by Sarah Halfpenny
If you’re interested in reducing your personal environmental impact, here are five fantastic Australian companies doing their bit to stop an abundance of waste harming our environment and keeping the planet clean for future generations.
Better for your home, wallet and the planet, Tirtyl makes a “just-add-water” range for your home, hands and body.
I’ve bought literally all their products now and I swear by every one of them. They make foaming hand soap (with beautiful glass dispensers), foaming body wash, a universal cleaner, laundry detergent sheets, dishwasher tablets plus compostable and machine washable dish cloths. Join them on their mission to ‘unwaste the world’!
The name might sound a bit crass but it’s certainly memorable, and so is the important work they do. After learning that 2.4 billion people don’t have access to a toilet, three friends named Danny, Simon and Jehan began their own company in 2012 to manufacture toilet paper using sustainable materials like 100% bamboo, and use profits to build toilets for people who need them.
They are now certified for the highest standards of social and environmental impact, and don’t use any inks, dyes or scents so it’s better for your body. WGAC also make fun limited-edition wraps on their toilet paper rolls which can be used as wrapping paper for gifts!
Ditch the environmental disaster that are single-use coffee pods and have Australia’s best coffees delivered to your door (free shipping!) with a subscription from Drop that rotates through Australian specialty coffee roasters.
There’s something different every week, or if you don’t like surprises, you can have your order tailored to your tastes by choosing what kind, how much, how often and even what grind you like. And all their packaging is either recyclable or biodegradable, with their shipping provider a certified B-Corp.
Did you know the average Australian purchases 27kgs of textile per year and throws out 23kg? Never send your old clothes or fabric waste to landfill again! Upparel is Australia and New Zealand’s leading textile recycling company. Purchase a box pickup from them and they’ll collect your 10kg boxes of unwanted clothing, shoes and linen and sort them at their massive warehouse. Nothing is sent offshore or to landfill.
If something is in new or fit-to-wear condition, they will pass it on to their Australian charity partners. If it’s at the end of its useful life, they turn it into a fine fluffy fibre that is then used for other purposes such as home insulation, pet beds, acoustic panelling and more!
This amazing eco packaging company was started out of their home by two Melbourne brothers when they realised there weren’t any packaging options for online retailers that were good for the environment.
Instead of settling for using plastic postage items, they created their own line of compostable shipping mailers, hex wrap (to replace nasty bubble wrap), ecolabels, ecotape, hemp cord and more. And they’ve teamed up with Ecologi to plant a tree for every order that’s placed with them!
