps employees find care services for family members and offers enrollment discounts for child care centers. 

Cybersecurity firm KnowBe4 has been on the forefront of tracking pandemic-related security breeches and phishing traps. Its ongoing What Keeps You Up at Night series of reports surveys hundreds of business owners at home and abroad to create a real-time index of the health of our networked economy. Compromised credentials, ransomware, and negligent users surfaced as the most common security concern for gatekeepers this year. This year, the company launched a free compliance tool for companies to gauge the integrity of their systems.

Nearly 70 percent of medical devices will be connected or connectable to a health care system network by the end of 2025, according to Deloitte. This year, Medigate has emerged as one of the clear leaders providing security for IoT medical tech. The company has partnered with Microsoft and VMware to provide hospitals with greater visibility into their clinical data and to uncover network vulnerabilities. In a health care system already taxed by the pandemic, Medigate systems are able to save hours and hour of precious manpower for more critical operations.