Earth Month might be coming to an end, but your sustainability journey doesn’t have to – take a look at these five brands that put planet before profit every day of the year.
Suntegrity
To honour her mother who passed away from melanoma skin cancer, Tricia Trimble set out to create a suncare line featuring safe, effective products for everyday wear. Based in the USA and 100% women-owned and operated, Suntegrity sunscreens are powered by non-nano zinc oxide to provide superior broad-spectrum sun protection and powerful antioxidants to nourish the skin from head to toe.
Suntegrity incorporates bio-based plastics, PCR and glass across the packaging of their range, as well as making refillable products wherever possible. They steer clear of toxic ingredients, use reef-safe minerals to protect your skin, pioneer vegan formulations for most products (some contain organic beeswax), cut down on the use of unnecessary secondary packaging, and ship in biodegradable loose-fill. They keep their carbon footprint to a minimum and, when you order directly from their website, you can select carbon neutral shipping, too. Not only that, but Suntegrity products are Good Face Project-approved and hold a 2022 Sublime Good Brand Award.
NOICE
One and a half billion toothpaste tubes end up in landfills every single year, most completely unrecyclable and full of harsh chemicals – NOICE aims to create a world where having a positive impact is as simple as brushing your teeth.
NOICE takes the best of nature to develop efficient oral care essentials that are good for your smile and the planet. Combining the antibacterial properties of essential oils with the stain-removing power of charcoal, NOICE toothpaste simultaneously cleans and gently whitens your teeth. Each ingredient has been responsibly sourced and carefully selected with the help of dentists. And not only does the product come in recyclable glass bottles that’ll be sure to look pretty in your bathroom, but include a reusable refill pump, delivered in FSC-certified packaging. For a clean smile and a clean conscience, use code ‘SUBLIME10’ for 10% off your purchase.
Laili Lau
At the tail end of 2021, Laili Lau began to hand-sew together the pieces of fabric that she had been collecting for over four years – be that through donation, recycling, or salvaging. She developed the silhouette of a loose jacket, creating graphic patterns through textures, volumes, and movement without a previously set design, finally revealing the ‘Zalea’ piece, a result of conscious and soulful creation of an unexpected result.
This is but one of Lau’s designs, part of her eponymous fashion label, founded in 2012. ‘My focus on this project is to create pieces that make use of resources in a conscious way, a limited production manufacturing garments full of detail and dedication, making each of them truly one of a kind,’ she explains.
In Lau’s eyes, the problem lies in the pollution generated by textile production. Her approach is a production system that values custom and made-to-order pieces, the manufacturing of timeless pieces that last and the use of scraps and smaller surplus that are generally the toughest to incorporate in an aesthetic and efficient manner. The brand aims to create pieces with conscience and sensibility of how these are produced and how to maximise resources. It has been my homage to new beginnings,’ she explains.
Riso Gallo
As the first international brand in the sector to have produced rice from sustainable agriculture, Riso Gallo is proud to announce that their premium best-selling risotto rices – Gallo Risotto Tradition, Arborio, Carnaroli and Carnaroli Rustico – are fully sustainable.
The brand has created a circular economy within its rice production process, collaborating with innovative startups to give new value to the by-products of the rice mill. Rice House, for example, is an Italian initiative constructing houses from rice husks, bran, and rice straw fibres. Rice by-products are also used for furniture production by Mogu, plus the waste water from the Nero rice is used as a natural fabric dye.
In addition, all Riso Gallo plastic vacuum packaging is now suitable for recycling. The Gallo Risotto Traditional, Arborio, Carnaroli, and the Carnaroli Rustico are now packaged in FSC certified cardboard to protect the grains, while the high quality of the rice itself is guaranteed by BRC and IFS certifications and the Sustainable Rice Platform scheme. Riso Gallo are also focusing on developing rice that minimises the impact of cultivation on the environment and its resources, while not being genetically modified.
The brand is committed to reducing and monitoring greenhouse emissions and using energy from renewable resources, a priority that stems from the collaboration with farms that guarantee full respect for workers’ rights. And it’s great for farmers, because Riso Gallo guarantees fair and stable prices which are agreed before sowing.
Evo3
Before you go to bed tonight, ask yourself whether you’ve done enough to leave the world in a better place than it was this morning. If the answer is ‘yes’, you can rest peacefully.
This was the ethos that inspired Stratis Kamatsos, the founder of evo3 Olive Farms, to take his family’s passion of olive oil-making to not only produce an award-winning, single-estate, extra virgin, organic olive oil, but to look further and become a vessel to do good. That is why the evo3 motto is ‘beyond olive oil’.
As the first Greek olive oil social enterprise, evo3 is a brand with a social and environmental responsibility at its core, tackling deforestation and poverty. Their mission was to create a circular value chain that began with the olive tree, and ended back in the land, establishing their ‘one bottle, one tree’ initiative – for every bottle sold, a tree will be planted in a deforested area in Africa by their tree-planting partner, creating employment for people impoverished areas.
And evo3 did not stop there. Respecting the natural contours of their mountainous olive groves on the island of Lesvos, they produce certified organic extra virgin olive oil by adhering to strict organic and sustainable farming methods. It’s no wonder, then, that they’ve been Ethically Sourced™ certified. They’re the first olive oil company to use blockchain technology to trace their product from source to shelf, too.
The aim is for everyone to share the passion and love for the olive tree, olives and olive oil. Evo3 Olive Farms is not a run-of-the-mill olive oil company, but a fully sustainable social enterprise.