We love integrating sustainable products into our everyday lives, and our business. We know that taking steps towards sustainable living is not always easy – and sometimes it can feel overwhelming with the plethora of information that’s out there but we truly believe that if you can just change one or two things about the way you live, or the products you use, it’ll make a difference!
To help you on your eco-living journey, here are a handful of our top eco-friendly products and businesses that have environmentalism and organic ethos at their core – and they just happen to be all New Zealand owned & operated.
If you are wanting a warm fuzzy feeling from your clothing that comes from the amazing quality as well as knowing that it comes from the best practices possible, you need to check out Little Yellow Bird. They are an organic cotton clothing brand that is transparent about every step of their production process, from sourcing organic cotton in India, during their zero waste dye process, to eco-conscious packaging.
Like Picker’s Pocket, they are committed to ensuring that suppliers provide fair pay and ethical environments for their workers. With the harmful practices of fast fashion finally being widely noticed, we are so happy to recommend a sustainable clothing brand committed to their vision with every fiber of the company.
All Good Bananas make a great addition to your shopping trolley, and your health, by tasting amazing as well as ethically sourcing their produce. They look after over 150 small banana farming families in El Guabo, Ecuador, by paying a fair trade minimum year-round for their amazing harvests. By paying these farmers fairly, it also means they have the stability to operate as organic farms and rid their working environments of harmful chemicals.
Thanks to eco-conscious shoppers buying All Good Bananas, they have been able to contribute more than $1,400,000 back to the El Guabo Association of Small Banana Farmers benefiting their community’s health and wellbeing, education, the sustainability of the land they farm, and the surrounding rainforest.
There are so many choices in the fruit and veg aisle but it’s important to know that when you’re choosing a bunch of bananas, an informed decision about Fairtrade production goes a long way for the environment and small farmers overseas.
Environmentalism has never tasted so sweet. Before Karma Drinks came on the scene and created a fizz, hardly any economic benefit trickled down to the people who discovered cola. They have set out to change this by creating The Karma Foundation. Their goal is to create independence, prosperity, and great working conditions for the farmers of cola nuts and their community in Sierra Leone by paying fairly for ingredients.
Karma Drinks are organic and fair trade in plastic-free bottles so everything they produce is good for the land, good for the people who grow them, and good for the people who eat and drink them. Did we mention that they are delicious too?
Simple Naked Soap is made with absolutely no nasties and leaves your skin feeling stunningly smooth. The main ingredient in their bars is goat milk sourced straight from their own farm in Balclutha, New Zealand.
Their goats roam stress-free, eating chemical-free grass to produce the best milk. Simple Naked Soap contains zero palm oil and they also add in clay to maximise the benefits when used on your skin. Able to be used on all skin types, we think it’s a fantastic natural product for everyone wanting to make the switch.
As well as soap, shop their website for a range of other natural health products utilising goat’s milk such as shampoo bars to declutter your shower of even more plastic bottles and chemicals.
Bennetto Natural Foods Co. pays careful consideration to the health of our environment, people, and community. The majority of chocolate is handmade by Lucy, the founder of Bennetto, and her team in Christchurch, New Zealand.
After a trip to the Dominican Republic to see where cacao is grown, Lucy saw first-hand how important organic and fair trade farming is and the positive impact this has on local farmers. Now, the majority of her cacao is sourced from Acopagro, a Fairtrade cooperative at the base of the Amazon Jungle in Peru.
Within the chocolate recipes themselves, there isn’t anything added that doesn’t need to be there, making a delicious and natural treat. To add to your chocolate affair, we recommend having a couple of squares with your next cup of our Picker’s Pocket Chocolate Tea – hand plucked, pure Ceylon tea leaves made into a loose leaf breakfast style tea with real pieces of chocolate & rose petals.
Finding alternatives for single-use kitchen items you use everyday can be difficult, but important. Cling wrap is in almost every household’s bottom drawer and we can’t deny that it serves a valid purpose but using cling wrap for a few hours leads to hundreds of years in a landfill, breaking down into microplastics – yuck! Reform’s compostable cling wrap helps to serve this same purpose but their wrap is certified compostable, making it an eco-friendly alternative. It is also non-toxic,, microwave safe, and BPA and GMO free making it better for the planet and your household.
Another alternative to plastic food waste is the handcrafted, natural beeswax wraps from Kiwi Wraps. They take 100% cotton fabric patches with a huge variety of patterns and seal them with their signature blend of beeswax, jojoba oil and natural tree resin. The food wraps are able to mould onto your bowls and tupperware to seal in the freshness naturally.
You know you’re doing something right when your house guests are smiling before they even cross the threshold! These adorable doormats from Don’t Be a Doormat are cute, functional and sustainable. The mats are made from coconut fibre (coir) and are bound with a natural latex to ensure they’ll stand up to a trampling. Don’t be a doormat is proud that their products have no plastics or PVC backings and we LOVE the fact that they are 100% biodegradable.
Almost anyone can find a use for a high-quality, sturdy storage basket around the home. This functional basket from Etico is ethically sourced and handwoven by farmers in Morocco using fallen palm fronds. The stunning, sturdy leather handles are made from goat, cow or camel leather which is also a sustainable byproduct. Having a handwoven basket in your home looks amazing and can effectively hold your upcoming sustainable hauls after reading our recommendations!
Upcycling is most commonly associated with restoring old furniture or re-styling second-hand clothing, but Citizen Beers is upcycling food and beverage products to revolutionise the food supply chain.
They aim to minimise food waste as much as possible by using edible surplus food or edible food production by-products destined for waste streams, then re-working it into every Citizen product.
To make a can of Citizen Beer, fermentable starches are taken from one slice of unused supermarket bread and slice by slice it adds up so no ‘waste’ really goes to waste. A similar approach is taken in the production process of their sourdough bread and wine range. If you haven’t already added this one to your shopping list, we highly recommend you do!
Picker’s Pocket Ceramic Tea Jug
We’re rounding off our recommendations with our very own ceramic tea jugs that make brewing loose leaf tea super easy. Our ceramic tea jug is made locally in Queenstown, New Zealand, and is based on a design invented in the Ming Dynasty.
Simply brew your leaves in the jug and pour, as the jug design filters it for you. Teabags are a huge contributor to household waste as they are dunked once and then thrown in the bin to eventually brew in landfills. This is where the loose leaf life is a great alternative in your tea-loving household.
These sustainable New Zealand businesses really share our mission to take care of our environment, our people, and our communities and we hope you find these product recommendations helpful. Together we can make a large impact when we each take small steps.
